Lightning WOD Squad Workouts. Week 16

Welcome to yet another week of Lightning WOD Squad!

If you're new here, this is a weekly series of 10-20 minute workouts. Because the workouts are only 10-20 minutes (depending how long you rest betwixt sets), we are able to train (resistance train) daily!

Super exciting.

These daily lifting sessions are short but can be quite intense if you push towards failure. 

The main benefit of this series/program, is to maximize consistency and "check-ins" –– that is, getting ourselves in the gym, garage, or backyard each and every day for a healthy pump to encourage strength and muscle gains, gently, but effectively.

These workouts, by themselves, may not be "optimal." But, when completing a string of short, intense workouts with quality effort and progressive overload (adding more reps and/or load over time), these brief workouts yield surprising gains in muscle and strength without stressing the clock or the body on any single day. The magic is in the accumulation of workouts. This accumulation of frequent, brief, and intense workouts can result in seemingly optimal gains if done consistently, daily, for a long enough period of time.

So, if you're struggling to train consistently, or if your busy, tired, or limited in some capacity, adopt these quick, intense, grease the grove daily muscle building workouts. You'll look better, feel better, and move better. 

Full disclosure: I don't workout like this religiously because I lift weights 3-4 days per week for 30-45 minutes per session. BUT, I do use these sessions as a backup plan if my day or week gets away from me. And sometimes, for weeks or months at a time, I adopt this exact daily workout program to make progress, manage stress, and continue building strength and muscle when times are extraordinarily busy and stressful. The key is I train 6-7 days per week like this during those times (often I'll take Sunday off, giving 3 upper body sessions and 3 lower body sessions per week).

Whether you adopt this "Lightning" style of training as your long term system of training OR if, like me, you use it sparingly and as a backup plan, these 15 minute blitzes (as I refer to them with my clients) can be beneficial.

Enjoy.

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

Day 1: upper 

Ex 1: Clean & press-2x5-8

Ex 2: pullups-2x4-8

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls-2x6-10

Ex 4: tricep overhead extensions-2x10-15

Day 2: legs

Ex 1: reverse lunges-2x6-12

Ex 2: kettlebell swings-3x10-15

Ex 3: calf raise-2x10-15

Day 3: upper

Ex 1: incline dumbbell bench press-2x6-12

Ex 2: single arm rows-2x8-12

Ex 3: tricep pushdowns-2x10-15

Ex 4: concentration curls-2x8-12

Day 4: legs

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats-2x6-10

Ex 2: leg curls-2x10-15

Ex 3: calf raise-2x10-15

Day 5: upper

Ex 1: pullup-2x4-8

Ex 2: lateral raise-2x10-15

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls-2x6-10

Ex 4: cable overhead extensions, pushdowns, or skull crushers-2x10-15

Day 6: legs

Ex 1: single leg RDL-2x8-12

Ex 2: box stepups-2x10-15

Ex 3: calf raise-2x10-15

Day 7: upper (sometimes this will be day 1 of the following week, if I take a rest day)

Ex 1: incline/flat dumbbell bench press-2x6-12

Ex 2: single arm rows-2x8-12

Ex 3: tricep pushdowns-2x10-15

Ex 4: concentration curls-2x8-12

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