You work hard on the field, at the gym; have committed a lot of your time to getting better in your sport. You strive to achieve success at a higher level. Consistency in training, practicing, skill work and competing begins by knowing exactly what routine to follow to take yourself to a new level. Discipline is doing it right all the time. Mental toughness is doing it right when you are uncomfortable.

It takes a combination of both of these to master your performance. Does an extra 7-10 pounds of lean muscle in only 6 weeks interest you? What if you could train for optimum results by following a no nonsense workout that gets results? The following is an example of a highly effective weekly workout schedule that flat out works! It has been tested by hundreds of top level athletes in a wide variety of sports. Test this out for six weeks and you will be very pleased with your gains.

Weight Room Routine + Interval Cardio

The standard sequence is two warm up sets (on muscle groups not yet warmed up) 5-8 reps with your warm up weight, increasing in weight about 10% with each set until ready to perform your work sets. First work set includes 12 reps at 70% of your 1 rep max weight followed by one minute rest. Second work set with 8 reps at 75-80% of one rep maximum weight followed by one minute and thirty seconds rest.

Third work set with 5 reps at 85% of one rep max followed by a drop set of 50% of your third set weight for 20 reps with no rest in between. Move on to next exercise and begin within two minutes & Stay at the 12, 8, 5-20 sequence for six weeks. Change the order, tempo, type and rest interval of the exercise each week.

DAY 1 - CHEST AND TRICEPS

• Prime Mover Exercise: Bench Press 5 X 2 warm up 12, 8, 5, 20 rep work sets, superset last two sets)
• Incline Dumbbell Press 12, 8, 5, 20 rep work sets (superset last two sets)
• Bar Dips 12+ with body weight X 3
• Close Grip Bench Press 12, 8, 5, 20 (superset last two sets)
• French Press 12, 8, 5-20
• Underhand Grip Cable Press-down 12, 8, 5-20
• Abs Bench Roll-ups 20 X 2 and Side Rolls 12 X 2

DAY 2 - LEGS

• Squats 5 X 2 Warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Work Sets
• Stiff legged Deadlifts 12 X 2
• Walking Lunges 20 steps X 2
• Leg Extension 12, 8, 5-20
• Leg Curl 12, 8, 5-20
• Calf raises 15 X 3
• Decline Sit-ups 20 X 2

DAY 3 - OFF

DAY 4 - SHOULDERS
• Dumbbell Overhead Seated Press 5 X 2 Warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Work Sets
• Bent Arm Laterals with dumbbells 12, 8, 5-20
• Cable Straight arm laterals 12 X 2
• Cable Bent arm laterals 12 X 2
• Upright cable row 10 X 2
• Rear Delt Machine Row 12, 8, 5-20
• Abs Hanging leg raises 12 X 3, Bench up and twist sets 10 X 2

DAY 5 - BACK AND BICEPS

• Prime Mover Exercise: Bent Over- Barbell Rows Reps 5 X 2 Warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Work Sets
• One arm cable row 10 X 2
• Straight arm pulldown 10 X 2
• Close Grip Pulldown 12 X 2
• Barbell Curls 5 X 2 warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Concentration Curls 10 X 2
• Hammer Curls with Rope 12 X 2
• Abs Rubber Ball crunches 30 X 2

DAY 6 - OFF

DAY 7 - Interval Cardio Session

Choose your method of cardio (running, biking, swimming, jump rope etc) and warm up with two minutes at an easy pace. Once you are warm, do 8 sprint intervals at 85% of max heart rate for 30 seconds each. After each interval rest for one full minute (slow jog or slow peddling) until you return to a reasonable resting heart rate.

Do 8 intervals week one, 9 week two, 10 week three and so on until you get to 12 intervals in one session. When you reach 12 you reduce the intervals back down to 8 the next time but increase the intensity of each sprint and reduce the rest time to 45 seconds following every sprint. This style of training is very effective but is intense to say the least. It can kick you metabolism into a real fat burning mode for hours.

It has been extensively researched and studies show that compared to linear cardio (going at 60% max heart rate for 20+ minutes at a time) you burn a significantly greater amount of fat. I recommend you only do this once per week for your first six week cycle.

Finishing Thoughts

Stay with this cycle for 6 weeks. Workouts should be between 45-60 minutes in length. Move quickly between exercises. Write down in a log book each set and weight lifted. (Rate the intensity level of each exercise for each muscle group on a scale from 1 lowest to 10 highest). Keep your intensity at an 8 or above, on the average. Record your overall score and intensity average at the end of each workout. A light stretch, a few push-ups or a couple of minutes on the bike can also be helpful in "getting loose" before you go into your warm-up sets. Good luck and stay committed!