Workout Philosophy
I cycle through workouts every 6 weeks or so. They often change based on what my goals are, especially related to the rugby season.
At the beginning of the off season, I concentrate on putting on muscle (hypertrophy). These workouts are generally medium-high reps (8-12) over 4 sets or so, with medium weight.
Following 6 weeks of hypertrophy training, leading up to the start of the next season, I begin strength training. For strength training I essentially follow the 5×5 method (details here), modified slightly for my needs. In between gym days I’m typically running one day for distance, and one day sprinting.
During season I try not to gain muscle or strength since rugby generally beats you up pretty bad, and expecting your body to make gains while repairing damage is just plain cruel and inhuman punishment. At my age it just can’t be done.
As this season began, I started looking for a workout to help me sustain gains made over the summer, without wiping out my recovery or my central nervous system (CNS). It also had to take into account a couple of small injuries I’ve been nursing for a while now. I tweaked my back over the summer in such a way that squats have been pretty painful. For the time being, they’re out. In addition, I have a perpetual shoulder issue that’s built up over a lifetime of poor bench press technique, and now the pounding of rugby shoulder tackles. In fact, I’ve been at the chiropractor this week for dry needling because I couldn’t raise my arm after a particularly brutal tackling session last week.
The EMOM Workout
Now that the back story and rationale is in place, here’s the workout. Note the details, following.
Monday
| Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|
| Deadlifts | 3 reps EMOM x 10 minutes |
| Incline DB Press | 5 reps EMOM x 10 minutes |
| Leg Press | 4×8-10 |
| Decline DB Press | 4×8-10 |
| Core* |
Wednesday
| Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|
| Power cleans | 4×8 |
| Shoulders** | 4×8-10 |
| Back*** | |
| Curls | 4×8-10 |
| Calf-raises | 4×8-10 |
Friday
| Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|
| Deadlifts | 3 reps EMOM x 10 minutes |
| Decline DB Press | 5 reps EMOM x 10 minutes |
| DB Pull-overs | 4×8-10 |
| Core** |
Notes
- If you don’t know, EMOM means “Every Minute On the Minute”. I set a countdown timer on my phone for 10 minutes, and at the top of each minute I perform the reps for that set. Your rest period is whatever’s left over in that minute.
- *(core) – I do different core exercises, depending on how I feel. I may do situps / crunches, planks, leg lifts, whatever. As long as I’m doing something.
- ** (shoulders) – Same here. I often swap between barbell overhead press, dumbbell overhead press, or upright rows.
- *** (back) – I generally swap between either heavy dumbbell bent-over rows, or pull-ups. I’d do barbell bent-over rows, but, again, right now my back just won’t tolerate it.
- Friday’s workout is shown as a stripped-down version of Monday’s, but that isn’t necessarily true. I have 3 options for Friday:
- Most likely my CNS is blown after a week of gym time and rugby practice, so less is more for recovery’s sake. In this case, I’ll do the stripped-down workout.
- However, if I feel good, I may just repeat Monday’s workout, only swapping the bench press from incline to decline.
- I won’t work out at all on Friday if I have a game on Saturday. In that case, Friday is strictly a rest, recovery, and fuel day.
- Recommended weight for each exercise isn’t listed. That’s up to you. You should be able to do the recommended sets/reps with strict form. You should be tired at the end of each movement. But I don’t advocate killing yourself, or even going to failure with each set. However, once you’re comfortable at a given weight, it’s time to increase. I try to increase my weight in a movement 5 lbs / week.
- Finally, I use dumbbell bench press work rather than barbell because of my injured shoulder. The position your hands are forced into using a barbell is not terribly natural, and can cause shoulder problems at the bottom of the lift. Dumbbells allow me to turn my hand position ever-so-slightly at the bottom, allowing me to get the same pump, without the discomfort. It’s a bit of a blow to the ego not to be able to do a big barbell bench press any more, but it’s stupid to keep reinjuring myself for my ego’s sake. Kudos to Anthony Balduzzi over at the Fit Father Project for convincing me to make the switch.
Results
I’ve chosen to share this with you because I’ve been so amazed at the results it’s given me in such a short time. After about 3 weeks I can tell a difference in how I look and how I feel. My weight on the bar goes up each week, I look forward to getting in the gym and I can see the difference in the mirror. My three goals for a workout are: get strong, feel good, look good naked. This one takes me closer in each category. Give it a try and see how it works for you.