Sometimes in life we spin our wheels, we put the effort in, we do what we’re “supposed” to but we’re just not getting the results we want.  Maybe we’re not even getting that intensity in, maybe we’re truly just LOST.  Sometimes it’s this realization that can cause change in our lives to get us to the place where we want to be.  So ask yourself a few things.

1.  What are my goals?  Define them, and try to quantify them.  Often times I ask my clients this when we first start out and they say “I want to be in better shape.”  Well what is better shape to them?  Is it 30 lbs lighter?  Is it 30 lbs heavier?  Is it a 500 lb deadlift?  Is it six pack abs and broad shoulders?  Is it “tight” arms and no flab?  The problem is that many people simply do not define their goals well.  They don’t know what they want.  Again, ask yourself, “what are my goals?”

2.  Why are these my goals?  You’ve defined them now ask yourself why you want this.  If you are doing it for someone else, rethink this.  This needs to be about you, about yourself, because ultimately internal motivation to do better, to be fitter, faster, leaner, more muscular, stronger, sexier needs to come from within.  Why do you want what you want?  Is it more then just a whimsical idea?

3.  What if I succeed, what if I don’t?  At times people get so caught up in their problems, their worries, their goals, their day to day life, that they don’t think about anything past the current day.  What happen if you do not succeed in your fitness goals?  Will you live to see future grandchildren?  Will you live out the rest of the year?  For some, it truly is that dire where they are at a point that their current fitness levels are killing them, at times, quickly.  On the flip-side, what happens if you do meet your goals?  How much better will your life be?  How will it be better?  Will you be more confident?  Will you be be happier?  More capable of talking to the opposite gender?  Will you be better at your sport?  Will you simply feel better?  WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU SUCCEED?  and again, what will happen if you do not?

4.  What is my plan of action?  What am I doing to make myself have the body I want?  Am I eating healthier?  How?  Am I training?  Is it actually smart how I’m training?  Am I moving around more, am I participating in things that I say “this sucks” but afterwards have the gratification of knowing I just did something hard?  Have I talked to people who know what they’re doing?  If I can’t make a plan have I thought about having someone else make it for me?  Am I learning?  Am I striving to make improvements in my lifestyle?  What the hell am I doing to make me have the body I want?  If the answer is nothing, then it starts here.  It starts today.  Today I will do something.  That something is parking farther away in a parking lot.  That something is taking the stairs instead of the elevator.  That something is passing on that late night milkshake.  I AM GOING TO DO SOMETHING.

5.  How can Valhalla Training Systems help you?  This is what I do.  I help people answer the above questions to make themselves a better version of themselves.  Be it through my paid consultation or through the simple tid bit like this, I hope that I can help YOU do something.  

Just because it’s a deload, doesn’t mean we fall off the face of the planet and stop training.

Work Capacity Session - these are truly important for your ability to do work, your ability to recover, and help minimize fat gain if adding size, and help strip fat if focusing on fat loss.

Get at it like a Viking.

A1 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters

A2 = Walking Lunges with DB held in front at chest level with both hands - 30 meters

A3 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters

A4 = Goblet Squats x 20

A5 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters

A6 = DB or kettlebell swing x 20

A7 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters (hate me yet?)

A8 = Bodyweight Squat x 20

Use an appropriate weight (I do this with 120’s for farmers and a 60 lb DB for the rest of the stuff - go as heavy as you can on farmers and then drop the weight by about 60% for your other stuff).  Try to make it through 3 complexes.  No rest until the bodyweight squats have been completed (1 complex).  Rest 2 mins between complexes.

Farmer Walk notes:  In the video they have specific farmer walk handles, you do not need these, just grab a pair of heavy dumbbells.  Ladies - don’t be afraid to push yourself, your grip is most likely going to be the limiting factor here. 

Well a new week and it’s an easy one.  This week we will be deloading.  Deloading is a lowering of weight, volume, and intensity so as to allow our body’s to fully recuperate after intense training.  We’ll be doing 3 weeks of intense training, followed by a week of lower volume, weight, and intensity.  Now, that doesn’t mean we’re taking the week off, it means we’re still getting in there and moving some weight.  The reason for this is to promote active recovery and really allow your body to recover.  Yes this is going to be somewhat boring, because you’re not really pushing it.  Do not add in extra stuff, do not add in more cardio, or more sets or reps.  Again this is an active recovery week.  You may not feel you “need” it even, but then 8-12 weeks from now when the weight stops moving up because you never bothered to fully recuperate in the first place is going to have you irritate at your lack of progress.  Take the deload week, enjoy the easyness of it, and get ready to attack the weights again hard next week!

Today’s training:

5-10 minutes walking on an incline treadmill.  Walk, not run.  Get to a slight sweat or as the ladies like to say “glisten”.

Mobility Warmup

A = Box Squat = 1x5 @ 40% of working max, 1x5 @ 50%, 1x1 @ 60%.  Focus on your technique, make it flawless.

C = 45 Degree Back Extension = 100 rep set - 100 reps in as few of sets as possible, rest kept to 30 seconds between sets.  Less sets then you did last week!

D = Shrugs = 3x15 - Shoot for more reps today.  Absolutely DO NOT roll your shoulders or bring them up then back then down.  Just up, Just down.  This will help prevent scapular retraction issues.  I mention this because I see so many people do these wrong in gyms.  Higher weight this week if you can.  

E = Side Bends = 3x10

F = Pulldown Abs = 5x15

Cooldown = 15-30 minutes walking - either outside, on a treadmill, or wherever.  Just bring your heart rate back down.

Your daily workout is as follows:

Warmup:  5-10 minutes on an eliptical or treadmill.  Get your heart rate up some, break a light sweat.

Mobility Warmup

A = Overhead Press =  1x5 @ 50% Working Max, 1x3 @ 60%, 1x1 @ 70%, 1xAMAP (As Many As Possible) @ 75%.  Record this number, you’ll need it at a later time (in 2 weeks).

B = Dips = 4x10

C = Fat Man Pullup = 4x15 - use weight if you can!

D = Seated DB Military Press = 5x12 - use a weight that you can definitely get 8 reps the first and second set, but the last 2 sets you may not be able to achieve.  If you can’t get them started yourself, use a lower weight.

F = Front Squat Holds - 3 x 30 seconds - use as heavy a weight as you can handle.  Make sure your back isn’t going into a hyper extension position.  Focus on keeping your shoulders slightly in front of your hips.

G = One Armed Farmer Walk = 3 x 25 meters (3 for each arm) - focus on staying upright as much as possible and resisting the weight (KB or DB) pulling you down.
Cool-down = 15 minutes walking on an incline treadmill or take a walk outside.  Focus on slowing your breathing and reducing your heart rate.

Previous training sessions this week:

W3D1

W3D2

W3D3

W3D4

Your daily workout is as follows:

Warmup:  5-10 minutes on an eliptical or treadmill.  Get your heart rate up some, break a light sweat. 

Mobility Warmup

A = Deadlift =  1x5 @ 50% Working Max, 1x3 @ 60%, 1x1 @ 70%, 1xAMAP (As Many As Possible) @ 75%.  Record this number, you’ll need it at a later time (in 2 weeks).

B = Deficit Romanian Deadlifts = 3x12 - Use a double overhand grip (no mixed grip).  Stack two 45 lb plates on top of each other and stand on it.  This should create about a 3 inch platform and will give you a great stretch at the bottom.  Try and use the same weight as last time.

C = Barbell Hip Thrust = 4x10 - Might want to get the pussypad (thing you see people put on squat bars because “their neck hurts without it” - side note get some muscle on your back and it won’t hurt) to put on the bar so as to protect your pelvis, especially if you’re bony.  Focus on squeezing your butt cheeks together as hard as possible and getting your hips high.  If you can’t get it to where your pelvis and stomach is parallel to the floor, you need to go down in weight.

D = Lat Pull Downs = 5x15 - Never behind your head - that’s a great way to give yourself some shoulder impingement. Focus on retracting your shoulder blades.  Imagine someone has a string that is attached to your elbows and is pulling you backwards.  You want to focus on pulling through your elbows instead of pulling with your forearms and biceps.  This will help place emphasis where it should be - on your back.

E = Barbell Shrugs = 3x12 - okay you can finally use some straps, go heavy as you can on these.  It really helps stability in your bench, as well as increases your ability to lock out your deadlift.  Shoot for more weight this week.

F = One Armed Farmer Walk = 3 x 25 meters (3 for each arm) - focus on staying upright as much as possible and resisting the weight (KB or DB) pulling you down.

Cool-down = 15 minutes walking on an incline treadmill or take a walk outside.  Focus on slowing your breathing and reducing your heart rate.

Train for strength, eat for looks, cardio for health.

Work Capacity Session - these are truly important for your ability to do work, your ability to recover, and help minimize fat gain if adding size, and help strip fat if focusing on fat loss.

Get at it like a Viking.

A1 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters

A2 = Walking Lunges with DB held in front at chest level with both hands - 30 meters

A3 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters

A4 = Goblet Squats x 20

A5 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters

A6 = DB or kettlebell swing x 20

A7 = Farmer Walk - 30 meters (hate me yet?)

A8 = Bodyweight Squat x 20

Use an appropriate weight (I do this with 120’s for farmers and a 60 lb DB for the rest of the stuff - go as heavy as you can on farmers and then drop the weight by about 60% for your other stuff).  Try to make it through 3 complexes.  No rest until the bodyweight squats have been completed (1 complex).  Rest 2 mins between complexes.

Farmer Walk notes:  In the video they have specific farmer walk handles, you do not need these, just grab a pair of heavy dumbbells.  Ladies - don’t be afraid to push yourself, your grip is most likely going to be the limiting factor here. 

Now on to the training for today:

5-10 minutes walking on an incline treadmill.  Walk, not run.  Get to a slight sweat or as the ladies like to say “glisten”.

Mobility Warmup

A = Box Squat = 1x5 @ 50% of working max, 1x3 @ 60%, 1x1 @ 70%, 1xAMAP (As Many As Possible) @ 75%

B = Box Squat = 10x2 ^ 60% of working max, rest = 45-60 seconds between sets, no more than this! - the focus here is perfect technique.  This is why it’s only 2 reps.  At 2 reps you can absolutely make them perfect reps.  Rest is kept short to help encourage neurological adaptations.

C = 45 Degree Back Extension = 100 rep set - 100 reps in as few of sets as possible, rest kept to 30 seconds between sets.  Less sets then you did last week!

D = Shrugs = 3x8 - heavy weight as your grip will allow.  Always pull your traps straight up towards your ears.  Absolutely DO NOT roll your shoulders or bring them up then back then down.  Just up, Just down.  This will help prevent scapular retraction issues.  I mention this because I see so many people do these wrong in gyms.  Higher weight this week if you can.  

E = Side Bends = 3x10

F = Pulldown Abs = 5x10-15

Cooldown = 15-30 minutes walking - either outside, on a treadmill, or wherever.  Just bring your heart rate back down.

Notes:  For box squats, find a box that when you sit results in your knee joint being higher than your hip joint.  For those who are taller, typical gym benches may work, those of us who are shorter (me - 5’8”) should use 25 lb plates stacked up to an appropriate height.  I use six 25 lb plates stacked for my depth.  When box squatting, focus on coming down under control and not crashing into the box.

Regarding the AMAP set….Go big!  Shoot for as many as you can possible do!  Do not make these resting sets though where you sit for 10 seconds with the bar on your back and take a break.  This is continuous reps.  Everyone should be able to get 11+ if you tested properly.  Remember this number as you’ll need it for the next bloc to calculate some numbers.