LEGAL STUFF © 2015 & Beyond, Critical Bench, Inc. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright www.CriticalBench.com This publication is fully copyrighted and does not come with giveaway or resale rights. You may not sell or redistribute this report. It is reserved solely for paid members of CriticalBench.com. Copyright and illegal distribution violations will be prosecuted. This document has been watermarked with a digital GPS identification tag. NOTICE The information presented is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. This publication is presented for information purposes, to increase the public knowledge of developments in the field of strength and conditioning. The program outlined herein should not be adopted without a consultation with your health professional. Use of the information provided is at the sole choice and risk of the reader. You must get your physician’s approval before beginning this or any other exercise program. www.criticalbench.com 2 body-weight beast get COMPLETELY RIPPED & chiseled in 30 days By Chris Wilson, RKC, CPT www.criticalbench.com 3 Workout Parameters for BW BEAST This Body-Weight BEAST program is 4 weeks of full body strengthening mixed with cardiovascular training, resistance conditioning, core development and metabolic bursting. There are TWO phases, each lasting two weeks offering specific elements of strength. Each workout helps to build up your tolerance and ability to endure new challenges later on in the program. Phases 1 & 2 are comprised of two workouts each, Workouts A & B, that will be rotated each week. These workouts are all different. All the variables are constantly manipulated to change your focus from rep counting, to timed sets, to on-the-minute (OTM) training, ladders and more. Be sure to carefully read over the notes section for EACH workout to properly identify the changes to those above mentioned variables. Rest periods will be short on purpose to maximize output, calorie burning and help turn you into a legitimate BW BEAST even faster! Being comfortable in the gym makes us L-A-Z-Y (yes, say it slowly) and doesn’t provide us the tools to grow, develop and excel. Body-Weight BEAST will change your focus, force you to adapt and take you to new heights both physically and mentally. If getting RIPPED & CHISELED is on the agenda then this approach to strength training is for you! www.criticalbench.com 4 So WHY are there ‘2 Phases’ in a short 30 day program? Understanding the approach, the strength variables and what to expect from this training program. Phase 1 (weeks 1 & 2): Like any strong building, it all begins with the foundation. Preparing for any great challenge should be done thoughtfully and thoroughly. This initial phase of BW Beast is designed to prime your muscles and prepare your body with fundamental movements. Consider this a primer for proper neural activation. Our nervous system is a HUGE part of our success in regards to physical output. Training your nervous system correctly early on will deliver dramatic results down the road. Some of the exercises in this phase have probably been done previously while some will be brand new. But remember that by tweaking the training variables, we have turned basic exercises into hardcore killers! Phase 2 (weeks 3 & 4): Now that you’ve grounded yourself with principle movements & exercises that targeted every muscle in the body, the goal of this phase is to make you more explosive. Explosive Strength measures your strength output in a unit of time. How much strength are you capable of generating in the shortest amount of time? Generating explosive force can be lost with too much controlled lifting and always doing bodybuilding workouts steals away our force production. This is a necessary element of true strength that should not be neglected but implemented and harnessed. Again, several of these exercises will be familiar but with some interesting twists and variations. www.criticalbench.com 5 Expect to become uncomfortable with the demands of explosive strength and working on getting FASTER! This kind of body weight training will transfer over very well to barbell and dumbbell training and even your 1RM. Yes, that’s correct. Keep reading and you will understand how that’s even possible. www.criticalbench.com 6 Strength Types Defined (and used within this program) Explosive Strength Explosive strength is strength per unit of time. This type of time-specific force depends on the amount of force you can generate in the shortest amount of time. In terms of strength calculation, it means how fast your body can move from one point to another. This kind of strength is utilized in free styling in moves, where the body is suspended in air for few seconds like somersaults and more commonly plyometric pushups. NOTE: This kind of strength IS used in Max Effort lifts….without the element of Explosive Strength, 1RM would not be possible but it can be used to generate enormous power w/ bodyweight movements as described above. Strength Endurance Strength endurance is the amount of force you can generate for an extended period of time. This is the ability to be as strong as possible, as long as possible. This type of strength is characterized by being able to perform a movement repeatedly without being overcome by fatigue. Two different forms of strength endurance are there; Dynamic and Static. Dynamic Strength - This type of endurance is normally related with repeated movements in which sizeable strain is recurring devoid of any disruption during each cycle of movement. It is also evident in non-cyclic actions requiring maximum power repetitions with short rest periods in between such as triple jumps or bowling. Static Strength - This type of endurance implies isometric tension of varying magnitude and duration on the body. It can also imply to the strain in holding a certain posture. This can be a relatively long or short in terms of time because its magnitude is almost always measured in terms of the amount of force. Also, this is the most common type of strength gain when body strength is www.criticalbench.com 7 considered. This would be found when doing hanging L sits, static wall squats or even a basic plank position. Stabilization Strength Stabilization strength involves improving the stability and strength of body’s core. Without core strength, force production, force transference, and force reduction will not occur properly. That means you will not be able to generate proper force and utilize it efficiently. This will lead to altered joint mechanics and eventually injury. Stabilization strength training involves little joint action to enhance muscle endurance and deep stabilization of the core. Relative Strength In sport, relative strength—or how strong you are in relation to your bodyweight— is an important, but occasionally overlooked, factor. Relative strength is closely tied to explosive strength and strength endurance. Imagine a football lineman who bulks up in the off-season and improves his squat, power clean, and bench press maxes. While his maximal and explosive strength have improved, he adds so much weight his vertical barely budges, and his agility and speed drill times get worse. When two-a-days start, he can’t stay with defenders in pass protection, or get to the alley when pulling on run plays. Worst of all, he’s too winded from the extra weight to actually get better during practice. Don’t think that bodybuilders are exempt from worrying about relative strength, though. Poor relative www.criticalbench.com 8 strength will keep you from using great bodyweight lifts like pull-ups, push-ups, and one-legged squat variations. “Ladders” are a classic method for improving relative strength. Imagine you can’t perform more than seven pull-ups in a set, but want to get better. Using a generic ladder routine, you’d perform a set of one pull-up, take a quick rest, perform two, rest, perform three, rest, and so on, adding one rep to each subsequent set until you began struggling. This could be anywhere from sets of four to sets of six in this instance. When you reach that struggle point, you stop—this is one “ladder.” After this break, start the process over again beginning with a single pull-up. If you don’t push too hard during the last set of each ladder, you’ll add a great deal of extra volume to your program with less risk of overtraining. www.criticalbench.com 9 What to EXPECT from Body-Weight Training… and Why Kids are Stronger than Us (sort of) Most powerlifters and bodybuilders spend their time hitting barbell and dumbbell lifts with very little attention paid to body-weight movements. Technically, there is nothing wrong with that approach to gaining strength and size. It works very well for BOTH. The trouble, however, is that it’s easy to lose track of something we all had as children: our strength to weight ratio (which was off the charts back in the day). Playing at the playground with our friends and schoolmates created some of the best memories for most of us. Whether that was hanging from the monkey bars, swinging super high into the air, sliding down the fireman pole or climbing on a cargo net. ALL of that resistance training was with our own body-weight. But when you’re 9, you are just having fun horsing around and you’re able to go for hours without fatigue. Unfortunately when you’re grown and have children of your own, you quickly realize that some of that stuff is super hard for adults (if not impossible) while playing with your little ones. It can be a real wake-up call when you go to use the monkey bars and feel stuck! Kids fly across those rungs but many adults feel as though concrete bricks are attached to our ankles and within seconds, you drop to the ground. As we age, we lose major ground with our strength to weight ratio unless of course it’s part of the routine. Most of us replace playground recreation with gym memberships and many of us do what we’re good at and ignore the movements www.criticalbench.com 10 that challenge us or make us uncomfortable. We can become VERY strong on certain lifts without making a dent in other forms of strength. Here at Critical Bench, we’ve come across some heavy duty Body-Weight BEASTS who not only have impressive lifts in the gym but can still dominate on the playground. They’ve continued to make body-weight strengthening a necessary element in their training along with having a huge bench press, squat and deadlift. It’s time to rekindle that magic we all had as young children with relentless energy on the playground. With Body-Weight BEAST, you’re going to hit the RESET button and turn on muscles and strength that have laid dormant long enough. Once you complete this 30 Day Program, you must ask yourself one question: Are you strong enough to call yourself a Body-Weight BEAST? www.criticalbench.com 11 Body-Weight BEAST Get Completely RIPPED & CHISELED in 30 Days PHASE 1: WEEKS 1-2 Strength Specialty: Neuro-Foundational Strength Frequency: 4 Sessions per Week/Days OFF may vary based on the individual Week 1 Sunday: Day 1 Monday: Day 2 Tuesday: Day 3 Wednesday: Day 4 Thursday: Day 5 Friday: Day 6 Saturday: Day 7 OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Week 2 Sunday: Day 1 Monday: Day 2 Tuesday: Day 3 Wednesday: Day 4 Thursday: Day 5 Friday: Day 6 Saturday: Day 7 OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Workout A Just CLICK the exercises to see the video demonstration. AMRAP 1a) 10 Spiderman Push Ups 1b) 10 Deep Pause Squats (2 sec at bottom) 1c) 5 Burpees 1d) 10 Jump Squats 1e) Side Planks (20 sec holds per) 1f) 10 Floor V Ups NOTES: Finish the number of reps (or time) before moving on to the next exercise. Completing all six exercises equals one round. Perform AMRAP (As Many Rounds as Possible) in a 30-Minute Time Period. There is no allotted time for rest. If you must rest, save it for the end of a round (after the Floor V-ups). Do not exceed 90-seconds rest between rounds. www.criticalbench.com 12 Workout B Just CLICK the exercises to see the video demonstration. 1a) Running Man (10 seconds MAX effort) 1b) Power Jacks (20 seconds) 20-Minutes OTMs (On the Minute) 2a) 10 Push-Ups (strict) 2b) 5 Negative Pull-Ups (Neutral or Over-Over Grip) NOTES: Do 10 rounds of 1a and 1b w/ 30-seconds rests between rounds. Go immediately from 1a to 1b, then rest. Next, you’ll need to pay close attention to the clock and alternate between Push-ups and Pull-ups. Every 60-seconds you must complete one full round of 2a and 2b (for 20 minutes total.) The remaining time in that minute is your rest period. The faster you perform the Push-ups and get right to the Negative Pull-ups the better. Try to reserve rest for AFTER the Pull-ups only. www.criticalbench.com 13 PHASE 2: WEEKS 3-4 Strength Specialty: Explosive Strength Frequency: 4 Sessions per Week/Days OFF may vary based on the individual Week 3 Sunday: Day 1 Monday: Day 2 Tuesday: Day 3 Wednesday: Day 4 Thursday: Day 5 Friday: Day 6 Saturday: Day 7 OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Week 4 Sunday: Day 1 Monday: Day 2 Tuesday: Day 3 Wednesday: Day 4 Thursday: Day 5 Friday: Day 6 Saturday: Day 7 OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Workout A Workout B OFF Workout A Just CLICK the exercises to see the video demonstration. LADDER 10-1 1a) Skater Hops (left side to right side = 1 rep) 1b) Hip Extension (hips to the sky) 1c) Double Burpees (2 Push-Ups/2 Jumps = 1 rep) 1d) Off-set Power Push-Ups (hands staggered) 1e) Single Leg Jump Squats (per side-as deep as possible) NOTES: Start by doing each exercise for 10 reps in round 1, proceed to 9 reps in round 2, 8 reps in round 3 and so on all the way to 1 rep of each. Try to only rest at the end of each round and do not exceed 60 seconds rest at any point. www.criticalbench.com 14 Workout B Just CLICK the exercises to see the video demonstration. 20 sec on/20 sec off 1) Running Man (Sprint in place) 2) Power Jacks 3) Mountain Climbers 4) Skier Jumps (feet together) 5) Clap Push-Ups 6) Jump Squats 7) Jump Lunge 8) Single Leg Jumps (15 sec per leg) 9) Windshield Wipers 10) Negative Pull-Ups (Neutral or Over-Over Grip) NOTES: Have your watch close by for this workout. Do EACH exercise for 20 seconds. Try not to exceed 20 second breaks between any of the exercises. Your strength endurance will be pushed considerably here. Take a TWO minute break between rounds. Complete this routine THREE times. www.criticalbench.com 15 About the author Chris Wilson has worked in the fitness industry for over 15 years. He has seen and done it all from working the front desk at health clubs to personal training to managing entire fitness facilities. Chris became a Certified Personal Trainer in 1999 with NASM and has trained over 15,000 hours with clients from 10 to over 90 years old. In 2013 he participated in the Russian Kettlbell Certification (RKC) workshop and became an RKC Instructor. He specializes in all kinds of strength modalities such as functional exercise designed to restore balance and improve body movement patterns to bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman and more recently kettlebell training. Chris is very passionate about exercise and regularly participates in Tough Mudder and Spartan events as well as the occasional 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Adventure Race and even Dragon Boat Races. He is currently working on his Sports Nutrition certification with the ISSA which he plans on completing this spring. Chris now resides in sunny Clearwater Florida with his now pregnant wife Samantha and their beautiful boy Kellan. He is a HUGE fan of college and pro football and has a love for animals especially his dogs and cats. He is not only the Head Strength Coach but a published author and product creator for CriticalBench.com www.criticalbench.com 16 Other Products from Chris Wilson Anabolic Aftergrowth The #1 Workout to Build Size & Strength SIMULTANEOUSLY The BEST way to Gain LASTING Muscle Size & Iron Bending Strength is by spending your time doing what matters most in the gym. STOP making the same mistakes over and over again in your training leaving you feeling defeated and frustrated. Body-part split routines, countless ab exercises and too much time spent on what doesn’t give you true Strength and Size is a thing of the past… Unleash your Anabolic Hormones like never before by working out LESS and training with the BIG lifts that create a stronger physique that not only makes you look like a superhero but helps you perform better than ever! The specially designed workouts in Anabolic AfterGrowth will change your body quickly and your muscle building potential forever! Awaken your MAN-MAKING Hormones NOW www.criticalbench.com 17 Crunchless Abs Get 6-pack Abs WITHOUT Sit-ups & Crunches Would you like to get six pack abs WITHOUT ever doing a crunch? If you are tired of the same boring “old school” abs exercises that have not gotten you any results and are looking for a better solution, then Crunchless Abs is just what you need. This program is a 30 day action plan that will carve those abs out without hurting your back by doing crunches. Click Here to Get Abs in Just 30 Days www.criticalbench.com 18 “Got Questions???” Check out our Live Q and A session on Facebook... Live Strength and Power Half Hour Mon-Fri 12:30-1pm EST with Coach Chris www.facebook.com/criticalbench www.criticalbench.com 19 For More Strength & Health Tips To The Critical Bench YouTube Channel Free www.youtube.com/criticalbench www.criticalbench.com 20