DAY 1 - THE HIGH INTENSITY STRENGTH CIRCUIT

(GYM MACHINE VERSION)

You’ll do the workouts in the order they’ve been listed, quickly moving from workout to workout (aim for 30 seconds to 1 minute in between exercises). You will do 1 set of each workout, that's it. That's correct, a total of 5 sets and you're done.

If it's your first time doing the High Intensity Strength Circuit, make sure you've done the initial workout and filled out the form to determine your Starting Weights. You'll have to wait until the following week to perform the Strength Circuit with slow reps, for 90 seconds, as explained below. At this point, after you've completed the workout each week, enter your numbers into the Strength Circuit Worksheet. Ideally you should do this as you go through your workout so you don't forget afterwards (on your phone, etc.). You will receive an email back to guide you with how much weight to put on the following week.

So for the workouts, there’s a decent amount of detail in here, so if you don’t want to read everything at first, look through the pictures for the workouts (moderate intensity is demonstrated), and follow these basic principles:

Maintain stability (note that stability cues, and everything else, will be expanded on below).
Do reps as slowly as you possibly can while maintaining fluid movement.
Push yourself to absolute failure. Do enough weight so this occurs at 90 seconds into your set.

Alright, now we dive into the details:

Failure is defined when you’re exerting force and literally cannot move the weight any more, and you’re struggling to stop the weight from going the opposite direction you’re exerting force. You want to do enough weight (or an intense enough variation) so that failure occurs at 90 seconds. This is generally in the range of 70% of the maximum weight you can push/pull, or something you can do 10-12 times at traditional speed. You need to physically have a timer with you (I use the clock app on my phone), and set it for 90 seconds.
Try something that feels heavy, but not impossible for your first time. Go ahead and try a particular weight: if it takes less than 90 seconds before you fail, record the weight and time in your worksheet; if it takes more than 90 seconds before you fail, record the weight and time in your worksheet. It’ll give you an appropriate weight for the next time you do the Fab Five. Either way, push yourself to failure (even if you end up going over the 90).
Each rep should be done as slowly as you possibly can while maintaining steady movement. This should range between 5 and 10 seconds in, and then 5-10 seconds out (on each rep). This technique is critical so you’re not using momentum to your advantage, and you’re working each part of your targeted muscle group throughout the entire range of motion.
Once you get to failure (the point which you can't move the weight any more, ideally at 90 seconds), you need to hold it (don't allow weight to move) for 10 seconds. This will help to really tap muscle glycogen (energy) stores and fatigue your biggest muscle fibers (thus faster metabolism, more fat burning throughout your week, etc.).
Focus on the stability cues provided for each workout. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself, so focus on maintaining strong, stable positions that will help you get stronger and move toward your goals instead of damaging yourself and going backwards.

Alright, now for the High Intensity Strength Circuit:

Leg Press

For each squat, maintain stability with the following cues:

Back straight.
Shoulders externally rotated.
Lower abs engaged.
Glutes activated.
Feet anchored to foot pad (dig balls of feet into pad by rotating externally).
Chin perpendicular to the chest, eyes straight ahead (not looking up or down).

Yes, this is a lot to remember. Focus on at least two of these at a time as your starting out. As time goes on, this will become much more natural.

Start out with feet out slightly wider than shoulder width, toes pointed out at 45 degrees outward (this will put less strain on hamstrings while you’re building up your flexibility/mobility).
Slowly go down far enough to when your quads are parallel to the floor, or even slightly deeper.
Push back up to just before locking out knees. Do not lock out knees! You want your muscles under tension throughout the entire 90 seconds, and locking out will allow you to rest and put unwanted pressure on your joints. Focus on thrusting forward with your hips as you push up from the sitting position.
And then back down you go.

Chest Press

For each chest press maintain stability with the following cues:

Shoulders externally rotated.
Lower abs engaged.
Glutes activated.
Chin perpendicular to chest. For all workouts, you never want to kink your neck by crunching your chin in or looking up. This creates a hinge and pinches nerves, which will make you weaker and less stable.

Focus on keeping elbows in, to a maximum of 45 degrees out from chest. Put your hands forward, or in line with the movement of your arms (your wrists shouldn’t have to kink at an angle to accommodate the bending of your elbows).
Slowly go down far enough to where your wrists are in line with your cheset.
Push out to just before locking out arms. Do not ever fully lock arms, as you want your muscles under tension throughout the entire 90 seconds.
And back down you go.

pull down

For each pull-down maintain stability with the following cues:

Shoulders back, externally rotated, shoulder blades flexed down.
Lower abs engaged.
Chin perpendicular to chest.

Start out with your hands wider than shoulder width apart. The wider your hands, the more you’ll be hitting your back muscles instead of your biceps (which is our main goal here).
Wrap your thumbs around the bar to meet your hands (not over the bar in line with your hands).
Slowly pull down to get your chin above the bar. Freeze here with maximum contraction for 1-2 seconds before beginning your decent.

Shoulder Press

For each shoulder press maintain stability with the following cues:

Shoulders back, externally rotated, shoulder blades flexed down.
Lower abs engaged.
Chin perpendicular to chest.

Start out with your hands pointed forward. Your elbows are going to bend outward from your chest, so your hands should be in line (again, no kink in wrist required to accommodate bending of elbows).
Start out out with arms bent and slowly push the weight until your arms are extended above your body. Don’t lock out your elbows--we want to maintain tension in the muscle.
Slowly lower the weight until your upper arm is parallel (or just below parallel) with the floor and repeat.

Row

For each row maintain stability with the following cues:

Shoulders back, externally rotated, shoulder blades flexed down.
Lower abs engaged.
Glutes activated.
Chin perpendicular to chest.

Wrap your thumb around the bar to meet your fingers.
Start out out with arms extended, don’t lock out your elbows. Your hands should be in a pretty neutral position.
Slowly pull the weight, making an attempt to get your wrists in line with your chest. At this point, focus on pinching your shoulder blades together, as if you were trying to pop a tennis ball that someone put back there.
Hold the weight for a second or two, and then slowly release toward the starting position.

THE HIGH INTENSITY STRENGTH CIRCUIT EXPLANATION - (BODY WEIGHT VERSION)

As we've said before we highly recommend you use gym machines to do the High Intensity Strength Circuit. That being said, if you happen to be traveling and don't have access to your gym of choice we have a body weight version available for you. It'll keep you in the game and working toward achieving your goals without sacrificing a workout! Click here to download the PDF!

II.2 High Intensity Strength Circuit

I. EXERCISE PROTOCOL OVERVIEW (START HERE!)

II.1. STARTING WEIGHTS - HIGH INTENSITY STRENGTH CIRCUIT