A Workout for Mere Mortals

Today we are going to look at a workout for the fitness novices out there.  If you are older, maybe a little out of shape, recovering from an injury, just getting started with your fitness program or simply looking for sustainable progress in your workouts, this post is for you.

Simple, Not Easy

We are going to keep things simple here for a little bit.  Before you get turned off by the word “simple”, remember that simple does not equal easy or not worthwhile.  I think simple is actually foundational.  Without simple, you can’t get to complex.  Without simple, you can’t make it sophisticated.  And, without simple, you can’t build on a foundation.  Working out has become like martial arts training.  Everyone wants to do all the highly complex, super-sexy sounding workouts or techniques but don’t seem to be willing, or perhaps lack the understanding that foundational work must be put in place first.  The body must be built, conditioned, and trained or else it is prone to injury when attempting higher level workouts or ineffectiveness when attempting higher level martial arts.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love the super cool, insanely tough workouts as much as the next guy, but let’s face it, any trainer can write a program that’s too difficult for 99.9% of the population out there to even attempt to do.  The real knack, I believe, is being able to create a workout program that mere mortals can do without feeling intimidated by it and be able to make sustainable, results-driven progress.  We’ve all heard that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but unfortunately many times we think (and I’m as guilty of this as anyone reading here!) that this process doesn’t apply to us.  We want results now, right?

Consider This…

Consider this – how many times have you attempted a workout that was too difficult for you at the time?  You may have felt like a hero completing it (if you were able to), but what happened the next day, or the following day when you tried to get out of bed?  You felt like you were hit by a truck, right?  Everything ached.  Arms couldn’t be straightened.  It hurt to put on your pants.  Even your hair hurt (if you had any!).  So what did you do?  Rest.  Take a few days off to recover.  Maybe a week.  Then 2.  Finally you felt like you had to do something so you repeated the same process all over again.  Is that progress?  Is that sustainable?  Not really.

What if you built up slowly, incrementally?  Made consistent progress?  Got results?  Would that actually be faster?  Better?  Okay.  So with that in mind, let’s try this –

The Mere Mortals Workout

1)      Push-ups: 10 reps

2)      Bodyweight Squats : 10 reps

3)      Straight Leg Sit-ups : 10 reps

Rest 1 to 2 minutes.  Repeat 3 to 5 rounds.

Perform this routine Monday, Wednesday, Friday or on an every other day basis.

Push-ups – Assume the push-up position.  Hands flat on ground, finger tips pointing forward.  Maintain a straight spine.  Contract core and glutes, press your heels back.  Inhale down, exhale up.  If this movement is too difficult, modify the position by doing the push-ups on your knees or use an incline to raise the hands up to decrease the level of difficulty.

Bodyweight Squats – Stand in a natural posture with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.  Squat down as far as possible while still keeping the spine straight.  Stand up and repeat.

Straight Leg Sit-ups – Lie flat on your back.  Exhale, contract the core, and begin to sit up slowly keeping your spine straight.  Inhale at the top of the movement.  Exhale again and slowly lie back down.

Let me know how you do!

Jon

Jon Haas, "The Warrior Coach" has been training in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu for more than 25 years and is currently ranked as a Kudan (9th degree black belt) under Jack Hoban Shihan. He has also trained in Okinawan Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Russian Systema, BJJ, Krav Maga, as well as Internal Martial Arts of Yiquan and Aiki.He is a certified Underground Strength Coach-Level 2, a certified Personal Trainer as well as founder of Warrior Fitness Training Systems. In 2008, Jon wrote the book, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts, and since then has created numerous other online training and coaching programs helping people around the world become the strongest, most capable versions of themselves!

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