Achieving the Warrior Physique Part 2 – Training
The Warrior Shredding Program workout routine will allow you to effortlessly drop body fat while building strength in the gym and getting more chiseled than ever. This is the program I use when I want to cut down to very low body fat without going crazy.
In the last article, I covered nutrition and dieting for the ripped and wiry warrior build and physique. In case you missed it here’s part one warrior physique part 1. In this article, I am going to talk about a systematic workout approach to build your body according to the warrior physique standards! But first, let’s take a look at some Kinobody examples!
1. Koy
Koy is a buddy of mine who is clearly in shredded shape! His bodyfat is ridiculously low and as a result his vascularity becomes much more pronounced. Koy is around 5’10 and 150 lbs and has the warrior physique!
2. Bryden
Bryden is my 16 year old younger brother and is also 5’10 and 150 lbs. I’ve been helping him with his training and nutrition for the past two years. In that time he has gradually decreased his body fat and improved his muscle definition and strength significantly.
3. Greg (me)
This is a picture of me from the summer of 2011. I’m around 170 lbs at 5’10 and 6-7% body fat. Since that time I’ve put on a substantial amount of muscle.
Strength Training for the Warrior Physique
Strength training is a large component of the warrior physique! Without it, you may get lean but you will lack muscle definition and shape.
As well, strength training is imperative as it will give your body the proper proportions and aesthetics when combined with low body fat.
However, with the warrior physique, the volume and intensiveness of the workout session will be lower. This is because we don’t want to overdo the muscle building.
With the warrior physique, we are after a natural amount of muscle mass in conjunction with minimal amounts of body fat.
Repetitions will be primarily lower to avoid sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Therefore most of the muscle gains will be accrued from increases in the contractile filaments of the muscle, aka myofibrillar hypertrophy.
When limiting muscle growth it makes sense to target this type of hypertrophy because it will have a direct influence on strength and power and it will give the muscles a harder and denser look.
As well, adding muscle with lower reps will ensure that you look good all of the time since this type of muscle growth doesn’t fluctuate based on blood, glycogen or fluid.
You may notice that some exercises will be higher in repetitions. This is because particular exercises and muscle groups respond best to higher reps.
For the lateral and rear delts I like to go higher in reps and volume. This will help keep your shoulders bigger and fuller giving you a more masculine appearance.
Warrior Strength Training Routine
For the strength training portion of the shredded workout routine you will alternate between two different workouts, 3x per week on non consecutive days.
Workout A will be focused on hitting your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Workout B will be dedicated to training your back, biceps, and legs. I have been following this type of split for several months now and have made my best gains ever!
By going with a 2 day split (half your body on one day and other another half on the other day) you get to hit each muscle group once every 4-5 days. From my experience, this is the absolute most effective muscle frequency for strength and muscle gains.
Workout A
1) Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 4-6 reps
2) Standing Barbell Press: 3 sets x 4-6 reps
3) Weighted Dips: 2 sets x 6-8 reps
4) Barbell Upright Row (medium grip, pull to lower chest): 4 sets x 10-12 reps
5) Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
6) 15-20 minutes of low-intensity cardio (optional)
Workout B
1) Weighted Chin-ups* (hands facing each other): 3 sets x 4-6 reps
2) Barbell or Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets x 4-6 reps
3) Bulgarian Split Squats: 2 sets x 6-8 reps
4) Cable Rope Face Pulls: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
5) Dip Bar Leg Raises: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
6) 15-20 minutes of low-intensity cardio (optional)
*Make sure you’re using a high-quality weight belt that won’t get in the way or distract you during the exercise.
Notes
Exercises 1, 2 and 3 rest 2-3 minute between sets and stop 2 reps before muscular failure. Use the same weight for all work sets. Exercises 4 and 5 rest 60-90 seconds between sets and stop 2 reps before failure.
For exercises 1, 2, 3 and 4 increase the weight by 5 lbs when you can perform all sets for the maximum number of reps. So for incline barbell bench press, you will increase the weight by 5 lbs for the next workout when you can do 3 sets of 6 reps.
Try and add at-least 1 rep to 1 of your 3 sets each workout. So the first workout you might get 5, 4, 4. The next workout you’d try to get 5, 5, 4 and then 5, 5, 5. Once you build up to 6, 6 and 6 reps then you will add 5 lbs the next workout.
For the leg raise variations try to lift your legs as high as possible forming a V with your legs and torso. As fatigue mounts in you may need to bend your legs slightly to continue lifting your legs up. That’s fine, do the best you can.
Lastly, if you want to speed up fat loss you can add 20 minutes of low-intensity cardio after the strength training workout. My preferred method is a brisk walk on the treadmill with an incline. My second favorite option is the elliptical machine. I am not a huge fan of the bike because I find I have to work twice as hard to burn the same number of calories. As well, I spend more than enough time per day sitting on my ass so I’d rather not do that while I’m exercising.
Cardio Training for the Warrior Physique
Cardio training plays an important role in an effective shredded workout plan to help you lean down to single digit body fat.
I’m a big proponent of strength training 3x per week or every other day.
However, I feel that it is important to get physical activity on a daily basis, especially when dieting.
Doing 45-60 minutes of low to medium intensity cardio will help you burn 400-600 calories. This gives you a lot more room to work with in your diet.
For example, if you burn 2200 calories on a rest day then you will need to slice calories down to 1700 to put you into a 500 calorie deficit. Adding some exercise into the mix and you can bring your energy expenditure up to 2600 relatively easy.
Now you can consume 2100 calories and be in an optimal 500 calorie deficit for fat loss. Alternatively, you could consume the same 1700 calories but this time be in a 900 calorie deficit. This would allow you to lose fat at almost double the rate!
So hopefully this shows you how cardio can make dieting much easier.
Now it may be tempting to go beyond this and do 90-120 minutes of cardio on rest days. I don’t feel that this is a particularly wise idea.
I consider 60 minutes of cardio per day to be the cutoff point for assisting with fat loss. After which, the cardio becomes a pain in the ass and inevitably leads to a proportional increase in appetite.
So basically, if you want to eat like a bird or lose fat at a slow rate, complete inactivity is acceptable and can work.
However, if you prefer to eat more calories or burn fat at a faster rate then adding some cardio on rest days may just be the best thing for you.
Cardio Recommendations
I recommend performing the type of cardio that you enjoy the most on your rest days (non-strength training days).
My preference, when dieting, is towards lower intensity forms of cardio such as walking on the treadmill with a slight incline. This type of training won’t cut into your recovery capabilities.
Depending on how I’m feeling, I might step up the intensity at times, but I let my mood and intuition guide me. Sometimes I’ll alternate jogging with walking. This is similar to interval training but the intensity is fairly low.
If you prefer to play sports, swim or run then do that! The cardio form that will most consistently get done is the type that you should do.
If you are already very active during the day then you probably won’t need to add additional cardio exercise on top of that. Your energy expenditure will already be exactly where it needs to be. Adding cardio to the picture will likely cause more problems than it solves.
What about boosting your metabolism or jacking up growth hormone?
I don’t recommend performing cardio for the sole reason to boost your metabolism or jack up your growth hormone levels. The metabolism-boosting effect of interval/sprint training has been drastically misinterpreted.
Best case scenario you’ll burn an addition 15% on top of the calories burned from the interval session. So if you burn 200 calories from a 20-minute interval session then you’ll burn a whopping 30 calories on top of that from the metabolism-boosting effect.
And because interval/sprint training requires you to take a lot of rest between exertions your average intensity level will be substantially lower than if you were to maintain a steady pace throughout.
In terms of fat loss, it’s really all about the weekly calorie deficit that you create. Focusing on boosting your growth hormone levels from training will have hardly any effect at all.
Similarly, chasing the testosterone boosting effect of squats/deadlifts or different training protocols has absolutely no impact on overall muscle growth. The only way for these hormones to make a difference is if you take immense quantities, artificially (illegal injections).
When should you perform cardio?
For most people, the best time to do cardio will be when it will most consistently get done.
However, as you reach lower levels of body fat it can become more difficult to mobilize stored fat cells.
So for people who are under 12% body fat, it’s best to do cardio in the fasted state or 3-4 hours after a meal.
However, for this cardio to have any effect, you must be in a calorie deficit. So doing empty stomach cardio in the morning and then overeating for the rest of the day will cause you to store excess fat.
For those that are already following intermittent fasting and skipping breakfast, you won’t have any issues mobilizing stubborn body fat. You will be oxidizing plenty of fat during the fasted phase, assuming you are in a calorie deficit.
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Why do you pull your pants down for every photo? Should i do this? Will it make my abs look better?
Do the exercises change up at all or do you do the same Workout A and B the entire program?
Is this program beneficial to a 17 year old wrestler?
Depends on what your trying to achieve. Warrior shredding program is to drop fat and build strength to get the lean warrior physique
Why is it a bulgarian split squat and not any other kind of squat in the program? and why so little leg work?
Because we build legs for explosiveness not for size
hello Greg ive been reading your articles and been following you on your facebook page!
I’m 5’7 at 137 lbs and im too weak to do weighted chin ups yet… what exercise should I substitute before I proceed to the chin ups? and what do you think is my ideal weight for my height..?
please help me out and thank you :D
Start with lat pull downs until your relative strength increases
Greg bro plz help man Im new to your YouTube channel an I want to get ur warrior workout but im skinny fat I checked ursurvey and it said warrior
1 will it make me to skinny I dont want to be super skinny just ripped deffind with good core
2 kind of embrassed but I was wondering a good exercise for my chest
Thing is I have puffy nipples dont know wat it is could it be gyno or fat can chest workout hrlp me with this?????
go with warrior shredding program. you’ll lose fat while build strength and some muscle.
Hey Greg, I’m 18 years old at 5’5 and 218 pounds so pretty heavy lol, would like to ask you 2 questions
1: whats the best free routine I could use for 2 months to get a body like Justin bieber?
2: when. I purchase a paid program what one should i buy?
hey greg,
im interested in doing the warrior program but need to add some size to my chest as it is a bit unproportional to other muscles. Will the warrior workout still allow me to put on muscle size in my chest even though i will be dieting in a calorie deficit
Thanks a lot
You can gain a little size. But often your chest will look better at a low body fat. So I’d say get lean first then worry about adding a lot of size to your chest.
Greg, can I do each workout twice a week?? Such as workout A- mon, thurs. Workout B- tues, fri.?? Is that okay??
No that will interfere with recovery in my opinion.
What would you recommend? Greatly appreciated. And would whey protein effect any results I’m getting as I’m using it for added protein.
Whey protein is fine but it’s not that filling. That’s the issue. On a diet, staying full is important. If you have no issues with hunger then by all means, enjoy your whey shake.
Greg if you had to guess what do you think Brad Pitt’s stats were for Snatch in terms of weight body, fat etc.?
Good question. 5’11-6’0 tall and I’d say 160-165 lbs and 8-9% body fat.
Hey Greg, I’ve been following this routine for around 4 months and have seen awesome changes in my
Right on dude! IF you want to send me a testimonial hit me up at gregoryogallagher@gmail.com
Hi, I have just been told that i have to do 3 months of physio, for a weak rotator cuff and iliotibial tract. So i can’t do weights until im recovered, however I have been told I can do cardio to lose fat, how should I go about doing this because i have alot of abdominal fat? Also im 6ft and 80kgs, so i am eating close to 2100 calories with a 5 hour intermediate fast in the morning, should I adjust this?
Well your diet sounds like it’s dialled in. It’s just a matter of activity. Go to the gym and be active for 30-60 minutes. Don’t overdo it.
Um…… how much should my heart rate be while doing cardio? resting its 80-90
Depends on what style of cardio you’re doing. If it’s low intensity maybe 60-65% of maximum heart rate.
Hey greg,
Really love your articles. I have been following you for awhile. I have a L5-S1 herniated disc, it is apparently acute but the pain has subsided after I fixed my posture and stretched the past few weeks.
I need your advice on how I can continue with working out with my current injury to assist in recovery and also build up my body back to what it was before or way better.
Please get back to me, sir. I am more than willing to be a testimony for you.
I would continue fixing your posture and doing beneficial stretches. I would also avoid any movements that aggravate your herniated discs.
Hey Greg, I’ve been doing the warrior workout and have noticed a nice change in my physique. The only thing i was wondering about was how to get some of my shirts to fit better. When i wear a shirt it’ll fit in the shoulders and the chest but it kind of just hangs down in the back, I’m not sure if I need to increase my back size or what. I think it might be that my shoulders need to be pulled but I have no clue. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Probably need a better fitting shirt.
why isn’t there any calf and back thickening exercises like cable rows in the workout?
Weighted chin ups do a pretty exceptional job filling out the entire back. When you add some face pulls, you can get very balanced back development. But this is a two day split for rapid progress so you can’t possibly do every exercise. You have to simplify things and do the essential.
Hi, Greg. I need some advice!
1. Can I work 2 days a week, because I am on a cal deficit and find it very dificult to recover from 3 workout days a week.
2. Doesn’t the incline bb press strugle the standing bb press as it is done first in the workout? If I want to focus on my shoulders, should I do the military press first when I am fresh?
1. Yeah you can do two days per week. I’ve done that and it works well for maintaining.
2. Yeah, but just because you’re a little weaker going into standing press, doesn’t mean you can’t build strength on your standing press. It just means that you’ll have to go a little lighter at first.
Hey, Greg,
I’m 6 ft tall and currently at 155 lbs body weight. For a long time I’d considered myself skinny fat, thus recently I was working on reducing my fat storage. I went from over 20% to 14% BF. I definitely lost some fat and became a bit more muscular, but it’s a far cry from where I want to be. In addition, the protocol I was following made me exhausted physically and mentally, there I was looking for a change and stumbled upon your website. Unfortunately, I can’t afford your paid programs, so I read the free content you provided, which is quite sufficient, I must say. Thanks for that.
However, my questions would be the following:
1. Do you think that the program outlined above is suitable for someone who is seriously lacking strength or I should include some modifications?
2. How long should I follow warrior physique protocol (BF % wise)? My concern here is if I’ll continue cutting, I’ll become extremely skinny.
3. I’m thinking to do some additional cardio + ABS on the resting days, thus should I substitute ABS exercises to something else on working out days or just skip them?
Thanks again for taking your time to address our questions.
James
1. Yes, of course it will work.
2. Get to 10% body fat
3. Yeah you can take out abs and do them on rest days. No need to substitute though.
hey Greg which would you say would be better this workout or the workout from the warrior shredding programme. Im cutting and want to get down to maybe 10% bf, i like this workout because you train everything 6 times in a month rather than 4 times with the 3 day split.
Good question. Both protocols work very well. When dieting, however, it’s helpful to hit the same muscle group once per week, since recovery is compromised. This isn’t’ always the case, and if you’re more in the beginner/intermediate stages, you probably can get away with training muscles more often.
Give them both a shot, and see what works best. You may make great progress on the two day split but then stall.
Hi Greg
Enjoying reading your guides and listening to the podcast. I am wondering where to start as a beginner?
Do you always recommend starting with ‘Base Level Workout’ from the Kinobody Blueprint? I noticed that standing press and power cleans from hang are not in that routine. You stress their importance above and here https://kinobody.com/workouts-and-exercises/a-lesson-from-bruce-lee-simplicity-is-the-key-to-brilliance/
I thought I should possibly start with the Warrior routine above as it is closer to what I have read in Mike Matthews book, being in the 4-6 rep range?
Cheers
Chris
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I’d suggest starting with the base level workout. This will add the most overall strength and muscle before refining it afterwards.
Thanks for the reply.
Is the reason for omitting shoulders from the Base Level because you can build more muscle and strength by focusing more on chest and back? A bit like what you mentioned about Chris Pratt’s workout for Guardians of The Galaxy?
Yes definitely. You can make very fast progress on core lifts as a beginner. I’d rather someone starting out, hit key lifts more frequently. You’ll still get stronger on shoulder presses if you’re adding 30-50 lbs to your chest lifts.
Hey Greg! I was wondering, is there emphasis on the chest or triceps during the weighted dips?
You’re going to work both hard!
If you are already with a low body fat percentage, and skinny looking to put on some mass, how do you go about with this routine? Diet and lifting wise
I’d suggest doing a different routine. Check out my daniel craig sky fall workout article.
Hi Greg, With the 2 sets of Bulgarian Split Squats, is that once with each leg forward? or both legs with 2 sets each?
Two with each leg.
Hey Greg,
I was wondering if I put water enhancers like mio or the powders that you mix in water then would it ruin my intermittent fasting? Thanks
As long as there’s no calories it will be fine.
Hi Greg – just purchased your “Warrior Shedding Program” and noticed that you have 3 workouts there (A, B, C) vs. the 2 workout structure above. Most of the exercises are the same, but organized differently into the 2 days. So, which workout structure should I follow?
Follow the one from the course – warrior shredding program.
What diet plan do you recommend with this workout routine?
http://shreddingprogram.com
Hey Greg I’ve noticed you have a workout approach to achieve the warrior physique and and the super hero physique but none for achieving the Greek god physique. Just wondering if you’ll ever post one on kinobody.
Check out my Daniel Craig workout.
hey I was just wondering if I do more weight lifting then 3 days through the week on the warrior diet, will it affect my fatloss and muscle gains? I’m just trying to make some newbie gains and loose some excess body fat.
thanks greg.
I would definitely suggest sticking to only three workouts per week.
why? will it effect my fat lose? if its about being hungry i dont have a problome with that,would love to hear the reason why
thanks!
Can’t find your original comment, what was your entire question?
oh sorry, i was responding to our respons of this comment:”hey I was just wondering if I do more weight lifting then 3 days through the week on the warrior diet, will it affect my fatloss and muscle gains? I’m just trying to make some newbie gains and loose some excess body fat.”and you said:”I would definitely suggest sticking to only three workouts per week.” so i was wondering why? why only stick to three times a week, what are the reasons, not good for fat lose? not good for mucele gain? just wondering
thanks
sorry for the confusion
Oh I see. Read this article right here mang – https://kinobody.com/workouts-and-exercises/the-magic-of-lifting-three-days-per-week/
thanks for the great article very informative, i was just wondering does this work if i ant to be smaller in size, see i gain weight very easy both muscle and fat and i have neve neen that skinny ripped look so what do i have to achieve that look?
It’s going to require a very strict diet.
so i have two month to get ripped i have a small stomach i was planning on doing ur worrior workout and on everyday that i dont have weightlifting i was gonna run 30-1h. im eating 1500 calories and fasting 16h like u said. is there anything else i should know. is my deficit to much? should i go down more?
any tips?
thanks a lot!
That looks pretty good! I don’t think you need to do any running. You could go for a 45 minute walk instead, that would work quite well.
Hey Greg,
I’ve noticed facial bloating/water weight in my face since taking creatine. Two questions..is there an effective way to reduce this and do you take creatine year round?
Thanks
Interesting… You can try a kre-alkyln supplement. Some people claim less water retention and bloat with it.
Hey Greg,
I’ve been seeing many ads for products like hyper fuel 9x and elevate GF. Have you ever used these products or know anyone who has? They supposedly help you to “drop immense amounts of body fat and gain massive amounts of muscle”. I’ve been considering to get the trail to use before I go on vacation in a few weeks. Your opinion?
If that’s the marketing then it’s complete bs. No supplements will ever do that.
Greg, I just finished reading your warrior shredding program. I’m 210lbs 5’9 1/2, pretty active 4-5 days a week. i’m working to dropping to 175lbs 8-9%bf. Your formulas have my macros around 2100Cal. Is this to high? I have my cabs around 215g. Will this take me there? It just seems to high of carbs and cals to call it a diet.
Think of it as more of a recomp cut. Meaning you’ll be supporting strength and muscle gains while you get leaner than ever before. And yes, you will definitely drop fat on these macros because you’ll still be eating at a calorie deficit.
Why slightly more reps on the split squats?
They respond well to higher reps. It’s hard to go really heavy on split squats without the movement becoming awkward.
Also, since i have muscle imbalances, what would be a good replacement for the weighted chin up that involves unilateral training? Possibly one armed supinated lat pull downs?
Do weighted chin ups as they are. If you need unilateral work then do some one arm dumbbell rows.
Hi Greg,
Since the end of September, I have been following your Kinobody muscle building program and have seen very decent strength gains thus far on all of my lifts. I have gained about 10 pounds (not more due to a brief period of weight stall) and gained a bit over an inch on my arms, the latter appears to be pure muscle.
However, since the first day, the measurements of my chest have been more or less the same (fluctuating between a quarter to a half of an inch above starting level) even though I have increased my bench press and incline press week by week and increased both by over 25 lbs in less than 6 months.
I have always thought my arms were lagging and my chest was my ‘best’ body part, yet it appears not to grow in size. What do you think I should do?
Thanks!
It could be that you’ve lost fat and that has shrunk your chest measurement but then you have also built muscle which has kept it the same. I’d keep building it up and you should notice it starts to increase. It could have also been a measurement error. I bet your chest and back has grown in size. Take some pictures for better progress. And keep bringing those lifts up.
Hey Greg, I own both of your pivotal workout programs – Greek God and Warrior Shredding program. I was wondering how to warm up before the workout? I’ll be starting the Shredding program on Monday so if you could just tell me how to warm up it’d be helpful. Thanks.
No need to do a warm up. All you need are a few warm up sets for your first couple of lifts.
How would I stop 2 reps short of failure while also pushing myself to be able to complete all 6 reps of, for instance, the incline barbell press? If I can only do 5, 4, 4, is that not by definition failure? Or am I supposed to feel how hard it is and stop if it seems I am approaching failure and not try the next rep?
Use the proper weight and you’ll be fine. Stop before you can’t complete a rep. That is all you need to know.
OK great, thanks! Is it fine to substitute incline dumbell and standing dumbell presses for barbell, or does the barbell give a different look that is more appealing? I have been doing dumbell work for a while now, mainly because a spotter is not usually available as I workout at home. I suppose on this program since I am not supposed to fail I could go with barbell.
Barbell just is easier to make strength gains because you can make smaller jumps in weight lifted, that is all. But you can do dumbbell instead if you prefer.
Hello Greg, thanks for all you do, I am a little confused, RPT for strength and density, or this strength concept you outline in this post
You can perform all of those exercises RPT style.
Would you say RPT style is preferable for all of these exercise? Or would you go RPT some of them and standard pyramid the rest of the exercises?
I like to do RPT for heavy compound movements and sometimes I’ll just do straight sets on other movements. Nothing is set in stone.
Is there anyway to incorporate power cleans into this workout?
It doesn’t really fit well on this routine.
could I add flat bench press with the workout ?
Yeah see how that works for you.
so 2 reps before failure is 90% of max weight?
It completely depends. But most people can do 3 reps with 90% of their one rep max.
wait what? I’m talking about 2 reps before failure of the rep range of 4-6 or 6-8. so would that be 90% of max?
Woops too many comment threats haha. Yah 90-95% of the max weight should get you 2 reps before failure. So if you can do 6 reps with 100 lbs, you can probably do 90-95 lbs for 8 reps.
Okay thank you Greg lol. Should I only go 2 sets for flat bench or 3 sets?
2 is perfect
sorry for so many many questions but I read a lot that upright row are bad for your shoulders, putting them in a bad position and mess up your rotator cuffs. is this true?
It can be. But if you do them as I do, wide grip and just pull to the nipples then you’ll be fine. Don’t go too heavy either.
Greg, I have commented before reviewing my topic but I think it has not been posted. You say it is possible to build muscle and lose fat, I agree totally. However, is it possible to GAIN weight in this procedure? I believe muscle is heavier than fat, so if the gains are equal you should be “heavier”. Nobody seems to tackle this idea, so I think this might be because it is impossible (being natural). So… What is your view in the matter? Sorry for bad english.
Well know, muscle is just more dense. But a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same. Fat just takes up more space.
Yo Greg could I do the strength and density workout from your greek god program and still do the warrior nutrition diet?
Yah those fit together well.
When doing intermittent fasting, is it okay to take 10 grams of BCAA’s before training, or would this break the fast?
Yes that’s fine
Greg, anytime bro aha but I was wondering which macros would you reccomend for a clean bulk? High carb does not suit me, gets me fat so I’m always trying to keep carbs as low as possible but its hard to get calories up to 2700 with low carbs :/ any reccomendations?
You can do about 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fat. So basically you’re keeping carbs and protein matched.
Don’t have a question, just thought I’d throw it out there; you’re a legend mate lol
haha thanks so much Ani!
Greg, turns out i do have a question. Im currently building the base for your warrior body and i need to put on clean muscle size however a 100grams of carb normally gets my stomach popping so i tend to stick to 50grams of carbs and high protien and look good that way. However its really hard to go above mantanance (2500)calories with low carbs so any ideas of how i can hit the target with low carbs? Im currently 6ft2, 83kg with roughly 15-17 percent body fat. Help brah? :p
Who cares if you’re stomach pops out a little bit. As long as you’re leaning down that’s what count. You should have no problem eating 100g of carbs in a meal. You will quickly adapt to it.
What bf% and weight would you say Brad Pitt was in Snatch?
8-9%
Hi Greg,
Love the site, looking for some guidance on what program be best for me. I’m 34 5’8 180lbs about 15% body fat. My goal is to be by summer 175lbs cut the fat down to where I can see some abs clearly. I have been in the gym for a year but just not getting gains I want but I have gone up in strength. What program be best for that? Warrior training or Greek God?
Definitely the warrior shredding program. You’ll need to drop about 10-12 lbs of fat to get cut.
Hey Greg
This workout looks great and suitable for my goals! But if one were to aim for a little more muscle mass than just the natural frame which this workout implicate, what what I do to tweak it for that purpose? I have thinner arms and smaller shoulders and I would really like them to come up to spare with the rest of my body :)
Well I go much more in-depth with things in my Greek God Program. I’d actually recommend doing the shoulder and biceps specialization program from that course.
Hey again,
I bought the Greek God program and it looks good! But I was wondering about the biceps specialization. I says just beneath the outlined workout:
“Notes on the workout
For this workout you will add an extra biceps exercise to the end of the workout. Keep the rest between 60-90 seconds on incline dumbbell curls”
But you put the incline dumbbell curls in the middle? Is that a mistake or am I supposed to do all the biceps work right away?
Follow it as it is outlined in the actual workout. You are to hit the legs after.
Thanks!
Also, I’m on a ketonic diet right now to shred fat (which I think is the best diet for that purpose), so I was wondering if it’s better to stick with the Warrior Physique Training during the diet and begin the Greek God Program when rounding it up, or just go straight for the Greek God Program?
You can do strength and density from greek god while cutting.
Hey Greg,
I would love to incorporate a few bodyweight/gymnastic movements into this routine. I would like to add handstand/hspu work, l-sits, and ring frontlevers or 1 arm rows. How would you go about adding these to the program? I was thinking this, but let me know what you think?
a- incline press, press, dips, hs/hspu work, l-sit
b- ring pullups, 1 arm ring rows, curls, hanging leg raises, and legs (plyos)
Looks good Justin!
Greg
Your brother has like the ideal physique I have chased for years
I could adopt that “look” for life since I’m of small build, boyish (well I’m just 19) and I’m obsessed with proportion, I’d rather look skinny but with great proportions like a painting or a statue than big but uneven.
What do you think your brother BF% is?
I’m 5.9 so I guess i should weigh 146 or something and I am 162 right now
So maybe, I just need to lose fat at this point as you don’t need lot of muscle for that look and I have some muscle under the fat or maybe I will have to build some, not sure.
I’m using your shredding program, do you think I can achieve my goal fast enough?
Thanks
I don’t really know where you’re at, but if you drop the fat and get to around 8% body fat then you should be pretty damn close! At most, you may need to focus on building muscle for 4-6 months afterwards, but that’s only if you’re on the slimmer side now muscle wise.
How long would it take to put on pounds of muscle while doing the warrior physique workouts?
You can gain about 5 pounds of muscle over the first three months.
Can I do a lean bulk using this routine? I’ll be using 5 – 8 rep range or 6 – 10 rep range. I’ll be doing 3 sets of RPT on my first two exercises and 2 sets for the third exercise. I’ll also be doing Rest – Pause Training for the accessory exercises. Could I add more accessory work, but I want to focus more on strength and bring my lifts up, because I know it’ll result in real muscle.
Yes if you do those things you could use this routine for lean bulking. You could add one extra accessory exercise to the workouts, that would definitely be tolerable.
You’ll probably need to build about 15 lbs of muscle and bring your body fat down to 8% to be at the warrior physique. This will take at-least 6-12 month to achieve.
which do you pref now, weighted chin ups or weighted pull up? and is the weighted pull up standards still the same as chin ups?
I prefer weighted chin ups. Both hit the lats very well, but chin ups hit the biceps harder.
are the pull up standards the same as chin ups?
Pull ups are a little harder so no.
so what are the standards for chin up? sorry for all the questions greg.
Elite level would be 70% of bodyweight attached for 5 reps.
“Repetitions will be primarily lower as to avoid sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Therefore most of the muscle gains will be accrued from increases in the contractile filaments of the muscle, aka myofibrillar hypertrophy. When limiting muscle growth it makes sense to target this type of hypertrophy because it will have a direct influence on strength and power and it will give the muscles a harder and denser look”
I have low testosterone and have a very small frame, should I keep to the same rep range as described?
Yes. Low reps will be effective for you as well.
Hey Greg!
Hows it going?
I have been doing your warrior shredding program (with slight adjustments due to a hernia I have), and I have a question for you…
At the moment I am doing
A (chest/shoulders/triceps)
Incline Press 2 Sets RPT
Shoulder Press 2 Sets RPT
Incline Flys (10-15 activation set and 4 more of 3-5)
Lat Raises (10-15 activation set and 4 more of 3-5)
One tricep exercises 2 Sets RPT
B (back/biceps/legs)
Cable Rows 2 Sets RPT
Incline Dumbell Curls 2 Sets RPT
Bent Over Flys (15/12/10/8 Same weight)
Hammer Curls 2 Sets RPT
One leg exercise
My question is if I should add an additional exercise like flat bench to my chest day? I have an underdeveloped upper chest. Or would that be to much? I am fairly happy with my arms but would like more definition, so was planning to just stick with above routine keeping the weight heavy and low reps….
And lastly, I have been doing this program for a while now and was wondering how long before I should switch it up and if you have any good substitute exercises I can try?
Thanks a million in advance man!
Loved all the vids from LA!
John
You can go without flat benching and you’ll be fine. You can switch it up once the weights start to stall. Until then, keep rocking it out!
Could we do flat benching? Or do we have sub out dips for them?
Yes that’s fine.
That’s fine if I add flat bench with the dips in?
You can try and see how it works.
Great article Greg! I really like Reverse pyramid training. Could implement that for the workout above ? (still working in the 3 sets 5-8 rep range).
Yep for sure!
For your cardio, do you still recommend the hiit training for 15 mins then switch to 30 mins of low – med steady cardio? Or should we just do low – med 45-60 min cardio and do 20 min of cardio after strength train ?
Well there’s no need for HIIT. I prefer just to do lower intensity cardio on rest days. It’s up to you.
Could i substitute dips with skull crushers? or would you recommend some other type of exercise.
Yep, you can do that.
Hey Greg started following this today :) Why does Visual Impact focus on both sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar whereas you do away with the former? Peace. Adam.
I do use some sarcoplasmic training in some of my muscle building workout routines. I like to mix them together in some of my programs. But for the warrior physique and dropping fat while maintaining muscle, there is no need for pump work. You’ll get great muscle development with heavy strength training.
[…] in a RPT method as outlined here 'Three Day Split RPT' Routine | RippedBody.jp and here Achieving the Warrior Physique Part 2 – Training | Kinobody Fitness Systems (I'm quite aware that it'll take me years, not months, to come anywhere close to the pictures on […]
Greg, would you recommend this workout or your current one that you posted on Fitness Baron? for cutting. after finishing bulking with your super hero training?
Both will work well. The fitness baron one is a three workout split, which I find is good for people who have been training for a while.
Training for a while? So like 4 months of your super hero workout then switch to the fitness baron one?
Sure
Could i do higher reps on the first 3 exercise like 10-12 instead of low reps 4-6? if so should i do more sets than 2-3? like 4 sets. I train at home with some limited weights so low reps 4-6 is not a option.
Yes you can go higher in reps but eventually I’d recommend getting your hands on a heavier set of weights.
Chin-ups (hands facing each other) dou you mean like doing them like the guy in this picture?
http://www.pullupbarsg.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/9-closegrip-chinup-483×350.jpg
No. You need parallel bars to do this variation.
http://www.mensfitness.com/sites/mensfitness.com/files/2010/images/bigswitch/Parallel-Grip%20Chinup%201.jpg Like this?
Yes
I am currently 6’1″ and around 165 lbs with soft muscles. I am looking to get to about 175-180 with harder muscles and more definition. Would you recommend this workout or the superhero workout? Thanks.
This routine is more geared towards cutting. You can do the superhero routine to build muscle and get bigger while still staying dense.
Hello Greg,
I’ve been following this workout for 3months and a half now, and I’ve managed to get leaner while gaining a little bit of muscle. Do you think I should change my workout now or keep it till when?
Regards.
Awesome progress. Yeah after 3-4 months I like to mix it up.
What workout routine do you advice me to follow from now on then?
Check out the Daniel Craig Sky Fall kinobody workout or the kinobody dual pyramid workout
Could i add in some dead lift in this routine?
Yes you can do them on workout b. Just 1-2 work sets should be enough
should this routine be done this way?
Week 1
Monday: Workout A
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Workout B
Thursday: Rest
Friday:Workout A
Saturday:Rest.
Sunday: Rest
Week 2
Monday: Workout B
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Workout A
Thursday: Rest
Friday:Workout B
Saturday:Rest.
Sunday: Rest
Yes, exactly!
should this routine be done this way?
Week 1
Monday: Workout A
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Workout B
Thursday: Rest
Friday:Workout A
Saturday:Rest.
Sunday: Rest
Week 2
Monday: Workout A
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Workout B
Thursday: Rest
Friday:Workout A
Saturday:Rest.
Sunday: Rest
Week 1 = ABA
Week 2 = BAB
So on week 2 monday and friday should be workout B and wednesday should be workout A
Hey greg. could i include latera raises in this routine?
Well the wide grip upright rows hit the lateral delt hard. You could do lateral raises instead if you prefer.
In my gym, The least amount of weight I can add to the bar is 5lbs (2.5lbs/ side). Can I add just one 2.5lbs plate to one side but not add to the other side, so that I can keep small increments to progress on?
No that would throw the balance off. You can purchase 1.25 lbs plates online.
Would you say that this type of workout system is the best for when you’re cutting?
Yes, definitely!
Would you aim to increase your weight in small increments each workout or just try to maintain a weight while you’re cutting? I know the idea is to lower volume in order to prevent burnout while you’re cutting.
Depends. If you’re a beginner or intermediate you may be able to make strength gains throughout the cut. If you’re advanced just focus on maintaining.
Hi Greg,
The sort of physique i’m aiming for would be like Stephen Ammell’s from the TV series ‘Arrow’. Would
that be considered a warrior physique, superhero physique or a hybrid of the two? Thanks!
And is this pull up routine his character does in ‘Arrow’ the coolest you have ever seen!!! Mega props for this guy to pulling that off!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43FMVVTx8-I
Yeah it’s very awesome!
I’d say he’s more around the warrior/greek god size. He’s about 180-185 lbs at 6’1 so he’d have to gain 10-15 lbs of muscle to have the superhero look. Great show and I’m actually going to reach out to him in the next few months to do a interview with him. A family friend of mine is actually his god father, true story haha.
What is the highest possible rep range you can do without sacrificing strength gains/ continue making consistent strength gains?
8-10 reps is probably as high as I would go. Make sure to rest 3 minutes between sets to limit fatigue. On some isolation movements I may go up to 12-15 reps, mostly for lateral raises, rear delts and rope extensions.
This is basically my build, broad shoulders, kind of a small waist, my chest isn’t that big and my arms are a decent size. Right now I’m doing a 5×3 on almost everything except for the front part of my shoulders and my traps. I’m a little bigger, but the picture makes my shoulders and traps look flat
http://instagram.com/p/d53V30qiWy/
Hi Greg, I love the website. I have a question about the cardio though. Right now I think that I’m overall pretty lean, in the gym whenever i do lateral raises or work my shoulders you can see striations or what looks like when my side shoulder turns into the front part of my shoulder and a cut in my chest right under my collar bone. I want to get leaner and shed some fat on my abs. I’ve been told that I’m “built” even though I’m only 15 years old and weigh 105-110 lbs. Whenever I do the cardio my heart rate goes up pretty high, like when i start it’s sometimes at 160 after I’m finished lifting weights. My heart was at 200 bpm after cardio tonight. I was going about 3.5-4.0 mph the whole time, started at 2.0% incline and then every minute I upped the incline by 1.0-1.5% until it maxed out at 15%. Is my heart beating too fast in order to mainly burn fat?
Wow, that’s a super fast heart rate! I would keep the incline around 2-8%. No need to go higher than that.
Could I use the rest pause method on the lateral raises for this workout like the one you show on YouTube?
Yah just on isolation lifts. I wouldn’t use it on the compound movements.
Can i sub out rows on shoulders for lateral raise?
Yes! You can do lateral raises instead of upright rows.
Greg, so for this workout you need 2 rest days inbetween sets? ‘
I’m somewhat of a beginner to workouts that aren’t on videos, ie p90x. I came across yours and just picked it up. Did workout A yesterday, and worked me out pretty well.
So it would be something like
AXBXAXB?
Yes exactly!
Greg, thanks again for all the insight that you provide! When I do low intensity cardio at the end of my lifting days I usually start at a 3.0 incline and the pace is between 4.0 and 4.2 and I up the incline by 5 every 2 and a half minutes. Does this sound about right? Or is there a different more effective approach? Thanks again
I would increase by 1-2 degrees every minute or two minutes. Increasing by 5 is a lot.
Hello Gregory ! I understand the chinups are one of the most important exercises to build a strong and good-shaped physique so I wanna ask :
When I chinup I do it with palms facing me and thumbs placed together with the other fingers. I cant change up my grip much because my left hand non-thumb fingers are not normal and cannot bend because of an accident. So sometimes my right arm(elbow,forearm,shoulder) hurts and the pain is light,feels like the inside of my bones hurt.My right lat is bigger than the left one.My right lat also activates faster than the left one. I think all of these are related somehow. Can you help me out a bit ?
Okay I understand. For you I would definitely recommend using wraps. This is what people use for deadlifts and shrugs so their grip doesn’t die out. For chin ups it will take the pressure off your fingers slightly. If that still hurts I’d recommend doing an alternative exercise.
Thanks ! I am already working on it with the wraps. I’ll see what I can do.
Hey Greg, the site just keeps getting better and better, cant wait to see the finished superhero physique. I got a question about sarcoplasmic vs myofilbrillar. You told a guy earlier that he should stick with Hollywood bulk to get bigger first before this workout. Im a little confused because I though sarco was a temporary fluid build up so if you train with that until your the size you want will you just loose it if you stop for awhile. I would like to put on about 20 lbs of muscle…eventually, but if it is just something that will go away if I stop there is no point. Id rather stay in the low reps and be small but strong. so should I train with more volume till im close to the goal weight and then switch to RPT or can I just stick with a few key exercises for 4-6 reps. currently I am 5 11” and 155 about 11% bf
Well most of the size from the hollywood bulk will be from real muscle gain. Also getting some sarco work in will also help deliver nutrients to the muscles which will help with overall muscle growth. So it’s definitely ideal when bulking and eating at a surplus. In a deficit it’s just too much to recover from so strength suffers. I would focus predominately on building strength with RPT. This is where 80% of my muscle growth comes from. On a couple stubborn muscle groups you can add some more rep work. So for shoulders you might add an additional exercise for high volume, standard pyramid style or rest pause style.
Could it be effective to combine this type of training with phase 2 of Visual Impact if we want to add a bit of size as well as maximum density? For example 3 sets of 4-6 sets of incline barbell bench followed by 5×5 incline dumbbell bench and 5×5 dumbbell flyes.
Yah that could work well.
Hey Greg awesome article! I love your stuff! Thanks to you I got ripped and got to sub 8% bf levels before I went to away to Los Angeles for month and stopped working out! Now I’m trying to get back to where I was before I left! I have a couple of questions though!
#1: How long does it usually take to have a fully developed upper chest? I’ve been working on mine for about 5 months now, and while I’ve seen definite improvement, it still isn’t where I want it to be!
#2 If I want to focus on density while still gain a small amount of mass, do you think I could combine this routine with phase 2 of Visual Impact? For example 3 sets of 4-6 reps of Incline Bench Press followed by 5×5 incline dumbbell press and 5×5 dumbbell fly. I feel like that wouldn’t be over training too much if I’m in a calorie deficit 5-6 days a week
#3 For maximum effect should I be counting macros if I’m training like this? I’m 5’10 and 160 lbs, about 11-12% bf, and I calculated my macros as being 1920 cals, 160g protein, 50-55g fat, and 200g carbs. Should I keep this constant throughout the week? Even on rest days?
1. Yah it will probably take 1-2 years to get there to be honest. I’d aim to build up to doing incline dumbbell bench with 100 lbs DB’s for 6 reps or Barbell Incline Bench with 225 lbs for 6.
2. Yah that’s probably too much if you’re dieting. Keep it low volume and when you finish your cut you can try that. Remember, you won’t be building muscle while your cutting. So keep the volume low.
3. Yes, that looks good! I’d keep that constant and maybe do 1 high calorie refeed per week. On rest days aim to get about 40-60 minutes of walking or 30-40 minutes of cardio. And those macros look solid.
Hi Greg,
Just 4 more questions about this awesome workout!
1. Can regular Barbell squats be done instead of Bulgarian Squats?
2. Im a bit worried about developing chicken legs if I don’t develop my calf muscles as well, so can I throw in some calf raises into the mix?
3. In your pic you posted you have the awesome ‘V’ abs. Do you recommend doing the side to side knee ups as well, or do hanging leg raises alone achieve this?
4. In your pic you successfully brought out ‘all heads of the muscles’ where there is full development. With just one exercise per muscle group ( e.g. just barbell curls for biceps) will full development be achieved? I know a lot of people like to do at least three exercises per targeted muscle. Why do people say like, do preacher curls, hammer curls AND barbell curls just for one muscle group? Is this necessary? Thanks!!
P.S Your website and podcasts absolutely rock!
1. Yes!
2. Yes! You can do them at the end of workout B
3. Yes, you can do abs movements on rest days, 2x per week.
4. That’s what I would call fuckarounditis (martin berkhan’s term). It’s very much unnecessary. Get strong on the core movements and you will grow very nicely.
Glad you enjoy my shit bro!
Hey Greg,
My stupid ass gym doesn’t have a belt to attach weight to so I cannot use additional weight for weighted chin ups. There is a lat pull down machine though, so would replicating chin ups on that with a hands facing towards me grip suffice? Thanks!
Buy a belt and bring it to the gym! Trust me, it’s more than worth it.
Do you prefer dumbbell or barbell curls? Aka which one do you find gives the best gains?
Thx again I started this workout last week and its got me loving going to the gym!
Awesome Matthew!
I like both. My primary biceps movements are standing barbell curls and incline dumbbell curls. Both movements offer unique benefits.
Hi Greg,
In your pic you posted, you have developed well rounded lats on your shoulders, your lower chest is also well developed etc. With the workout you posted for Warrior physique, would that workout achieve a similar physique? Because you have not included lateral raises, or standard flat bench press…?
Plus, what are your thoughts on Dead Lifts? Are they needed to develop an aesthetically awesome back? Or are chin ups alone capable of developing that ‘tapered’ look to the back, where from the side angle, its narrower at the waist and then does a ‘V’ outwards. Thanks!! (Im worried that with just chin ups, my back would not be fully developed!)
Well upright rows and face pulls will hit the shoulders very hard. Dips will also hit the lower chest. So it’s definitely a complete workout. No deadlifts aren’t necessary. Chin ups will build all the back development in the world. This is provided that you train them properly and build up to sets of chin ups with 100+ lbs.
Hi Greg,
I’ve been following this diet and workout for about a month and an half now, and I’ve managed to lose some pounds and get some very nice results actually, however I’ve encountered a problem which I can’t get rid of: those “love handles”.
My stats at the moment are 167,5 pounds and I’m 5’10 tall.
This is really driving me crazy as everything is going as planned except I can’t get rid of this accumulated fat on this specific zone.
I workout 6 times a week, 3 cardio (with abs workout) and 3 lifting days.
Any help is really appreciated…
Regards,
Diogo.
Basically it’s your bodies natural fat distribution pattern. Sounds like your love handles is the last place that you will lose fat from. You’ll just have to continue leaning down and when you get to the single digits (6-9%) you’ll get rid of them.
Hi Greg,
After looking through all your workouts on here, i’ve finally decided to stick to the Warrior Physique workout. I was going back and forth, back and forth, deciding which one to do. Like one week I did the Ryan Gosling workout cause I just watched ‘Only God Forgives’ lol, then I switched to Super Hero workout for another week etc. But In my opinion the Warrior physique exudes that lean, athletic look which I think is the most impressive.
Anyway, I just wanted to ask, Im currently 164 pounds at 16% body fat. I would like to get to around the same condition you posted in your pic of around 170 pounds at 6-7% body fat (by the way, you definitely did better than Christian Bale’s physique in American Psycho!). Assuming I am right on point with my workouts and nutrition, how long do you think it would take to achieve this? I know it would vary on genetics etc but generally speaking? Thanks.
Well you can drop about 2-3% body fat per month. So I imagine getting down to 7% body fat will take 4 months or so. However, you will also need to build up a good amount of strength. Depending on your training experience you may require an additional 6-8 months to gain muscle.
That’s awesome!! Alright I will follow the strength and density routine in the ebook twice a week by alternating workout A and B!
Thank you so much buddy!
Hi Greg,
I’ve read all your programs here on the site plus I’ve bought your ebook (great job mate!), and I know that I should train three times a week, but I’ve a problem.
I’ve to deliver my dissertation in December and I’m freaking busy right now, so for the moment I can hit the gym only twice a week (usually tuesday – saturday or monday – friday).
Is it possible to adapt any of your routines to my particular situation? For example, do you think that doing your strength and density routine twice a week would be ok, or maybe it would be better to follow a routine with more volume, since I’ll train with less frequency?
I’m 1,81m tall, 71kg and currently my bf is 14%. Lifting since one year and a half.
My goal is to get down to 10-11% bf, while continuing to increase my muscle mass (and keeping my diet in check). I’m not interested in obtaining the superhero’s size, I’m aiming at the greek god physique.
Thanks for your help, and sorry for the length of this post!
Hey Jack! You can still make gains on two workout sessions per week. It will just be a bit slower, that’s all! Strive to hit personal records each week and focus on improvement. I’ve actually made gains with 2 workouts per week before. The good news is that it is fantastic for recovery.
That’s awesome! Alright, I will follow the strength and density routine twice a week, alternating workout A and B.
Thank you very much, buddy!
Greg, do you know what is the diet that abercrombie models have to follow? I knew that abercrombie made specific diet plan for their models and i was wondering if u ever talked about it with one of these guys ….
Oh,and another question … what do u think about rusty s post eating to increase your metabolism ? Would u do it?
Thanks man, you re my fav trainer !
Hey man!
Haven’t looked into the diet abercrombie models follow. I doubt that all the models follow the same diet when preparing for a shoot. A lot of those guys may surprisingly stay very lean naturally from just being health conscious, working out and watching their calorie intake. A lot of them can probably eat a ton and stay lean.
Will this routine be good for maintaining/ building strength & muscle while training hard for basketball?
Yes!
Disregard my question above, I have disovered your kick ass cardio and abs page and will be doing that on non weight days….are there substitute exercises to replace the levers and hanging leg raises If i am not quite strong enough to perform those yet….?
You can do abs wheel roll outs on your knees instead of levers. You can do hanging knee raises instead of straight leg raises.
Greg,
What do you think about doing the v cut abs workout on cardio days instead of after weight lifting days?
That works well!
Hi Greg,
i spend 5 months cutting on warrior training, last 2 months i changed my diet to recomp and modified this workoud:
added one set to every exercise and moved rep range to 4-9.
Now im going for bulking, my question is will this be good enough training for bulking? I know you have here better programs for bulking. But i realy like warrior training, i have everything setup. Focusing on getting stronger on chinups and shoulder presses. Dont realy want to change training much :(
Is this going to be at least somehow effective?
thx
If you switch to lean bulk calories and continue this workout while focusing on increasing the weights every few weeks then you will add solid muscle. I actually built quite a bit of muscle with warrior style training.
Greg,
Thanks for all you do. I just wanted to run a scenario by you…my gym does not offer a barbell incline bench option, so I am trading that for incline dumbbell bench, is that as affective? Since I have a job, I am planning to eat my first meal around noon, then do the workout around 5, and eat my next meal post workout and maybe a protein shake for a 3rd meal before bed…does that seem like a good plan for getting results? Any changes you would make? again thanks
If you don’t have an incline barbell bench accessible then I recommend doing flat barbell bench as your main movement. Just do 2 sets. Then hit 3 sets on incline db bench. This will work better because you can make better strength gains on barbell movements because you can make smaller jumps in weight.
I would recommend some slow digesting protein as your last meal before bed. Cottage cheese 2% works great.
Hey Greg!
First of all great article, but I have a question
I have a type of body that gains muscles very easy. But I am not that tall (5″7) and I really dont want to gain more muscle,
My goal is to have a natural atheltic body (low % of fat) and I dont need my chest and arms to get any bigger! Do you recommend the warrior workout?
If you’re dieting it’s very unlikely you’ll gain much muscle. In fact, once you reach 8-10% body fat, you’ll probably look fantastic. I wouldn’t change anything with this workout.
I am planning to combine it with intermitted fasting, it has worked out pretty well for me so far.
Some workout websites promote low weight and high reps to get lower FB %. What is your view on this?
That’s actually beyond stupid! Dropping your body fat is all about diet. Cardio comes into play but to a much smaller degree. And lifting weights should be to maximize strength and muscle size. We don’t lift weights to burn calories, that is beyond stupid and ineffective.
How do I do the Laterals? No pause between reps or with pause?
Don’t pause between reps. Maintain a good clip.
I’m 5″10 16 years old and after not lifting for a year I went from 130 pounds to 145 pounds from April-July. In the past month I’ve cut that down to 135 and am at 8% body fat. My goal is to keep the ab definition I have and eventually get up to 150 pounds. Should I start to clean bulk now or continue to cut for a while?
I would suggest lean bulking now! 8% is very lean
I’m 5’8 how much should I weight at this height and what should my body fat percentage be to have a warrior physique?
155-160 lbs and 7-8% would be the warrior physique. 165 lbs would be the greek god and 175 lbs would be the superhero.
Hey, I’m currently following this warrior workout along with a diet to lose body fat and gain muscle, my stats at the moment are 175lb and I’m 5,9″ tall.
I lift on Mon/Wed/Frid + a 30min cardio at the end, I walk with a slight incline and usually lose 350 calories there.
On Tue/Thu/Sat I do full cardio workout + your abs workout. I usually end up losing 650-700 calories there (10min warmup + 15min HIIT + 30min at steady rate and then abs exercises)
.
I managed to lose 3lbs in a week already but the problem is that I don’t know how much body fat I have, therefore I don’t know for how long I will have to go with the cutting.
1) Can you tell me how many more weeks will I need to reach 10-12% body fat?
2) Since I’m very weak with bodyweight strenght, what exercise would you suggest me instead of weighted chin ups?
For suplements I’m using whey whenever I need the protein, L-carnitina on pre-workout to help losing fat and besides that I also take CLA twice a day and green tea capsules (twice a day, one of them is on pre-workout)
Thanks in advance, if there’s something that needs a change in your eyes tell me!
Oh just a little update, looks like I’m around 18-19% body fat at the moment.
How many time do you think it will take me to reach the 10-12% set point at this rate?
Maybe about 6-10 more weeks if you’re losing 1-2 pounds per week.
There is no way in hell I know how long you need to diet for. You could probably ease off the cardio and burn only 400 on non lifting days and just 200 on lift days. You’ll know when to stop dieting when you are lean enough.
Hey Greg, first of I just wanna update this a little and give you a massive thanks for everything that you posted, it helped me a lot so far.
I’ve managed to lose around 4lbs this week and without that much effort, just controlling my macros and going to the gym 6times a week.
It looks like my body fat also dropped to 15,6% however this numbers might not be 100% correct since I measured with a tape and on a website.
I would like to ask you two things about the workout:
1) On the dumbell curls, you said 4-6 rep. Is this 4-6 rep per side or is it the total?
2) Same question about the Bulgarian Split Squats. Is it 6-8 per leg or the total?
Regards!
1) 4-6 reps per side
2) 6-8 per side
Awesome job on dropping 4 lbs. Keep up the work.
Hey Greg,
Which of your workout would you recommend for me? I am 5’10 and weight 145. I’ve been following your Hollywood Style bulk for about a month (http://www.kinowear.com/blog/bulking-up-hollywood-style) but i wanted your opinion if I should use your Dual Pyramid Training – Superhero Physique, Warrior Physique or stick with the Hollywood Bulk.
I’m trying to stay slim and bulk up at the same time.
I would do another month of the hollywood bulk then you can do dual pyramid training. This would work best for you because it sounds like you need to focus on building more muscle.
If i am 5’6 and around 15% and weigh 150 what would my measurements and weight be for warrior physique.
Ideally you would be 150 lbs with a 30″ waist. So you will probably need to drop 10 lbs of fat and build 10 lbs of muscle.
Greetings! Let me ask you two questions on Workout B.
Firstly, are those 2 sets of Bulgarian Split Squats for only one leg or did you mean 2 sets for each leg?
Secondly, what are those Cable Rope Face Pulls aimed at? If I put on enough weight to be able to keep those 10-12 reps, I’m losing balance so I can’t keep standing on my feet. Too low weight is, on the other hand, enough for 15 or even more reps.
Thanks for your help.
2 sets per leg!
You can prop your foot up against a stable surface so you don’t get pulled forward. I do them on a lat pull down machine and switch the bar for the rope attachment. I then prop up my foot on the seat.
Hey Grey,
Love your site, I visit often.
Is combining this with The Kick Ass Cardio and Abs Workout a good plan to lost body fat, build abs and continue to build other muscles?
Thanks
Yes! You can do the kick ass cardio/abs routine 2-3x per week on non strength training days.
Hey Greg,
Do you recommend doing Super Sets or Tri Sets? Or should I just do each one individually with your rest times? If I work out with Super sets or Tri sets, I can finish workout A or B in 20-25 mins (minus the cardio). I’m not sure if that is normal because I’ve only been weight training for 2 weeks now.
No don’t do supersets. You may be able to finish the workout much faster but you won’t be able to make the same level of strength gains. Therefore I’d recommend doing each exercise individually and striving for more weight or more reps each session.
how long i should do this program before switching it up?
Three months then you can change up the exercises or reps.
Hey Greg, recently I watched the movie Pain and Gain and was really impressed with Mark Wahlberg’s physique. This article http://www.menshealth.com/ripped/mark-wahlberg-i-ate-12-meals-day-while-training-pain-gain on men’s health states that he ate 12 meals a day. Is that really necessary? I’d like to put on a good amount of muscle as him but the guy looks like he’s put on a little bit of fat too and his abs aren’t all that impressive
He made a drastic transformation. He needed to gain a bunch of weight in a very short period of time. Therefore he used huge calorie surplus’s and accepted a decent amount of fat gain. I would definitely not recommend this strategy if you are concerned with body fat and you want to have a life.
Ok thanks Greg. I’ve been working out on your Strength and Density program 3x a week for the past 2 months and have seen some good gains in strength but my muscle mass hasn’t increased by too much. In addition, I’m also following your Cardio for fat loss routine 2x a week. With the cardio, I feel like I’ve kept my body fat maintained which is good. However, is there anything that I’m doing wrong that is preventing me from seeing the gains that I’d like to see?
It will come! Aim for 0.5 lbs per week. Ensure you are eating enough food to be at about a 250-300 calorie surplus.
Hi Greg,
I’ve been following this workout for about 5 weeks now, paired with the diet from your ‘get shredded’ program – they seemed to suit each other well. The only issue I’m having is while my strength is increasing in most of the exercises my inc bench has actually dropped. What would cause a loss of strength in just one movement?
I’ve considered the possibility of lack of carbs or protein but wouldnt this affect the whole workout and not just the bench? Is it possible my chest just needs to rest for 7 days between workouts rather than 4-5? Any advice you can give me? Apart from this one issue I’ve had great results so far.
Cheers
If you’re getting leaner and all of your other lifts are increasing then that’s awesome! Sometimes the bench can be very sensitive to drops in weight, even pure body fat. The heavier you are, the more leverage you have when bench pressing. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Hey man.
I’ve been thinking about starting the Shrink Wrap Phase, by the end of May/ Beginning of June and was wondering:
Would you recommend that I stick with this workout and just do higher reps every set or should I focus on the workout that you mention in your Shrink Wrap article?
//Phil
If you want to do a shrink wrap phase I’d recommend this workout -> https://kinobody.com/2275/dual-pyramid-training/
Hey Greg.
I’m not really there yet when it comes to BF, so The Shrink Wrap phase will have to wait a little while longer,
So I’ll stick with this workout.
But can I switch it up? Can I RPT the compound movements and SPT (6 sets) the Rows and Face pulls and still get nice results?
Yes, for sure! I like to do SPT on shoulder isolation movements and sometimes triceps work. If you’re still cutting then 4 sets of SPT would be sufficient (12, 10, 8, 6)
Hey Greg,
Is this workout recommended for skinny fats? Thanks.
Yes, in conjunction with a diet.
Hey,Greg what would bo some good stats for the warrior- physique?
I can currently:
Incline bench: 135 pounds for 6 reps
Overhead press: 110 pounds for 5 reps
Chinup: 200 pounds for 4 reps
bicep curl: 80 pounds
(recently shifted from standard fitness/hypertrophy training)
Also what exercise would recommend to someone with weak grip strength?
Chin ups, rows, curls and hanging leg raises will build up your grip strength. If you really want a strong grip consider buying a pair of fat grips to use for pulling/curling movements! Amazing workout. You can also work on towel grip pull ups.
Incline Bench: 1.2x bw for 5 reps
Overhead Press: 0.75x bw for 5 reps
Chin up: 0.5x bw for 5 reps
Hey Greg – update on my progress. I’ve been tracking my nutrition for exactly 1 month today. My body fat percentage has dropped from 12.5% to 8.7% (probably more like 9, according to my calipers). My lean mass has gone from a high of 153 to 150.6 today. My fat mass has gone from 18.5 lbs to 14.3. My weight has gone from 172 to about 165. I look and feel much better.
Question – should I continue to cut or would this be a good time to start a really clean bulk? My goal is 160 lbs of lean mass for a body weight of 175 lbs. I’d like to be at or below 9% body fat.
My BMR is 1845. My calories on my lifting days have been near 2000-2100 and my off days between 1600-1800. My protein is way up (170-220g / day) and my carbs for the last few days have been very low. I find that having my carbs up near 180-200g / day just doesn’t work for me. I feel fine around 50-100g of carbs. I up my carbs on lifting days and cut it way back on my off days.
I’m thinking of staying with the cut until May 1 and then upping my calories to start the bulk. What do you think? I’m shooting for 175 by late August.
Michael
Awesome job dude! Feel free to send me some transformation pics to my email – gregoryogallagher@gmail.com
As per your goal, 8.7% is very lean, way to go! Definitely you can continue for another 2 weeks until May. By then you should be closer to 7%. That would be a terrific time to start clean bulking.
Thanks Greg! I’ve sent you a couple of pictures so you can see the difference. I think its pretty dramatic. I’ll send you a more recent pic to show you exactly where I am.
I’ll start my clean (super clean) bulk May 7, 2013. I should be around 163 by then, and down to about 13 pounds of fat. Do those macros look ok to you? (protein high, carbs low and fat around 55-70g /day).
Again, my goal is 175. I’ll keep in touch and send you some pics of where I end up. I’m using your kinobody strength system!
Hi Greg,
I was wondering if you would recommend the same ab workout if I wanted to build deep looking abs? Do I need to add weight exercises to create those deeper cuts? Thanks in advance.
Yes you can do the same abs workout. As long as you’re doing challenging movements for between 8-15 reps you’ll build muscle.
Wouldn’t it be be better to have this program like this:
Workout A:Chest/biceps/legs
Workout B: Back, shoulders, triceps
I don’t see the point with doing biceps after back and triceps after chest when you want to gain strength in all exercises. I’m doing the program right now and see great strength gains in the bench and chinups, but the progression is slower on the other exercises
That is a very good question and that would be an effective split, however there is one big problem. Let’s say you did chest, biceps and legs on monday. On wednesday you are going to do back, shoulders and triceps. The problem is that your biceps will still be recovering and weakened so your chin up performance will suffer. Then when you go back to chest/biceps/legs on friday your triceps will be recovering and fatigued so your pressing power will be negatively affected.
I had actually tried that split in the past and found my strength gains to suffer and it was a grind to try and make gains. This is what has led me to the split in this article and my muscle building program. I guarantee these will be some of your best upperbody strength gains. If you’re having a hard time making gains on the other exercises, consider taking a 5 minute break before progressing to them. You won’t be as strong as if you did them fresh but you should be able to make consistent gains on all movements.
Hi Greg. What’s your opinion on doing Visual Impact Phase 3 style lifting for all muscle groups to make them denser and defined, but for shoulders implementing high volume pump training to keep adding width to them while i slim down the rest of my body.
Cheers
That’s a solid strategy and that can work. Shoulders definitely require high volume pump work to really grow.
Hi Greg,
With excersises 1,2 and 3 what’s the benefit of keeping the weight the same for all free sets, rather than doing a reverse pyramid like you recommend in your superhero workout? does one give greater strength increase than the other is it just a different way of approaching it?
I really like RPT. You can do the first 3 exercises of this workout in RPT fashion. I find better results with RPT more so in intermediate to advanced lifters. Beginners can usually hit a heavy near maximal effort set, rest a few minutes and nearly do it again.
Hi Greg,
Awesome website your have.
I got a question concerning bcaa, you Mention to take 10 gram bcaas when training fasted, but do you also have to take bcaa AFTER your workout?
And if i may ask another question concerning rest periodes when working out:
I keep the rest periodes beween sets around 45 seconde but how much time schould there be between exercities?
Thank you for your answer
Sorry in the last sentence that should be exercises.
Just take BCAA prior to training. If you’re eating a meal within 2 hours after finishing your workout then there is no need for post workout BCAA.
For heavy compound movements you should be taking long rest periods. The goal is to continually lift heavier weight over time. If you’re only resting 45 seconds this won’t be feasible. I rest 3-4 minutes between my compound movements and strive for more weight or reps. On isolation movements you can rest 45 seconds.
How much time prior before a workout should I take BCAAs, immediately or like an hour?
10-20 minutes before or right before is fine.
Greg, thanks for the nutrition help! This is the end of my 2nd week of cutting. My strength is still there, and my energy levels are good. I find that I really have to watch my carb intake – if its too low my energy just drops!
I started at 5’10 and 172 lbs with about 19.5 lbs of fat (13-15% body fat). This morning I’m 167.3 with 16.5 lbs of fat, for a 9.9% body fat reading (according to our bio impedence machine). My lean mass when I started was 153 lbs and right now I’m at 150.8, which isn’t too bad. I look better and I’m still putting more weight up on the bar. Should I adjust my macros or is my rate of loss looking good? I think I’m closer to 10-11% body fat, so I’d like to cut another 2 pounds of fat and then eventually get my lean mass up and my bodyweight back up to 175, with under 10% body fat. My current macros – 1850 calories on rest days (non lifting days) and 2200 on lifting days. 40% protein / 35% carbs / 25% fat.
Thanks Greg!
5 lbs in two weeks is a little quick. That said, it’s normal to lose a couple extra pounds the first week of dieting. So I’m assuming the first week you lost 3 lbs and the second week 2. You could probably increase cals by about 250 and be in an optimal deficit. I’d recommend brining the carbs up by about 50-60 grams and see if you can lose 1-1.5 lbs per week.
Dear Greg,
If I do 5 reps and 3 sets will I still build some muscle? I want to look leaner and I know that if you end up building lean muscle you will also lower your bf%. I know that I wont build much muscle size (which I’m ok with) by doing a 5×3 but I want to build dense muscle and definition/strength. So I guess what I’m asking is if I can build pounds of dense muscle that will add on to my weight on the scale. I’m 14 and only weigh 113 lbs right now but am at probably 10% bf so that’s why I’m asking. Thanks
Yah 3 sets of 5 works for building strength and muscle. If you increase the weight on a regular basis you will add muscle.
Hey Greg, can I use Reverse Pyramid training in conjuction with this program? Say the first one or two excersices?
Yes, for sure! That is my preferred method.
Thanks! and by the way awesome physique you got!
Thanks! Forgot to ask, should I use standard RPT(4-8 reps) or use RPT within 4-6 like you recommend in this program?
4-6-8 should be good.
One more question Greg. I’m at 172 right now, and between 13-15% body fat (though I’d guess closer to 14%. Bio-impedence machine reads around 12% and calipers around 10mm (13% – I’m 31). I do strength training 4 days a week and do cardio / abs two-three days a week, with one pure rest day. My BMR (basal metabolic rate) is around 1900 calories. I’m following your ‘shredded’ diet and I’m sticking to 1500 calories/day keeping my protein up around 200g/day, with carbs and fat at 25% and 25% of my calories. Does that sound about right? I’m upping my carb and calorie intake on my training days (M/T/TH/FR) to around 100g of carbs and about 1800 calories. At this pace, how long should it take me to get under 10% body fat? I’m super active.
That’s a very low calorie intake. With all that training I feel that you are going too low in calories. I think you could do 1800 calories on rest days and 2200 on lift days and lose fat at a decent clip.
Awesome, thanks for the info. I’ll step up the calories and up my carbs.
I forgot to mention my goals: 175 pounds and under 10% body fat.
Also, wednesday / thursday are the same push / pull splits but I drop all the weight 10-15%. So heavy Mon / Tues and lighter Thurs / Fri. I rest the weekend and Wednesday and I add 10-15% each week. I do abs and some cardio another 2 days a week.
Michael
Hey Greg,
I really like your site. A lot of good information. Currently, I’m 5’10” and about 172. I’m a fitness trainer and I have access to a cool InBody machine. I have about 153 pounds of lean mass and about 19 pounds of fat, so I’m between 12-15% body fat, depending on my hydration, etc.
I’ve gained 25 pounds in the last 4 months (I have Crohn’s disease and had a bad episode, and dropped down to 150 from 161 – where I was last summer. (I was 161 with 10 pounds of fat – I was really lean, but skinny and I’ve been trying to add mass). Currently, I do a 4 day split. Monday and Tuesday I go heavy, adding 10-15% per lift for 3 weeks, then backing it down on week 4. Monday is all pushing (back squats, front squats, push press, barbell bench press, dumbbell flys, and triceps extensions) and Tuesday is pulling (snatch, pull from the floor, SLDL, dumbbell curls, barbell row, lat pull down).
I’ve been on a 500 calorie surplus, but I just started your 500 calorie deficit to cut my bodyfat 3-5% and hopefully maintain my muscle mass. My question is – I usually workout at around 11:30am and then work at night until 8-9. What time should I be eating? Right after my workout? Something before? My energy levels are pretty high – should I fast through my workout? What do you think?
Thanks
Hey Michael!
It’s really up to you, how you decide to set up your meal schedule. Personally I a fan of fasted training if you are lifting in the morning or early afternoon. So I’d recommend 10g of BCAA before your workout and 2-3 meals in a 6-8 hour window. So this might mean having your first meal at 1pm and another big meal at 7pm. Conversely you might eat at 1pm, 5:30 and 9:30.
Greg, thanks for the reply! I’m going to try working out fasted. I’ve done it before and I liked the experience, though I’m going much heavier these days. I was a little nervous that I’d crap out, but I felt really good today. I’m enjoying feeling hungry again!
I’ll try supplementing with BCAAs.
Hey Greg,
I am 14 years old and am 5’3. I weigh around 104 lbs. and am at 18% body fat. I would like to get down to 7% body fat by the end of May/ beginning of June and have the warrior physique. Is this possible? I have been eating one small meal for lunch and one medium/big meal for dinner. I don’t know if I should fast because I am afraid it will stunt my growth. Is this true? Plus for the cardio days during the workout should I do the kinobody interval training and V abs workout? Thanks for your help.
To get down to 7% body fat will take about 5 months. You can eat breakfast, I’d recommend opting for something light. Maybe a bit of protein and fruit. Ex: cottage cheese or eggs and an apple.
Hey Greg,
I’ve been doing the Warrior Workout routine you posted, but i feel like I’m not doing enough. Do you think I’m not using enough weight, or is this natural since you do say there is a decrease in volume? I was debating on adding a few extra sets or exercises, to reach at least 8-10 sets per muscle group (similar to the 5-6 sets per exercise discussed in VI Phase 3). Is this a good idea or should I be patient and stick with the Warrior Routine you outlined? I definitely like working out muscles that work together the way you set it up, I just want to make sure I’m not dogging it or over working. I know the focus is Calorie deficit to get Beach ripped, I just want to hit the strength training effectively. Thanks again man.
I know it’s tempting to add more volume but it’s really not necessary. While in an overall calorie deficit you’re not going to be able to recover well and build muscle with high amounts of volume. With this routine, you may actually find that you can gain strength a lot faster.
You speak a lot about macro nutrients but I was wondering on your take on daily/mult/fish oil vitamins that are heavily pushed at a lot of health food outlets?
Fish oils are generally a good idea. 2g per day of combined EPA and DHA. Nothing wrong with a multi vitamin but usually each vit/min comes in very small quantities. If you can check to see what you’re deficient in then you can just get the appropriate amount for what you need.
Hi Greg
I was wondering whether this routine is good for building muscle mass, is it?
The volume is on the lower end, this routine will help add strength and density. To build muscle at a fast rate you need to mix in more volume (higher reps and sets with short rest periods).
For the 4-6 rep exercises should you jump right into a heavy set or start with 2-3 light warm up sets. Nothing too heavy just to get my muscles ready
I do 2-3 warm up sets for my first exercise. Usually 5 reps, 3 reps and 1 rep. Adding weight and working up to my heavy set with each subsequent warm up set.
Hey Greg, in order to target delts instead of traps, should we do barbell upright rows with a wide grip or narrow grip?
Wide grip and pull only up to the nipples.
Just when I was getting used to the Interval Cardio Training discussed in VI lol. So 45-60 min of low/moderate intensity as opposed to the interval training? I remember one article you wrote you had suggested a 5-10 min warm up, 15 min interval, and 30-45 min low intensity (or something similar). Is this a good option or just stick to the 45-60 min of low intensity cardio? Thanks man!
Both options work. It’s really more about the calorie burn though. Currently I might do 20 minutes of intervals ranging from medium to high intensity. Then I will perform 15 to 20 minutes of steady state (jump rope or elliptical usually).
In this workout, we no longer do the v abs workout? We do the hanging leg raised and dip bar instead one or the other every workout? Dip bar and leg spread?
Thanks!
Yes, this is to build your abs but not as specialized as the v abs workout. You can do the v abs workout if you’d prefer.
Is there anything I could do instead of face pulls? My gym doesn’t have a rope pully
Seated bent over flyes.
greg, after complete this workout which would I follow next?
You can do the superhero routine – https://kinobody.com/2275/dual-pyramid-training/
Greg, you talk a lot about doing intervals and things like that for cardio as well as legs what sorta things do you do? thank you
Yah currently I’m doing cardio 3x per week! Definitely great for keeping the legs fit, increasing stamina and speeding up fat loss.
I usually do something like this
1. Treadmill Intervals with 2 degree incline: 2 minute walk at 3.8mph / 1 min run at 6-12mph x 6 (first interval at 6 and increase it each time until I finish off at 10-12mph)
2. 15 minutes of jumping rope (double unders, running in place, criss crosses, jumping rope in squat….)
3. Sometimes, I’ll finish off with a 5-10 minute cool down walk or elliptical.
Hey greg, to achieve this look, i understand that body fat would have to be low. So would you recommend me doing the Insanity workout? or should i just stick to the way of lifting you suggested.
Stick the the lifting routine! Low body fat is diet mostly.
I have been doing superhero workout since November, I believe I am leaps and bounds from where I was before. I am just thinking of switching it up to get down to 10-12% bf, just didn’t seem to be getting there with the superhero workout. Thinking of trying warrior.
6’2″
214 lbs
35-36″ waist
Want to get down to the bw that I said before just kind of lost with the amount of calories I should intake and the macros. Studying your site and guidance for a while just confused.
Joseph the biggest factor to getting lean will be diet. You will need to determine your maintenance needs and then eat 500-700 calories under that. A safe estimate for calories for fat loss is 12 cals per pound of bodyweight. If you’re losing more than 1.5 lbs you can increase cals and less than 1 lbs you can reduce cals.
Appreciate the reply will give it a shot and I am going to pick up the e-book ASAP. Love all the positive inspiration and great wisdom. I look forward to replying next time with a success story of my own.
How long should I do this workout for? Looks, body fat and everything. Also after this workout which should I do? I’m currently at 5’11 – 158lbs thank you
You can do this workout for 2-3 months. After which you can make adjustments and use different exercise variations or set and rep schemes. As long as you are progressing then there is no need to change the routine.
Hey greg,
How do you get rid of that last inch or so of fat around the belly button and lower back ?
You need to lose a few more pounds of fat. No other way then eating at a caloric deficit.
Greg,
What do you recommend for warm yo sets?
I’m assuming the 3 sets are the 3 working sets so should you preform 1 or 2 warm up sets first? If so how long of a rest between warm up sets and how long between first working set?
Another question if I have really underdeveloped legs would it be more beneficial for me to do front squats or zercher squats in place of the BSS?
Yes you can do two warm up sets for the first exercise of a muscle group. Rest up to 2 minutes between warm up sets and 2-3 minutes before the first work set. You can do back or front squats in place of BSS.
Ok sweet one more question…would doing 2 warm up sets on incline be enough for chest shoulders and tries or should I throw in some warm up sets before all three?
Just warm up on incline! The other exercises you can go right to your work set.
Ok thanks again.
I will implement RPT for the first two or three of the workout. My questions is what rep/set scheme would I use for that?
4, 6, 8 or 5, 6, 8
Hey Greg how would you go about specializing a body part with this routine? Like in my case, my back?
You can do another back exercise after chin ups. For example cable rows or bent over rows.
Would you do the exercises with 3 sets of 4-6 or 4 sets of 8-12?
3 sets of 4-6. Didn’t you read the article? If you do RPT then I’d recommend doing 4, 6, 8.
Oh my bad. I was actually referring to the adding of bent over rows or cable rows for specialization work, sorry for the confusion.
For rows I like to do shorter rest and higher volume.
Ex: (weight you can do 12 reps)
12, 10, 8, 6, 6
Rest 30-60 seconds between sets and use the same weight for all sets.
Greg was this the workout (or pretty similar) to getting the look you have in the photo above?
Yes provided that you diet hard as well and lose any excess fat.
For this workout how days in the week i do it for? do i go heavy or moderate in this work out program?
I explain everything in the article. You’ll be working 3x per week alternating between workout a and b.
Greg, awesome article as always if I would like to implement RPT in this workout like you’ve suggested, which excersise would I use it with? Thank you
First 2 or 3 exercises of each workout.
So, would it go something like Monday-workout A, Wednesday-workout b, Friday-workout A. The next Monday-workout b, etc…?
Exactly.
Hey Greg,
In your workout, most of the exercises involve using heavy weights. Won’t this cause abdominal strain and therefore cause hernias? How do u suggest we prevent hernias?
Lifting heavy weight won’t cause hernias! As long as you warm up, use proper form and use the correct weight you will be fine.
Thanks Greg,
Even if an exercise is being executed with the right form, won’t there still be an increase in intra-abdominal pressure due to overhead presses etc? Also do you suggest using weight training belts?
I think you’re a little paranoid about getting a hernia. Have you had one before? Are you predisposed to injury?
If you’re completely healthy and injury free I think you’re letting your paranoia get in the way of your strength and fitness goals. You have very little to worry about. If getting a hernia was a serious risk from lifting a heavy weight overhead then the human race would have never made it this far.
Hey Greg,
I have a question regarding body fat percentage. A couple veins around my oblique/v-cut area are bulging a bit. I was wondering if you could give me an estimated range of what my body fat percentage could be? Thank you in advance.
It’s probably pretty low. Anywhere from 6-9%. I’d need to see a picture to have a closer idea.
How’s it going Greg, just curious you said your working your way back down to 8% body fat for April so would you be using this workout plan or the muscle building program workout? And which workout do you feel gives you the best results and why?
Yah I’m doing something very similar to that workout. Not hitting legs at the moment, there pretty damn big! So i’m doing cable curls instead of bulgarian split squats.
Depends…… This workout I find is amazing for strength gains. The superhero dual pyramid is awesome for muscle gains but the higher volume makes it a little more difficult to make strength gains.
Thanks for getting back to me. I got another question, you got started into the whole lifting weights by visual impact muscle building now if you could start over again and had a choice of using your new muscle strength and density instead and wanting to go for a body like ryan reynolds or brad pitt in troy what do you think you would use to get those results? Oh and you still had all of the knowledge you have today about lifting..I know its a weird question but i just want to know haha
Well I actually started lifting weights before visual impact. For a number of years actually. But visual impact is where I stepped up the training and also started dieting. If I had to start all over again I would start with an upper/lower split 3x per week. After about 6 months of consistent training and building up the base I would then go into the strength and density routine in my program. I would do a 6-8 month superhero phase after every 3 months of the strength and density routine.
I’ve heard that upright rows are really bad for your shoulders; can you suggest any alternatives which do not include overhead presses? Thanks
Well if you do upright rows with the technique that I described they are very safe for the shoulders. When you bring the elbows up very high towards the ears that puts the rotator cuff in a high risk position. However, I recommend stopping when the bar is level with your nipples. This keeps the shoulders in a safe position the whole time. As well, it maximizes work on the deltoid while reducing work on the traps. An alternative for this movement would be dumbbell lateral raises.
Thanks mate.
Hey Greg,
Being relatively inexperienced to weight training, I was wondering how many chin ups should you be able to do before adding weight? Just 8 or 9, and then add weight each time? Or should one build up to being able to do more chin ups before adding weight? I’ve seen several people suggest this on the internet.
Also, when we’re doing 5 sets of say, 5 reps, for other exercises such as bench, etc, should I be using my 5 rep max, or maybe 80% percent of that, around an 8 rep max? Opinions on the internet seem to widely range as well.
Thanks for the help
If you can do 8 chin ups you can start adding weight. Now i’m not saying slap a 45 lbs plate to you. No, rather you can start with 5 or 10 lbs and continue adding 2.5 lbs to the belt each week. This will allow for much faster progress then trying to build up to 15-20 bw chins.
For this program you’re only doing 3 sets of 5. If you count warm up sets then it might be 5 sets of 5. I’d recommend using a weight that you can do for 6-8 reps and stop 1-2 reps shy of failure. Rest 3 minutes between sets for the compound movements. Alternatively you could do Reverse Pyramid Training and go all out on your first set and perform 2 additional sets reducing the loads each time and performing 1-2 additional reps than the set prior.
Good article Greg, you sure know how to burn fat :) Keep up the good work!
Hi greg, so you don’t do HIIT anymore? especially sprints? to build up nice legs
I occasionally work intervals/sprints into my program. I will probably do them more in the spring/summer time. I think they are very effective at working the legs. In terms of fat loss though, they are not necessary or superior to alternative forms of cardio, especially when strength training is in place.
Hello!
I still dont know… I know that you are supporter of nice lean body with hollywood look. So do I. But I still need to get mass because I am little bit skinny. And here is where it gets complicated. I am confused. What is proper way to build mass? I bought Visual Impact muscle building program from Rusty Moore… He says that if you want to build mass (phase 1) you need to do higher reps with lower weights (45-60 seconds beetween rests and so, 4 sets x12 reps)…
But all guys in fitness where I live say that if you want to build mass you need to lift heavy. (Including personal trainer said that to me).
Can you please tell me what is correct way to build mass? And, is Rusty program good? I am doing it for over 1 month now.
Most people need to build muscle, even for the lean hollywood look.
Good question. Visual impact is a great program and it will deliver awesome results. This article will explain everything you need to know regarding low and higher reps in regards to muscle growth.
https://kinobody.com/2275/dual-pyramid-training/
Greg i’m doing you’re program!!
I’ve one question.
I should do incline bench press or standard bench press? Now have 41 inch chest.
Do you think it’s better incline bench(150 lbs) till i can do 190-200 lbs and weighted dips (currently at 53 lbs)?
I want a chest of 44- 45 incline bench is enough to grow my chest(also lower chest)?
I’m 5.10.
Yes, do incline bench. It is a superior exercise.
Get your incline bench to 225 for 5 reps and dips to 135 for 6 and you should be close to a 44″ chest.
Hey Greg,
I was wondering how you would go about in achieving your warrior physique in the picture at the top of this article using your new Muscle Building book. Would you recommend just using the strength and density routines? Or would you just go straight into the specialization routines?
Do the strength and density routines while dieting. For the diet I’d recommend eating at maintenance on strength training days and about 20% calorie deficit on the other days. For non strength training days aim to get 30-45 minutes of exercise. After getting lean, you can bring the calories up to maintenance (recomp), and do the specialization routines to address your physique strengths/weaknesses.
Hey Greg, I dont understand how often do you perform this workouts, I mean, can you givme a week using this workouts? like on monday workout a on thursday workout b and then wait till the next week? or how can I do this workouts?
I explained it under ‘Warrior Strength Training Routine’
You will be lifting 3x per week alternating between Workout A and Workout B. Ex: Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
and then the next week, I will do the same? or I will do workout B on sunday then workout A tuesday?
You keep alternating. ABA then BAB
What weight amount would you suggest for this program 5rm? I know charles stanley has a great myofibular training program but he suggests a much higher amount of total reps at 10rm so I would imagine this would only work using a weight that is pretty darn difficult (subjectively obviously)
I take each set to the brink of failure, about 1-2 reps shy of muscular failure. When I don’t think I’ll be able to get another rep I will rack the weight. If you’re gaining strength you will be able to build muscle.
Hey Greg,
If I were to take Ephedrine pills with intermittent fasting, how many times a week should I take them, how many mg, and should i take them on cardio days or lifting days? considering I stick to intermittent fasting every day of the week
Ephedrine caffeine is pretty extreme! If you’re making good progress without it then I’d continue doing so. If you are strapped for time or have hit a plateau then you can take EC. I recommend taking 200mg of caffeine with 20-24mg of ephendrine taken in the morning and again 4-5 hours later. You can take it up to 5 days per week. The other two days can be your carb refeeds where you eat closer to maintenance.
Is it ok to incorporate grilled shrimp into your diet? Because its got lots of protein and little fat.
Yes, of course!
Hey Greg, great article.
Just wondering if you cud give me some advise. I’m 18 and time is very tight at the moment, especially to fit gym in. I’ve started gyming in the mornings, but even then is a rush. I do 4 exercises, each 2 sets in the 4-6 rep range. Each session takes 15 minutes and then i run home ( about 12 minutes ). I do this 3 times a week. Am I gyming enough to see good results? Also, for me the easiest way to practice IF is to fast until five in the evening and then down a protein shake before supper. This puts my first meal a good 11 hours after my gym session. Is that a bad idea? is that too long to wait?
Thanks a lot :)
Do the best you can.
Yah 11 hours after your gym session is very catabolic. I wouldn’t go more than 6-8 hours after waking before having your first meal. Give yourself a 6-8 hour eating window.
What is a good diet routine for this workout.
Read part one.
Hi Greg great article!
You say that i can increase 5 lbs after i can do a 6-6-6 but for exercise like upright rows ?
12-12-12-12 and then add 5 lbs?
Thanks
and for upright rows what is the goal weight to lift for a great shoulder width?
I haven’t determined any goal weights for this exercise. For this exercise you want to keep your grip wider and bring it up just to nipples height. With that form I’d say that 80-100 lbs for 12 reps would be really good.
Yes, that’s the idea.
Greg i’ve purchased your program!
Great stuff as always!
I’ve one question.
For progressive overload what’s better rep increase (like in this article) or 5 lbs increase (method explained in your program)?
For me it’s best the reps increase because it saves time changing plates.
What do you think?
The weight method as explained in my program will lead to better and more consistent strength gains in the long term. You can use the rep method as explained here and when you hit a plateau switch to the weight method.
Hey Greg,
Awesome articles lately. You’ve really built up your site to something extraordinary. I was wondering if there’s any plans on putting up a routine that’s weights/bodyweight movements combined? Be cool to see how to combine both in one routine, since I haven’t really seen too many routines online that combine the best of both those worlds into one routine. Thanks for all the articles Greg!
Thanks dude! Here’s an article where I tackled that very issue – https://kinobody.com/2230/incorporating-bodyweight-training/
Hey Greg awesome articles!
I just listened to your second podcast and had a question about it.
You explain a diet plan with high carbs on training days and low carbs on non training days.
Would this be a good diet plan to lose fat and maintain muscle for 2 months?
I am doing IF from 7pm till 12pm(7hour eating window 17 hours fasting)
Mon:High carbs + full body
Thue:Low carbs, light cardio
Wedn: Maintenance + abs
Thur:High carbs, Full body
Fri:Low carbs + cardio
Sat: (working in a supermall, so probably eating at maintenance + cardio in late afternoon)
Sun: 24h fast
Full body= Pull ups, bench press, handstand push ups, a curl/pushdown and a lateral. (5 sets each)
Would you recommend this to lose 8-10 pounds of fat?
I am 198 lbs 5’10 at around 15-17% body fat
Thanks allot dude ur doing a great job!
Yes that can be an effective strategy. To ensure maximum muscle retention I would recommend getting a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. So around 150-160g of protein.
Hmm i just did my first full body workout today and idk it felt really strange i had this feeling i didnt had a effective workout (i usually train 5 times a week, each day 1 muscle) how would you change my routine to still get an effective workout while losing fat?
maybe like you’re doing in this article, doing chest shoulders tri one day and back bi leggs the other training day?
what would you suggest?
I don’t think full body workouts are optimal for intermediate to advanced lifters. You can’t dedicate enough volume to each muscle to sufficiently encourage muscle growth. As well, training a give muscle group ever other day is too frequent. This is exactly why I favor the two day split, training every other day. Give it a go and I’m sure you’ll make amazing gains with it.
Yo. I have a quick question about my shoulder width. I use lateral raises in stead of Upright Rows, do i need to increase the weight that i lift for this iso movement or is it the progress in the shoulder press that makes it grow. i have always stayed at 10-15 lbs for lateral raises so if i get stronger in shoulder press and hit the lateral muscle with hypertophy does it increase my shoulder width or do i need to progress in the lateral raise exercise?
10-15 lbs is pretty light for lateral raises. I use about 30-35 lbs but doubtful I’m 2-3x stronger than you in this exercise. I like to perform is with dumbbells in front of the body at the bottom and arms slightly bent. Hit’s the lateral delt much better this way.
You will need to either increase weight or reps continuously if you want your shoulders to get bigger from this exercise.
Will Hanging Leg Raises and Dip Bar Leg Raises be enough to get good abs on this program? What about adding in Renegade Rows for obliques, on what day would you fit those in?
Yes it will be enough. You could add renegade rows to workout b.
Greg would this program be good for losing any,excess fat gained during your Greek God
workout?
Yes if you combine it with a diet.
Hey Greg to achieve the look you had in the pic from the Summer of 2011 would you suggest doing
Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 4-6 reps with 2 mins rest between sets
-OR-
Incline Barbell Bench Press: 5 sets x 5 reps with 60 secs rest between sets?
I’m not interested in gaining a substantial amount of muscle beyond how you look in that pic. Thanks!
Do the first one as I outlined in the article. 5 sets of 5 is excessive volume, especially when dieting. Your goal should be to increase strength and lose any excess fat through diet and cardio.
Hey Greg, I LOVE working out. If I were to want to do a 4 day split (T, Th, Sa, Su), could I follow this and throw in a light bodyweight day on Sundays or would it be best to take it off? Thanks
Yah a light bodyweight workout on sunday would be fine.
Great article Greg! Gotta ask though, how come no RPT for the workout?
For the warrior physique you don’t need to push each set as hard. I actually recommend stopping a couple reps shy of failure. This will build strength without as much muscle increases.
If you want to implement RPT with this workout you can do that. That would be an effective strategy as well.
Hey, I plan on entering the medieval rush which is a 5k obstacle run here in North Dakota. I was wondering which workout method would be best for that. Probably this one with HIIT training on off days? Thanks
Yes that would be an effective plan!
hey greg, would intermittent fasting be effective in a program similar to this or perhaps the superhero workout? and what type of caloric surplus/deficit would I use if trying to lower bf% by 4%, but not wanting to lose the precious little muscle I have?
I am a big proponent of IF and like to use it regardless of goal – fat loss, muscle gain or recomp. As long as your getting in the proper intake of calories and macros then IF can work for any goal. If you’re trying to lower your bf by 4% I would recommend using a daily 400-600 calorie deficit. This usually works out to be 12 calories per pound of bodyweight assuming you get one hour of physical activity per day.
thanks for the reply! Im relatively new to this site, came upon it a week ago, and I gotta say, I like what I see! I’m considering buying the muscle building program, but before that, I wanted to expound on the previous question and nutrition in general.
I’m 6’0 and 164 last I checked. I estimate my bf to be anywhere around 15%, but distributed unequally on my body so not a pleasant look. Id like to know, if I buy the program and start immediately, would IF be necessary/pragmatic, with a 250 calorie deficit? Or would i be better off sticking to a small surplus for the first month or so (to go higher volume and make better gains), and then using a calorie deficit?
At 15% I would recommend cutting down to 10-12% first. Take it slow, 500 calorie deficit and 1 lbs of fat loss per week. You’re looking at dropping down to 156-158 lbs. At 10-12% body fat your insulin sensitivity will be better and it will be easier to build muscle without adding fat and looking pudgy. Intermittent fasting can be followed regardless of goal – fat loss, muscle gain, recomp. It’s a lifestyle strategy that can simply eating and also has additional physiological benefits.
thanks!
I’ve always read that you have to eat more than maintenance to add muscles, but do I have to eat more than maintenance on resting days in order to build muscles? Or can I cut cals on resting days and add on training days?
PS. Thanks for inspiring me to lose over 17 pounds of fat the last couple of months although I have hit a plateau. I can’t seem to get below 187 pounds. Fasting maybe?
Thanks for all the wonderful information you are providing us, I’m very thankful for your approach and the way of thinking you have. Ok, I will stop rambling before you start pouring some tea in my cup.
You don’t necessarily need to eat above maintenance to build muscle. Many people make great muscle gains on suboptimal diets. Eventually further muscle growth requires one to eat more food. You don’t need to eat at a surplus on rest days. A small deficit is perfect fine and may have some additional benefits when combined with higher calorie days on training days.
Fat loss will be slower at this point. Don’t try to lose more than 1-1.5 lbs per week. Track your calorie intake, aim for 10-12 cals per pound of bodyweight. If necessary, add 45 mintues of cardio 4-5x per week.
Yo next month i’m gonna start following your 2 day upper body muscle density routine. From the pdf that you let us download from subscribing. I am currently doing a hypertrophy phase for 12 weeks then going to the density for 12 weeks. Is that optimal ?
Yes that sounds like a good plan.
Greg, I am a touch confused about the misinterpretation of HIIT pertaining to EPOC, GH release and such when it accompanies low volume strength training. Is your take on its effectiveness in line with Rusty’s or has there been some substantial evidence against GH flush used to release free fatty acids? Please help me out…my cut is coming soon and I am interested in peak effectiveness…
Well Rusty’s new program (visual impact cardio) addresses the very small epoc of interval training (15% metabolism boost). Rusty also doesn’t put as much emphasis on boosting growth hormone in this piece of work. Doing interval training before steady state cardio is effective for fat loss, especially at the final stages. However, it’s not the hgh boost from intervals that makes it effective but rather increases in epinepherine and glycogen depletion that enhance fat mobilization.
Greg, thanks for the great routine. My delts are horribly under developed. Would only the standing barbell press work or do you recommend needing some Lateral work as well to give the broad shoulder look?
Definitely need some lateral work. The upright row variation included in this workout will hit the lateral head very well.
I think it’s the best body I ever see
so greg ur gonna make a 2 part series like this of the ”greek god” body aswell? or only for the warrior physique
cheers
You know it!
F*ckin awesome :D , I am aiming so for the greek god body :D
This is great! Thanks! Would you recommend protein shake after the strength training workouts?
I don’t really think that’s necessary. As long as you’re having a meal within 2 hours after training there will be no need for immediate post workout nutrition. Having a shake after training can be counter productive because the calories usually don’t effect appetite much.
Excellent work, Greg :D
I have focused on maximal strength for 2 months…now I’ll go for myofibrillar hypertrophy. I use bodyweight exercises only. My question is- should I hit handstand pushups after a day of one-arm pushups? Or should I take a break between them?
Take a break between them.
What about gaining weight? My BF is around 8%, should i still do some cardio or not? I’ve been trying to gain weight for about three months now and got up to 174 lbs. Now I’m back at 166. My routine looks alot like your Alan Ritchson workout and I haven’t done any cardio the last few months.
Glenn
Given that your body naturally stays very lean and you have a hard time gaining then you probably don’t need cardio. Keep in mind, for muscle gain you only want to gain about 0.5 lbs per week to ensure no fat gain.
Thanks for the reply! And yeah I know I shouldn’t gain weight faster than a pound a week, but I’m sure I shouldn’t lose weight.
pound per week is too fast. Half a pound
Okay thanks!
Thanks for the Ebook, like the concise nature. I bet you have talked about it, but is there a major difference between using the bar, barbells and the machines? I am asking because I am doing the inclined presses and decided to use the barbells. It is safe for me to get out of a jam compared to the bar – since I do not usually use a spotter.
And I take it you are just not a fan in using machines? Will upping the weight compensate, or does the machine neutralize too many muscle to make it worth it?
I favor barbell because you can make much smaller progressions in weight lifted. So people tend to get a lot stronger and bigger with barbell for that reason. Dumbbells are idea for assistance exercises but not for your main movements that you’re trying to get really strong. Machines should only be used for the last exercise on a muscle group when you’re really trying to burn it out.
I always work out alone also. So when it comes time to do barbell bench press I use a smith machine (the rack you would use for squats). Just drag a flat bench under the rack, raise your bar and booyah, you’re ready to do some bench press. If the bar comes down too low and you can’t lift it back up right away, don’t worry. Just rack it for a few seconds, regain your strength and eventually you’ll be able to lift it back up, or at the very least worm your way out since you won’t have the bar so close it’s choking you.
If you stop a rep or two before failure then you should not need a spotter. I’ve been lifting for 5 years, most of the time without a spotter, and I’ve never had any issues. If I’m going to max out then I’ll ask for a spot but that’s once in a while.
But is using a smith machine ok, or it is not the same thing?
Free weights are preferable but smith machine is okay.