For this outdoor workout, we will give you a combination of exercises, which will help you develop your explosive strength and strength endurance.
All you will need for this workout, is a parallel bar, a pull-up bar, your bodyweight and a running track with smooth surface.
The program is split into 3 consecutive training days.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest, triceps and shoulders | Back and biceps | Legs and abdominals | Stretching, posing |
Preparation
Each workout begins with a mandatory, 15 minutes warm up.
This includes warming up the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, lower back, hips, knees and ankles, followed by 5-10 minutes of light cardio activity, which will allow for a better blood flow at the beginning of the workout.
| Monday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chest, Shoulders and Triceps workout | ||
| Chest | Triceps | Shoulders |
| Parallel bar dips- 5 sets of 10 repetitions | Bench triceps dips- 4 sets of 10 repetitions | Handstand hold- 5 sets until failure |
| Incline push-ups- 5 sets of 15 repetitions | Close grip push-ups- 4 sets of 12-15 repetitions | Handstand push-ups- 3 sets until failure |
| Regular push-ups- 5 sets of 15 repetitions | ||
Chest exercises
Parallel bar dips
Execution
- Get on the parallel bar
- Keep your legs together and body straight
- Slightly bend elbows and look forward
- Dip down slowly and fully
- Push up explosively, without locking out the elbow
Incline push-ups
Execution
- Get into a push-up position, placing your arms by the sides of the platform, as illustrated, or simply with palms facing down, wider than shoulder width
- Keep your feet together
- Go down slowly, until your chest touches the ground
- Push up explosively, without locking out the elbow
Regular push-ups
Execution
- Get into a push-up position with your palms on the ground, significantly wider than shoulder width
- Keep your feet apart
- Go down slowly, stretching the chest
- Push-up slowly, keeping constant tension on the chest and contracting the pecs at the top
Triceps exercises
Bench triceps dips
Execution
- Sit on the side of the bench and place your hands by your side
- Lift your body off of the bench
- Step forward with your feet together
- Let your body go down slowly
- Push up explosively, contracting the triceps, with a slow and careful elbow lock-out
Close grip push-ups
Execution
- Get into a push-up position with your feet together and hands placed narrower than shoulder width
- Keep your body straight
- Go down slowly, stretching out the triceps and pecs
- Push up with a moderate pace, contracting the triceps fully at the top by locking out the elbow carefully
Shoulders exercise
Handstand push-up
Execution
- Stand up straight against a wall and extend your arms above your head
- Step forward and reach for the ground with your arms, placing the hands wider than shoulder width and keeping your legs up and against the wall for balance
This is the handstand hold position, which is the first shoulder exercise. That will help you strengthen the shoulder musculature. If you have never done push-ups from a handstand position, begin with just holding your body in the static handstand position, until it is easy to hold it for significantly longer periods of time.
Once you feel confident to try the push-ups…
- Go down slowly, until your head is a couple of inches from the ground
- Push up, keeping your body straight- Do not lock the elbow out aggressively
This exercise can further be developed by trying to keep balance without a wall.
This exercise alone, if done properly, will be enough to finish off your workout, by prioritizing the deltoids.
| Tuesday | |
|---|---|
| Back and Biceps | |
| Back | Biceps |
| Wide grip pull-ups- 3 sets of 8, 2 sets until failure | Close-grip chin up- 6 sets of 12 |
| Inverted row- 5 sets until failure | Biceps stretch- 5 sets of 15 seconds |
| Back stretch- 5 sets of 15 seconds | |
Back exercises
Wide grip pull-ups
Execution
- Grab the bar as wide as possible
- Let your body hang completely free
- Pull your body up, until your chin reaches the bar
- Go down slowly and fully, stretching the back musculature
Inverted Row
Execution
- Grab the bar slightly wider than shoulder width and let your feet go forward
- Keep your feet together
- Look up, keeping your body straight
- Pull your body up until the bar is at the lower portion of the chest
- Go down slowly, stretch the back and proceed to the next repetition
Back stretch
Execution
- Place your arms on the bench/bar
- Step back and lean down, until your arms are completely extended
- Stretch out your back and hold the stretch for 15 seconds
- Let off the stretch and mildly contract the back musculature
Biceps Exercises
Close grip chin-up
Execution
- Grab the bar narrower than shoulder width and let your body hang freely
- Pull yourself up, until your chin is over the bar
- Contract your biceps at the top and hold the contraction briefly
- Let your body go down slowly and stretch your arms and back
Biceps stretch
Execution
- Stand up with your body straight and arms by your side
- Place your arms behind your back and hold your arms together
- Reach back with your arms slowly, stretching the biceps and holding the stretch at the top for 15 seconds
| Wednesday | |
|---|---|
| Legs and abdominals | |
| Legs | Abdominals |
| Prisoner squats- 5 sets of 12 repetitions | Crunches- 5 sets of 25 repetitions |
| Rocket jump squats- 5 sets of 10 repetitions | Leg raises- 5 sets of 15 repetitions |
| Walking lunges- 5 sets of 10 repetitions per leg | |
Leg exercises
Prisoner squats
Execution
- Stand up straight with your feet slightly narrower than shoulder width and toes pointing out
- Place your hands behind your head
- Keep your torso straight
- Squat down, until your legs are parallel to the ground
- Move up slowly, maintaining tension on the quadriceps and contracting them at the top, without locking out your knees
Rocket jump squats
Execution
- Stand up straight with your legs at shoulder width and toes pointing out
- Keeping your back straight, squat down, reaching for the ground with your arms
- Jump up explosively, extending your arms above your head
- Land on your legs, first touching the ground with your toes and only then landing the heel
- Proceed to the next rep
Walking lunges
Execution
- Stand up straight and place your arms on your hips
- Take a big step forward and go down slowly, without letting your knee touch the ground
- Move up and proceed to the next step for the opposite leg
Abdominals
Crunches
Execution
- Lie down on the mat/ground
- Pull your heels in closer to your butt
- Extend your arms above your head
- Crunch up, contracting the abdominals
- Hold the contraction briefly and go down slowly, keeping tension on the abs
Leg raises
Execution
- Grab the bar at shoulder width or wider
- Keep your legs and body straight
- Lift your knees up, contracting the abdominals
- Let your legs down slowly, maintaining tension on the abs
Additional leg exercises
If these body-weight exercises become too easy for you, you can use them to work you in for an explosive, prioritized sprint workout.
After completing the leg exercises, complete 5 laps of sprints. If you run on an Olympic, 400m track, use the first 30-40 meters to reach your top speed, then try to maintain it for as long as possible during the next 60-80 meters. During the next 280-300 meters, slow down and finish the lap with a light, relaxing jog. Rest for up to 2 minutes and proceed to the next lap.
Sprints will target your weakest muscle group in the lower body and also engage and develop the whole musculature, due to the exercise’s explosive nature.
Thursday
Stretching and posing
On the fourth day, you take a rest from any exercises, besides stretching and isometric contractions.
The goal here is to contract the entire musculature and keep the isometric contraction for up to 10 seconds, after which you release slowly and stretch it out. Do muscle contractions and stretching for as long as 30 minutes on your rest days.
This program can be done for longer periods of time, as you can further improve on it by adding some weight to the bodyweight exercises, to which your body will adapt and the program will therefore be effective.
