By this time of year, people are usually scrambling to get their body in beach-ready shape. The most proven and reliable programs out there are the ones that account for progression and adaptation; the ones that call for specific cycles of work at varying intensities and loads, to elicit a particular result.
Sadly, with the warmer months already upon us, you don’t have that kind of time. In order to get your body where you want it to be (and fast) you’re going to need to dig in with a program that forces results by attrition. The goal is to train so hard, so often, and so well that your body has no choice but to respond with a markedly increased capacity to torch fat.
This routine is from the “break in case of emergency” vault, and those who follow it to the letter will be decidedly more prepared to go sans-shirt in the beach days to come. Will you be one of them?
Selective Adaptions
In order to produce the desired results, you’re going to have to submit to a slightly less academic—but utterly more chaotic—method of training. While most programs carefully manipulate a multitude of variables, we’re going to whittle that list down to those that are most conducive to fat loss and muscle preservation. It’s going to be tough, but it’s going to work.
It takes more than a couple of leisurely jaunts on the treadmill to get into photoshoot-ready shape. Those who achieve the lean, muscular look of the men you see in M&F have done so by tackling tough workouts with zeal. By incorporating higher intensity protocols—such as Tabata and high-intensity interval training (HIIT)—you keep your workouts at a modest length and maximize muscle breakdown, which helps boost post-workout calorie burn. Tabata, which calls for eight 20-second cycles of work followed by 10 seconds of rest, allows you to exhaust all types of muscle fiber while elevating your metabolism.
Frequency
Two weeks doesn’t give you much time to trigger noticeable changes in your body. To negate the time factor, you’ll be condensing the work schedule. Over the next 14 days, you’ll put in 12 total workouts, with two rest days built in. The increased frequency of workouts will up the number of calories you’re burning over the course of the program. By keeping repair and recovery constant between workouts, you’ll have your metabolism working overtime to keep up. This type of schedule is not sustainable in the long term, but you’ll find that your body can do almost anything for a two-week block, often with positive results.
Resistance
This two-week program mandates the use of heavy compound exercises to start every weight workout. By keeping heavy training in your program, you’ll force your body to keep its natural production of growth hormone (GH). High GH, which peaks while you sleep, is a key player in the fat-burning process. Then, by targeting individual body parts with Tabata-style work, you’ll increase local blood flow to working muscles. On each Tabata exercise, start with a weight you can handle for 12–15 reps. As the work drags on, your rep counts will fade. Pause only when needed, and perform partial reps if necessary to keep going the entire 20 seconds.
Cardio
You’ll start each cardio day with Tabata-timed cardio. The HIIT protocol that follows calls for sprinting “on the minute,” meaning that your sprints and active rest will always add up to a minute. You’re free to choose your method of cardio, but treadmill running has been shown to burn more calories than cycling. In the first workout, perform 10 all-out 12-second sprints, with 48 seconds of active rest. This will amount to 120 seconds of total sprinting. The next time out, do more: 11 sprints at 13 seconds each, with active rest diminishing by a second. You can expect a similar uptick in volume each cardio session.
Rest
Yes, there is rest built in—two days, to be exact—but not until you’ve put in seven straight days of pedal-to-the-metal work. Rest on days 8 and 13 to allow your body to temporarily recover from the grind of the program. This will help you bank more energy for the work days that follow. These rest days are mandatory. For those of you hitting the panic button, don’t fret—12 out of 14 days at these intensities will still be plenty adequate for getting your shred. Remember: your body changes while it recovers, not while you train. So, consider these two days your chance to bust into the gym a little more ripped on days 9 and 14.
Resistance Days
There are three resistance workouts—each done twice—in the 14-day emergency shred schedule. All start off with a basic compound movement done with heavy weight, which is followed by a series of more targeted exercises done Tabata style.
Cardio Days
On your cardio days, you’ll lead off with a Tabata-timed cardio move to send your heart rate soaring. You’ll follow with interval sprints.
