Beach Body For A Guy
Its never too soon to start thinking about looking good on the beach in some trunks while playing volleyball, throwing around the football, or just chilling on the sand catching some rays and talking to the chicas doing the same. After all I live in Southern California, and the weather is accommodating for beach activity 300 days out of the year. But I know it is easier said than done. So instead of giving you more lip service, I have decided to give you the outline of a workout that I have done for the last 3 weeks in order to test its ability to turn your inactive or active body into a beach body. It has proven to be a good full body workout with successful results.
Normally, I work on one individual muscle group or two muscle groups that work in conjunction with one another a day. Meaning I like to dedicate one day to one specific muscle group. It works for me, and I have the time and the schedule to allow me to separate my work out as such. But most of you out there don’t have that kind of time to go to the gym 5 to 6 times a week and stay for 90 minutes, the usual length of my workout. The workout I have for you today is one that will hit all of the major muscle groups and will give you the “pop” you want from the areas that girls seem to like the most. The abs, the arms, and the chest are the target zones. But this can only be accomplished by working out your body evenly all over. You have heard the expression “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link?” Well the same is true of your body. You can’t have strong arms without the muscle in the shoulders strong enough to hold them onto your body. You can’t have a strong chest without a strong core to stabilize you. You walk around all day on your legs and stand upright (unless you are the missing link), so strong legs and a solid back are important. And like in life, balance is the key to success. You will want to have a balanced look to your body. And in order to accomplish that, you must workout all of your body. So without further ado, here we go:
It is imperative that you warm up and stretch before and after you work out. The workout below tells you the muscle group targeted, the name of the exercise, and the amount of reps you should do. The last rep should be the heaviest weight you can do while still using proper form. ALWAYS use proper form. Start with 50% of the weight you can do and increase each set by 15-20% until you reach your max by the 4th set. Then you do it one more time, with proper form. Remember to breathe throughout the exercise, and stop if you feel dizzy or light headed. Do not worry about the weight or the amount of reps the people around you are doing. This is being done for you and your body. Focus on results for yourself, and yourself only. Ego is the biggest barrier stopping people from reaching their targeted results.
Day 1
Warm up-jog or bike for 5-7 mins-light stretch
Quads- Squats- 10-10-8-6-6
Upper Chest- Incline Bar Bell Bench Press- 10-10-8-6-6
Calves- Standing Calf Press- until failure x5
Back-Pull Ups -10-10-8-6-6
Abs-Leglifts-20-20-failure-failure
Hamstrings -Dead lifts- 10-10-8-6-6
Shoulder-Standing Dumb Bell press-10-10-8-6-6
Biceps-Dumb Bell curls-10-10-8-6-6
Stretch
Day 2
Rest
Do light cardio-30 mins max
Day 3
Warm up-jog or bike for 5-7 mins-light stretch
Chest- Bar Bell Flat bench- 10-10-8-6-6
Middle back- Dumb Bell Low Row- 10-10-8-6-6
Quads/glutes Dumb Bell Lunges- Length of the room x5
Shoulders-Military Press -10-10-8-6-6
Abs-reverse curls-20-20-failure-failure
*Biceps/triceps-a-Bar Bell curls 10-10-8-6-6
b-Dips 10-10-8-6-6
Shoulder-Standing Dumb Bell side raise-10-10-10-10-10
Legs/core-side to side box jump 20secs.
Stretch
*This is a superset. You will do (a) then immediately do (b) without rest. Then rest after (b) is done
Day4
Rest
Light cardio-20 mins max
Day 5
Warm up-jog or bike for 5-7 mins-light stretch
Hamstrings/back- Dead lifts- 10-10-8-6-6
Chest- Push ups- 20-20-20-failure x2
Biceps- Standing Curl bar curls- 10-10-8-6-6
Back-cable close grip row -10-10-8-6-6
Abs-weighted decline sit up bench 20-20-failure x3
Quads-Decline leg press- 10-10-8-6-6
Shoulder-Standing Front cable raise-10-10-10-10-10
Triceps-Dumb Bell Overhead press-10-10-8-6-6
Abs-Sit up trunk twists 15-15-15-failure x2
Stretch
Day 6(should be the weekend)
Get outside. Hit the beach, the park, anywhere. Get on your feet, on your bike, and off your butt!
Day 7
Rest
Enjoy your day off!
You will notice that all of the exercises in the workouts are set up in a specific order so that the compound exercises come first. A compound exercise is an exercise where the muscle group being targeted is also working in conjunction with the auxiliary muscles around it. You want to do these when your body is still fresh since you are using the most muscle groups with these exercises. Then next come the isolation exercises.They are exactly what they sound like. These exercises really isolate the muscle group targeted and use almost no other auxiliary muscles. Your workout should always include a combination of the two.
It is important that if you are going to do this workout that you follow the schedule. As you get better and more secure with your ability and understanding of your body you may tweak the workout however it suits you. But until then, strict adherence to the workout must be maintained. This is supposed to act as a guideline to get you into the gym and get your body stronger and leaner. But you must stick to the schedule. Do not try to “make up” days if you miss it. If you are serious about doing this, then you will make the time to do it. On the days it says to rest, you need to rest. Many people are under the impression that muscles are made in the gym. That is an incorrect fallacy. The truth is that the gym acts as the furnace where the metal (your body) is heated up. The harder you work, the hotter the fire burns. But when you get home, that is when the true work begins. What you eat (the strength the hammer falls with) and how much you sleep (the shaping and molding) actually wind up forging your body into the lean sexy shape you want it in. If you work out and then deprive yourself of these two vital steps, you are just making a mess of your body and heating and reheating the same thing over and over into a hot lump of nothing.
I would like to think our goals are the same, that you want to get in shape to not only attract the opposite sex, but to also enjoy an active life style. I for one, am happy to live is Southern California where there are so many outdoor activities to enjoy. Everyday presents the opportunity to grab your surf board, golf clubs, snowboard, Frisbee, basketball, or just the good ole ball and glove and enjoy the sun with couple of your friends. There should never be an excuse for staying in good shape, and looking and feeling healthy.
If you are not sure how to do proper form on any of the above-mentioned exercises, take the time to go online and look on youtube.com. They have awesome technique videos and will break down how to do the proper form for the exercises. Have fun, be healthy, and remember why you are doing this.
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