Bodybuilding.com - Armed Forces And Bodybuilding!

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Did you know?
Luis Is A Member of the United States Navy!!

In order to accomplish a mission, military personnel may need to respond to a particular situation and must be fit enough to deploy to worldwide locations that vary from extreme heat to bone-chilling cold. To ensure troops are physically prepared, each branch of the military makes physical training a top priority. Highly effective fitness programs that promote readiness and increase combat effectiveness have been developed for military personnel.

The focus on this routine is to make physical activity a priority in your life. As you progress from week to week an amazing transformation will take place through your effort and commitment towards making a positive and massive change in yourself.

There will be days when you want to give up because you are too sore, too tired, too stressed, so let your commitment and determination drive you towards your target. You can achieve amazing physical and mental results while inspiring the people around you. To increase your chance for success I recommend a dedicated workout partner to go through this experience with you.

EXERCISE ROUTINE:

The following is a 2 different 8-week exercise routine to help you achieve your goals (the second one is the one I use). The prescribed exercises consist of basic movements and if possible, I suggest using free weights. Strength training will greatly assist you in performing weight bearing exercises such as pushups, pull-ups or dips.

Not only will strength training help you becoming more powerful, but it will also, through the addition of hard-earned muscle, help your body utilize calories more efficiently.

Free weights, in particular, will place a greater emphasis on the targeted muscles allowing for additional benefits over the long term. You simply cannot go wrong by investing time and energy into making yourself stronger and leaner by weight training.

The basic trainee warm-up for the first workout consists of 2 sets of 12 push-ups, 2 sets of 15 jumping jacks, 2 sets of 15 crunches and 5 minutes riding the bike or walking on the treadmill.

WORKOUT 1

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DAY 1

Legs / Shoulders:

Squats - 4 x 6-12
Lunges - 3-4 x 8-10
Leg Curl - 3-5 x 4-6
Seated Calf Raises - 4 x 8-12
Military Press - 4 x 6-12
Side Laterals Raises - 3-4 x 8-12

DAY 2

Cardio:

30-45 minutes Treadmill or Jogging
Crunches - 4 x 20

DAY 3

Chest / Triceps / Cardio:

Bench Press - 3-4 x 6-12
Incline Bench Press - 3-4 x 6-12
Dips - 3-4 x 8-12
Standing Triceps Ext - 3-4 x 8-12
Bicycle or Crosstrainer 30 minutes

DAY 4

Cardio / Abs:

30-45 minutes Treadmill or Jogging
Crunches - 4 x 20

DAY 5

Back / Biceps / Cardio:

Chins - 3 x 8-10
Barbell Rows - 3 x 6-8
Barbell Curl - 3 x 8-10
Concentration Curl - 3 x 6-8
Bicycle or Crosstrainer 30 minutes

DAYS 6 & 7

Rest!!!

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WORKOUT 2

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In this program you WILL NOT going to failure you just perform every sets with a 60 to 65% of your max weight. The idea is to get more endurance, feel the pump in your muscles, and after the first month increase your weight about 5% in all your exercises. This is a hard routine, take a WEEK OFF from your regular routine before you start this one.

Here is where the program is customized. For those that want to lose fat I included supersets in order to keep the fat burning going. With the routine below, expect to get a bit of more muscle and a decreased waistline. Also, expect getting more ENDURANCE AND CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING.

DAY 1

Chest & Back:

Bench Press - 3 x 8-10 Supersetted with
Wide Grid Pulldowns - 3 x 8-10
Incline Bench Press - 3 x 8-10 tri-setted with
Dumbbell Pullover - 3 x 8-10 And
Seated Lat Row - 3 x 8-10
Dumbbell Flyes - 3 x 8-10 supersetted with
Dumbbells Rows -3 x 8-10

Day 3

Shoulders / Biceps / Triceps:

Military Press - 3 x 8-10 Supersetted with
Front Plate Raises - 3 x 8-10
Barbell Curl - 3 x 10 Tri-setted with
Close Grip Bench Press - 3 x 10 And
Lying Triceps Ext - 3 x 10
Dumbbell Curl - 3 x 8-10 Tri-setted with
Dips - 3 x 8-12 And
Pressdowns - 3 x 12

DAY 5

Legs:

Squats or Leg Press - 3-4 x 10-12 Supersetted with
Leg Ext - 3-4 x 12
Seated Calf Raises - 4 x 15

DAYS 2 & 4

Here I use the same approach as the Navy Seals with the only different that you going to perform the running in your own pace depending on your age group and the time you need to pass your test. You can modify it to fix your needs. If you like to run after perform the exercises is fine, also if you are a member of US NAVY, you don't have to perform pull-ups due to the fat that we ( the NAVY ) don't include this exercise in our Physical Readiness Test (unless you are a member of the Navy Seals).

In the same token if you are a member of US MARINES you will need to practice this one and also adjust the running as well (Marines need to run 3 miles). Please don't force yourself during this phase, if you feel that you can't finish the desire number of reps, STOP and make this last rep your max one for the prescribe number of sets. You have to be able to finish every reps without force them.

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Running: 1.5 miles Running: 1.5 miles Running: 1.5 miles Running: 1.5 miles

Pushups: 4 x 15 Pushups: 5 x 15 Pushups: 5 x 25 Pushups: 5 x 25

Situps: 4 x 20 Situps: 5 x 20 Situps: 5 x 25 Situps: 5 x 25

Pullups: 3 x 3 Pullups: 3 x 3 Pullups: 3 x 4 Pullups: 3 x 4

Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

Running: 2 miles Running: 2 miles Running: 2 miles Running: 2 miles

Pushups: 6 x 25 Pushups: 6 x 25 Pushups: 6 x 30 Pushups: 6 x 30

Situps: 6 x 25 Situps: 6 x 25 Situps: 6 x 30 Situps: 6 x 30

Pullups: 2 x 5 Pullups: 2 x 5 Pullups: 2 x 8 Pullups: 2 x 8

DAYS 6 & 7

Rest!!!

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FINAL NOTE

Perform the particular routine of your choice 9 weeks (8 weeks of training and 1 week for complete rest) prior your physical test. You can also perform stretching exercises 3 times week during your rest week (depending on your recovery capabilities). At the end of the 8-weeks (on either one of these workouts) you will be totally amazed at the transformation you have gone through. You will have gained confidence, strength, dedication, and the ability to do what it takes to achieve your predetermined goals. Don't neglect in your diet and/or your rest time they are very important during this phase.

Choose one workout from these 2 and complete the required 8 weeks. DON'T SWAP WORKOUTS.

If you perform periodization routine during your year of training this is a good phase to incorporate both or either one of this workouts in your routine, for example:

As a member of US NAVY we perform the Physical Readiness Test twice a year, around this you can adapt your normal workout routine and twice a year incorporate this 8 weeks (16 weeks during the whole year) to your training schedule. Once again WORKOUT 2 work perfect for me during the past 2 years, you can adapt either one to fix your personal needs. Good luck and train HARD and SAFE.

Thanks,

myworkouts2003@yahoo.com