TOTAL BODY ME DAY:
This is the meat and potatoes day. I think a lot of workouts designed to burn fat only focus on creating/increasing EPOC, so I think this is pretty important. Rest periods should be short (around 60-90s) for everything except ME exercises. These should have full recovery.
Exercise 1: ME Lower Body
These should be difficult but not strenuous–leave one in the tank so to speak. Choose one exercise and use it for a three week wave. Good exercises include front squats, lunges, back squats, or step ups.
Week 1 - 3 sets of 4
Week 2 - 3 sets of 3
Week 3 - 3 sets of 2
Exercise 2: ME Upper Body
Same instructions as Lower Body. Good exercises include all bench variations including dumbbell, floor press, board press, and weighted pullups.
Week 1 - 3 sets of 4
Week 2 - 3 sets of 3
Week 3 - 3 sets of 2
Exercise 3: Supplemental Lower Body
Using the same exercise as ME Lower Body, continue with,
Week 1 - 3 sets of 8-10
Week 2 - 3 sets of 7-9
Week 3 - 3 sets of 6-8
Exercise 4A and 4B: Supplemental Upper Body Superset
Choose two exercises and perform them in superset fashion. These should be compound movements that address weaknesses. For instance, for someone with a weak back, choose pullups and face pulls. Good exercises are pullups, chinups, presses, pull overs, weighted pushups, flies, reverse flies, rows, etc.
Week 1 - 3 supersets of 8-10
Week 2 - 3 supersets of 7-9
Week 3 - 3 supersets of 6-8
ABS:
Choose two exercises. One should be weighted and one should be bodyweight. I am really liking cable crunches and reverse crunches (in the style of Mike Robertson/Eric Cressey) with hips never going past 90 degrees. Other good exercises could be medicine ball crunches, serratus crunches, etc.
Week 1 - 3 sets each of 15
Week 2 - 3 sets each of 12
Week 3 - 3 sets each of 10
Cool Down:
A 10-15 minute walk to help cool the body down. It keeps the blood flowing, and helps reduce muscle soreness.