Hello everyone. Today I'm sharing with you my weekly workout plan: I basically do High-intensity Circuit training focusing on mass (lean, muscle one, of course) and strength as well, so, working around strength moves. I workout for four days a week, every other day, excepting the two last days of the week that have to be followed, obviously. In that case I workout different muscle groups from the ones worked on the previous day, but if I'm not sore I might do a similar workout on those two days.    Now just a side note: high-intensity training here doesn't mean aerobics and jumping around, cardio only, you see. High-intensity workouts are anaerobic (they deplete oxygen on the muscles very fast promoting anabolism - adequate muscle damage for further muscle growth) for themselves, but apart from that one can and should incorporate exercises focusing on strength, also with weights and focusing on hypertrophy (muscle building), as well, such as tough calisthenics variations. High-intensity is because there are very small rest periods in between rounds, repetitions and exercises, and one should give ones max effort on the performance of the exercises. I always workout at home and I use very little equipment: a jump rope, mostly for my warm-ups (5 min.); a mat; two lose dumbbell discs of 2.5 kg. / 5.5 lbs of weight each - which is indeed two little, and I do have the barbell itself and more discs, but because it doesn't have a great quality and the discs get loose easily, I quit on using them, so right now I'm only using the heaviest discs of that dumbbell which are those of 5.5 lbs, and I use them the best I can, focusing on jumping really high along with them as well as for doing more repetitions; a pull-up bar that I have set at home, near the balcony ceiling, and finally, a resistance band. Another thing I use as equipment are two chairs for my pectorals and triceps dips. Other than this, I only workout with my own body weight through calisthenics and plyometrics as well.

Three of my four workouts are focused on strength, that meaning: - Three rounds per exercise; few, compound exercises, and a rep range from five to seven reps max, always with some sort of anaerobic resistance: the disc or the band - this one I use mostly for shoulder presses, because is very adequate for an exercise like that one - one simply step on the band leaving more or less slack on it as wanted for more or less resistance. For strength training I also apply the plyo exercises, as I was saying before, by jumping very high and strong with the discs on my hands for greater gravity / weight / resistance. Because I have little equipment, as I said, I do the best I can with what I have, so I always do the harder variations of the exercises - believe me, there are a lot of them - in the case that I'm using only my body-weight, like for instance jumping very high with the dumbbell disc on my hands, as I also already mentioned - I can guarantee you that at some point those light weights will feel like tons of weight due to the improved gravity on them! Personally I'm OK with this type of training because the necessity is the mother of invention, right, and times like this one finds that many times the basics are all one needs to achieve big accomplishments - it is my personal belief that staying active and fit shouldn't require a lot and shouldn't also be an obstacle for anyone and / or a privilege for some only. Ones body really is all one needs, so I really enjoy this approach on working out, also because it is very convenient and one can workout virtually anytime anywhere :) I also adapt some of the classical compound exercises, such as the 'clean and jerk / snatch' - in this exercise one is supposed to grab the barbell (or dumbbells) in a deadlifting position for a start, off of the floor, raising it up to the chest while performing a slight power squat and rotating the wrists as well, and finally pressing the barbell up with the arms straight. Because I don't have the barbell or dumbbells with enough weight to them, I came up with this variation myself: - With my two discs on my hands I do a deep squat followed by a jump (up) - so, a jump, plyo squat. Then I drop my discs and go directly into a handstand push-up against a wall. This is one repetition, and I keep going for four to six more, depending on tiredness :) Now, for my rest intervals - I rest for very little time, like I mentioned on the beginning of this post. I rest for about 15 sec. while breathing deeply. Enough for recovery and slowing down the pace a little so I feel strong again for the next sequence of repetitions. That way my metabolism is always up, promoting fat burning and the entire workout is anaerobic no matter what, consequently anabolic (promoter of hypertrophy, that is) and even more interesting: long cardio sessions - that deplete the so hard to earn muscle mass :), and do little for fat loss, actually -aren't needed anymore! Spare of time and boredom! :) Also, workouts like these turn out defying, fun, fast and always interesting and all the benefits of classic muscle-building workouts and cardio combined are still there - maybe just for not a huge hypertrophy gaining, but for those of us mostly wanting to stay active, fit, strong and athletic (that is: looking lean and muscular, defined at the same time), and overall healthy, these are just perfect :) I always go from one exercise that works a given muscle group to a different one that works a different muscle group, so the previous muscles can properly recover, but dispensing from the need for long rest periods that hinder fat loss and keep the workouts boring and long, at least for me ;)     I mostly do compound(s exercises), which are combined exercises into one that call up for a few different moves and muscles at the same time in place of isolation(s exercises) that only work a very specific muscle in a singular movement. I also almost always workout my entire body in a workout session (I'm not saying that I work every single muscle on my body - what I'm saying is that I workout my body as a whole) - there are (almost) always lower-body, core and upper-body exercises in each one of my workouts.

Finally, on my fourth and last workout day I do my hypertrophy-focused workout - also a circuit workout but with more sets and reps, resorting to a given workout online from one of the many female (mostly) trainers I like to follow. When the trainer mentions her score (rounds, repetitions, time) I try to beat that, or at least match it - many times 'yes, I can' ;) :) Many times I also complement a shorter workout with a Tabata, assuring that my workouts are at least 15 min. long (this amount of time is claimed to be the ideal minimum for a high-intensity workout). My workouts rarely pass the 25 min., because on the other hand one doesn't want to put too much (adrenal) stress into the body and hinder progression or even deplete the muscles in a counter-productive way. Now on the Tabata, same of you might have heard about it already and / or might be even familiar with it: this is a very efficient training protocol developed by this Japanese male scientist (Izumi Tabata - the protocol was obviously named after his surname) in which one does a high-intensity, interval type of training. it lasts for four minutes, and the intervals are 20 sec. of max. effort and 10 sec. for recovery and switching exercises, when wanted, for a total of eight rounds / sets. In this type of workout one can, and shall, incorporate everything: weights; plyos and calisthenics. Workout combos are infinite :) Here's an example of a Tabata watch app which is the one I always use for my workouts: {http://fitlb.com/tabata-timer} As I was saying, when a workout is shorter, or even if it wasn't that short but I still have energy left to spare, I finish it up with the Tabata, in the case, an altered one: I always do a classic workout from my best inspiration and mentor ever, Zuzka Light, that I love because it's so complete, full-body and so intense and effective, and it uses only ones body-weight but it works strength too!: instead of the 20 sec. of effort one does 15 sec., and for recovery there are only 5 sec. - only enough for a quick breath and exchanging position so one gets ready for the next exercise. This goes for a total of 12 rounds so at the end the workout is the same total time as for a regular Tabata: 4 min.     Here's the Zuzka workout I'm talking about - there are only two combined, plyo and calisthenics exercises to it, one for the upper-body, the other for the lower: {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17C1RhSFrow} I always use a notebook for pointing down my workouts so I can point their the total time, and also to get track of my rounds for all the exercises. That way I can also get track on my times and try to be faster and perform better overall on my next workout :) Finally, at the end of each one of my workouts I do a quick stretching, cool down routine based on Yoga flows, although focusing a little bit more on the muscles that were worked during the workout. I stretch those muscles for a count of eight slow minutes. This stretching of mine usually lasts for 4 more min. And this is it for my workout plan. Basically I follow the Cross Fit concept (which by the way was started by Zuzana Light aka. Zuzka Light, just not under that name and brand ;)), adjusting to my needs and possibilities at home :) With this type of workouts I guarantee you the loss of body fat and according muscle gain, leading to muscle definition and leanness, as well as for strength and endurance - overall you'll end up with a six-pack for the Summer and an athletic body - nothing wrong with that, is it?;) I hope you guys liked this post and can make good use of some of my workout tips for yourselves! Please feel free to comment, share and like this post.  See you next time and until there and as usual, thank you for your attention and don't forget to meditate today. Enjoy a fit life and please take care of yourselves!

Ok,

So I may not be the best blogger, but I try to keep my posts engaging. The year is kicking in quite alright, but I still have a long way to go. However, the one thing I always enjoyed but never gave enough credit in doing or getting to enjoy more is Mixed Martial Arts and fitness. I have came a long way from a shaky 2013 when I lost both of my grandparents, of which I was very close to. My…