The Psychology Of Fitness

For the past two weeks, I’ve put up a Level 1 and Level 2 workout.  Level 1 is just learning basic movements, while still providing a workout.  Level 2 introduces more of a circuit style approach and higher coordinated movements.

This week, since this was my Thursday workout and shows a good way to illustrate what I constitute Level 4 workouts to be, that’s what I’m going to show you. Level 4 workouts are my 3-12-8 workouts which can be scaled based on the amount of time I have or if any clients have injuries, etc.  Here’s my workout from Thursday night – scaled down based on the time:

1 – Deadlift – 3 reps at 80% of my max
2 – Kettlebell Swings – 12 Reps at 55 pounds
3 – Deadlift – 8 Reps at 55% of my max

This is done for at least 4 rounds and typically you only want to take as much time as needed.

That’s where my workout ended and that’s really the “core” of one of my Level 4 workouts.  The gym was closing in 30 minutes by the time I had got to the gym to workout on Thursday night.  I spent 5 foam rolling and some “basic” exercises to ensure that I would have the right firing patterns during the Deadlift.

What can also be done, and what I usually do is then do some power movements.  For example, I would do:
1 – Deadlift (heavy) – 3 reps
2 – KB Swing – 12 reps
3 – Deadlift (light) – 8 reps
4 – High Pulls – 10 reps
5 – Broad Jumps – 10 reps
6 – You can add an eccentric less movement such as plate drags or you can do one more broad based movement such as the single-armed clean and press.

With this, you want to rest 45 seconds after the first round.  60 seconds after the second and 75 seconds after the third.

You have 4 options after you complete those 6 exercises.  You can:
1 – Finish the workout and call it a day.
2 – Work on another bodypart (typically upper body) – the workout I presented was a hip dominant workout and is really great for anyone, but especially women trying to lose fat in their hips and thighs.
3 – Do some interval training 10 minutes – either on the Spin Bike (20 seconds “easy,” 10 seconds “hard”) or the Versa-Climber (20 short steps, 10 long) and then call it a day, or…
4 – Work on another body part and then do some interval training.

So there you have it – a “complete” Level 4 workout.

Some quick notes:
1 – Don’t try this workout if you’re still working on your deadlifting form.
2 – Make sure you’re extending hard from the hips with your kettlebell swings and high pulls.  The force should be coming from your hips, not your arms.
3 – In other words, this workout is pretty advanced – please don’t do it unless you have proper form.
4 – If you have any questions about this workout or for Personal Training in Hoboken, please email me at John@PersonalResultsTraining.com.