Friday, March 23, 2007

The 300 Workout as Part of a Fat Loss Program

I've mentioned a couple of times here that at the beginning of the year I set a goal to be as fit as I have ever been by the time I turn 40 in early May. When I began, my weight was hovering between 205-210 with about 16-17 percent bodyfat.

As of this morning, I weigh 187 and my bodyfat is around 9.5 percent. I had stalled for a week or two at around 191, but since having a cheat meal on Saturday (pasta and banana bread -- yum!), and adding the 300 workouts into my program, the fat loss has restarted. I like the 300 workouts because they are time efficient, burn a lot of calories, and (with some minor adjustments) can still work to maintain muscle during fat loss.

Here is a sample week of my training (this week). Below, I will reveal the supplements I have been using to strip the bodyfat and keep the muscle. Please note that I seldom do the same exact workouts from week to week. Most of these workouts are done in 45 minutes to an hour.

Monday:
25x Pull Ups
50x Squats (185 lbs)
50x Bench Press (135 lbs)
50x Hanging Knees to Elbows Crunch
50x Squat Jumps (2 x 25 lb DBs)
50x DB Snatches, each arm (35 lbs)
25x Pull Ups

300 Total Reps -- 35:20 minutes

Tuesday:
Seated Leg Press (395) 4 x 12 reps -- The machine only goes to 395.
A1: Inc Chest Press (195) 3x8
A2: Bent Row (245) 3 x10
B1: Smith Shoulder Press (150) 3 x 8
B2: Shrugs (315) 3 x 10
C1: DB Bicep Curls (40 each) 3 x 15
C2: Dec Crunch (45) 3 x 20

Thursday:
A1: Hack Squat (630) 4 x 12
A2: Hang Clean (185) 4 x 8
A3: Bench Crunch 4 x 30
B1: Dips (80 lbs added) 4 x 12
B2: One Arm Cable Row - Seated (120) 4 x 12
B3: Cable Biceps Curl (120) 4 x 12

Friday -- A New Version of the 300 Workout:
25x Bent Row (185)
50x Deadlifts (185)
50x DB Inc Chest Press (2 x 60)
50x Bench Straddle Jumps
25x Standing Military Press (95)
50x Ab Waves
25x Bent Row (185)
25x Standing Military Press (95)

300 total reps in 30:49 minutes.

After finishing this I did a superset of Pec Deck (165) and Lat Pulldowns (180) for three sets of 10 reps on each exercise.

[Note: A1, A2 means a superset with no rest between exercises. A1, A2, A3 means a giant set with no rest between exercises.]

In today's workout, the bent rows and deadlifts were too light -- next time I'll try 205. The bench straddle jumps start by standing on a bench, jumping down to the floor with a leg on each side of the bench and immediately springing back up to standing on the bench. The military press was the hardest part -- probably a little too heavy.

I've been doing full body workouts three or four days a week since early January. I really believe this is the best approach to fat loss with weight training. I add in racquetball for cardio whenever I have time.

My diet has been around 2000-2500 calories a day, heavy on protein and healthy fats and low on carbs (my only substantial carbs come in my post-workout drink and in a bowl of oatmeal on training days). I take 15-20 grams of fish oil a day. I take at least 1200 milligrams of alpha lipoic acid each day. I also take assorted vitamins and minerals.

Fat loss supplements:
Hot Rox Extreme (2 caps, twice a day)
Green Tea Extract (3-4 capsules, 3 times a day)

Muscle Maintenance Supplements:
Alpha Male -- testosterone booster (2 caps, twice a day)
Novedex XT -- anti-estrogen (4 caps at bedtime)

These supplements are fairly expensive, but it has been worth the investment in the new business it has generated at the gym. A guy stopped me today and asked if I was taking new clients because he had seen me with my shirt off in the locker and said I was the only trainer at the gym who looked like I practice what I preach. Plus, reaching the short-term goal is worth it to me.

Five weeks left to hit 8 percent bodyfat.


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to GO!! Very inspirational! And thanks for sharing your workouts:) I've made a similar goal - to be in the best shape of my life before I turn 30 next August. I think your modified 300 workout will be in my plan. What would you recommend for a transition into the 300? I'm guessing for me to go right into would kick my ass too much:P Is there way to do a lighter version of the 300 to prep one to go all out?

thanks!!!

william harryman said...

Hey Ryan,

It's great that want to be in your best shape at 30. Excellent goal.

The first thing I would recommend is doing supersets and giant sets if you aren't already. It will help your body get used to the higher intensity.

Then, I would slowly increase your volume over the course of a month or so. Aim for higher rep sets (12-15) with only slightly less weight than you might use for 8-10 rep sets.

If you can do 4 workouts a week, that will help also. At the beginning, do a heavy day and a light day, rest, then another heavy day and light day (mn/ts - th/fr). And of course, do full body workouts on each day.

The first time you try a 300 workout, drop it 200 total reps and see how it goes. Of course, adjust the weights to what you can handle. I'm comfortable with heavier weights as a result of my normal training style.

Feel free to contact me if you need more direction.

Peace,
Bill

Dave T said...

Hey Bill,

As Ryan say, very inspirational!!!

I'm a few days into my second 28 days of the Velocity Diet as part of getting into the best shape of my life by 35 (also August). :-)

I'm very happy with how the first 28 days went.

I'll have to take some pointers from your workout and from the pointers you gave Ryan. I'm still very much climbing the learning curve when it comes to lifting.

I'm curious... Why are you taking as much ALA as you are, especially if you're currently eating pretty low glycemic?

Take care,

-Dave


p.s. Your blog has turned me on to a lot of different info that's helped tremendously. Thanks!

william harryman said...

Hi Dave,

Glad you like the blog.

I take the ALA first and foremost for its anti-oxidant activity -- it boosts the body's own anti-oxidants as well as helping vitamins E and C do their jobs better. Heavy training like I do produces a lot of free radicals that can slow progress, so it helps to fight that potential damage.

I also use it to get the little bit of carbs I do ingest stuffed into muscle cells so they can fuel my workouts.

I haven't tried the Velocity Diet, how do you like it? I mostly follow John Berardi's diet approaches (you can find him at T-Nation as well as his own site).

Good luck with your goals -- and feel free to contact me if there is anything I can help with.

Peace,
Bill

Ryan Oelke said...

Thanks, Bill! I appreciate your help and advice. I'm going things into full speed in come May at latest. I'll be sure to let you know how I'm doing:) My buddy, Lion, might also be doing this with me.

-ryan

Anonymous said...

You mentioned at one point that you were trying with Biotest's reservertrol product, but you decided you liked te Novedex XT better? What was your reasoning? I'm still in awe of the sheer volume and weight you can handle over the course of a week. I feel faint just thinking about it. Even in summer time, when I work out more often (5 days a week), I've never been able to handle that much volume. Are you taking Surge? One serving or two? Congrats on all the progress and hard work!

Kai in NYC

william harryman said...

Thanks Kai!

I actually do like Biotest's Resveratol better. But the Nodedex XT works better at increasing strength and T levels. I don't like to use it for more than 6 weeks because it works on hormonal pathways -- but for the last 6 weeks of my plan I'm pulling out the big guns.

I don't use Surge, but one of my clients does and he swears by it. I mix my own protein drinks with 50 grams of whey, 5-10 grams of creatine, 35 grams of dextrose, and some unsweetened Kool Aid for flavor. This is the cutting formula -- normally it's 70 grams of dextrose.

Yeah, I can handle a lot of volume for about 3 or 4 months at a time, then it's back to three days a week lifting. Certainly, the supplements I'm using help a lot.

Peace,
Bill

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Brandon "The Carter" Guernsey said...

what is an ab wave? im trying to find out what that is on google and all i'm getting are those machine belt things people electrocute themselves with...