Tag: built for the beach

  • The Built for the Beach v3.0 workout plan: More than abs

    The Built for the Beach v3.0 workout plan: More than abs

    Want abs? Bigger arms? A wider back? OK, you got it. This plan, like many of our others will help with that. How about stronger lungs and a capacity to handle more? We’ve got you covered there, too. This time around, Built for the Beach v3.0 will shift some of the focus onto performance, stamina, and endurance. The muscle-producing split routines that you’ve grown to love aren’t going anywhere, but there will be a new conditioning element. You’re not going to just look more fit, you’ll actually be more fit.

    If you missed last year’s plan, you can check out Built for the Beach v2.0 here.

    And while we’re on the topic of missing stuff, don’t forget to give HFP a follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

    How the Built for the Beach v3.0 workout plan works

    In 3.0 there are two parts:

    Part one is designed for hypertrophy, or muscular growth. You’ll do five straight sets of 4-6 exercises for 8-12 reps with 60-90 seconds rest between sets.

    • Day one is Monday: Legs and abs
    • Day two is Tuesday: Chest, triceps, and abs
    • Day three is Wednesday: Back, biceps, and abs
    • Day four is Friday: Shoulders, arms, and abs
    • Day five is Saturday or Sunday: 45 minutes of steady-state, low-intensity cardio mixed with 15 minutes of sprint intervals or bodyweight HIIT workouts of your choice

    What are straight sets? Straight sets mean you perform the prescribed number of repetitions of an exercise, rest, then complete the remaining number of sets before moving to the next exercise.

    Part two is designed for muscular and cardiovascular endurance. You’ll be doing three exercises for 10 repetitions each as a circuit. You’ll complete the circuit as quickly as possible, and for as many rounds as possible in 8-12 minutes.

    What are circuits? Circuits are a combination of exercises you perform back-to-back with no rest.

    Why abs everyday again?

    If you’ve followed Built for the Beach v2.o then you already know the answer to this. If you’re new to the franchise, then allow me to explain (or you can read it here.)

    Instead of going all-out on the abs once per week with loads of exercises, sets, and reps, that amount of volume (or work) will be distributed throughout the week. This way you’re doing more frequency, but not beating yourself up to the point where it takes longer to recover. If you’ve followed (or plan on following) some of our other plans, you’ll note the programming is not always like that. It’s a nice change.

    Finding your resistance

    For part one: Pick a specific rep number between 8 and 12. Find a weight in which you can execute the exercise to “failure” for that rep number you chose. For your first two weeks, be consistent with the rep number and weight you select. This will change in the weeks to follow.

    Part two: The plan is calling for 10 repetitions of each exercise, but considering you’re attempting to do a combination of exercises for multiple non-stop rounds for an extended period of time, where applicable, choose a weight you can perform for approximately 15 repetitions.

    Directions for Built for the Beach v3.0

    It’s suggested that the plan is followed for 4-6 weeks. Attempt to gradually increase the weight, or the number of repetitions you can complete each week.

    After your 4 or 6 weeks are up, transition off onto another plan. If you’re into the “performance and endurance” elements of this plan, we suggest you check out the 6-week Unlabeled workout plan which carries over some common themes. If you’re feeling like you want to get stronger and pull back on the amount of volume you’re doing in the gym, then you need to check out our 3-week Super-3 workout plan. If you really want to go hard with fat-loss, check out the original 10×10 workouts or the split 10×10 workouts for accelerating that process. Our Hurricane workout series is another great option for weight loss.

    Remember, all of our plans are taxing on the body. Time and time again, good sleep has been shown to be connected with performance, building muscle, and losing fat. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep at night. If you’re not, check out our guidelines on how to get better sleep and more quality rest.

    The Built for the Beach v3.o Workouts

    MONDAY – Legs (abs)

    Complete 5 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise with 60-90s rest between sets
    1.Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
    2.Barbell Front Squat
    3.Front-Rack Bulgarian Split Squat
    4.Step Up

    Complete as many rounds as possible in 8-12 minutes. Rest as needed.
    Single-arm Dumbbell Snatch x 10 per side
    Jump Squat x 10
    Sit Up x 10

    TUESDAY – (Chest, Triceps, abs)

    Complete 5 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise with 60-90s rest between sets
    1.Dumbbell Bench Press
    2.Dumbbell Flye
    3.Barbell Skullcrusher
    4.Overhead Dumbbell Extension
    5.Cable Chops

    Complete as many rounds as possible in 8-12 minutes. Rest as needed.
    Mini-Plyo Push Up x 10
    Dumbbell Flye x 10
    Dumbbell Kickback x 10

    WEDNESDAY – (Back, biceps, abs)

    Complete 5 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise with 60-90s rest between sets
    1.Barbell Deadlift
    2.Single-arm Bentover Row
    3.Rope Row
    4.Rope Curl

    Complete as many rounds as possible in 8-12 minutes. Rest as needed.
    Dumbbell Bentover x 10
    Pull Down x 10
    Leg Lift/Hip Thrust x 10

    THURSDAY – (off)

    FRIDAY – (Shoulders, arms, abs)

    Complete 5 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise with 60-90s rest between sets
    1.Dumbbell High Pull
    2.Neutral-grip Shoulder Press
    3.Behind the Back Dumbbell Side Raises
    4.Dumbbell Curl
    5.Dumbbell Skullcrusher

    Complete as many rounds as possible in 8-12 minutes. Rest as needed.
    Thruster x 10
    Mountain Climber x 10
    Sit Up x 10

    SATURDAY (Long Cardio + Intervals)

    SUNDAY (Off)

    How to eat when following the Built for the Beach v3.0 plan

    Whether you want to gain mass or cut weight, that’s entirely up to you, and the way you eat is what will determine that. I suggest you check out my piece on intuitive eating for lean muscle. The post is my perspective on how foods works in the body and how to figure out what works best for you. After giving that a thorough read through, I also suggest our post on the 25 best muscle-building foods. If you’re not feeling the same diet plan within the intuitive eating piece, you can construct your own using the foods list.

    The plan was originally produced and published by HUMANFITPROJECT for Men’s Fitness magazine.

  • The Built for the Beach v2.0 workout plan: Get that ‘WTF?!’ body

    The Built for the Beach v2.0 workout plan: Get that ‘WTF?!’ body

    After a couple cycles of this plan, people will definitely be saying “WTF?!” about your bigger and leaner physique. Doesn’t matter if you’re just starting, cycling off another one of our plans, or just getting back into the whole working out thing. This is a solid all-around guide to get built for beach season. In typical HFP fashion: the moves are relatively basic, the programming is straight-forward, and the scaleability for beginners, intermediate, or advanced folks is simple.

    Complete beginner? Check out our visual guide of the 20 best exercises for men and women

    Want custom workout programming, a nutrition guide, and phone, email, and text access? Check out our new exclusive service at DigitalFitnessAdvisor.com

    Here’s how Built for the Beach v2.0 works


    The plan begins with legs first. Leg day can take a lot out of you and require a lot of mental strength getting it done. We’re going to get that out the way early in the week. Monday Motivation, right?

    The second workout is a split of shoulders and arms. It’s nice to combo these three up, they compliment each other well. And, when you walk out of the gym you’ve got one helluva pump.

    The third day is time to chill and relax. Let everything recover.

    The fourth day really gets things started again with a split between chest and back. You’ll be super-setting back and forth between the two big muscle groups so your heart will be pounding and muscles pumping with blood. This is a killer combo of strength plus metabolic conditioning.

    Day five is somewhat another active recovery day, but with steady-state cardio to really emphasis fat loss. 45-60 minutes or so at 60-65%.

    On day six you’ve got some options. Unfortunately, both options are challenging. This is full body circuit day. You’ll be hitting every muscle group with a series of exercises non-stop. Very reminiscent of the day four chest and back super-sets, but with everything else thrown in there. Another strength and conditioning combination.

    Day seven: chill, again. Do some light cardio to get the blood flowing, but for the most part, rest up for your next week.

    What’s up with doing abs several days per week?

    Some of you might be a bit confused by this. Muscles need rest to recover, right? No different for the abs, right? Yes, but here’s the deal: instead of going hard on the abs a couple days per week with a load of exercises, sets, and reps; the training frequency increases to several days per week, but the workload on each individual day decreases. There are also two options of ab workouts so each day is experiencing something slightly different. If you’ve been training the same way since, like, forever, this is a good change to try.


    Directions

    Beginners can start with half the number of sets, but slowly add an additional set as you feel comfortable. For resistance: find a weight where you hit failure (can’t do anymore with good form) at the number of prescribed reps. For the full body circuit workouts in day six, the prescribed number of reps is 10, but pick a weight you can do about 15. Due to the fact that you’ll be circuit training, you’ve got no time to recover. You’ll need lighter weight than what you’d typically use for straight sets with regular rest.

    Progressing forward: Follow this plan for 6 weeks. Then, you can follow the 10×10 workout plan for 2-3 weeks to really accelerate your fat loss even further. You may then cycle back to this 6 week plan or find another HFP plan of choice.

    Don’t forget to get your eating situation in check. Check out this piece on intuitive eating for lean muscle.

    The Built for the Beach v2.0 Workouts

    Day one: Legs and abs

    1. BB squat 6 sets x 10, 8, 6, 8, 10, 25

    2A. Bulgarian split squat 5 x 8-10
    2B. DB Romanian deadlift 5 x 8-10

    3. BB walking lunge 5 x 10-12

    4. Air squat 300 reps as fast as possible

    Rest 45-60 seconds between sets
    *Complete leg day with ab workout option one.

    Day two: Shoulders, arms, and abs

    1. DB high pull 5 x 8-10

    2. DB shoulder press 5 x 8-10

    3A. DB pinch press pause 5 x 12-15
    3B. Cable delt flye 5 x 12-15

    4A. DB off-set curl 5 x 10-12
    4B. DB kickback 5 x 8-10
    4C. Tate press 5 x 8-10

    5A. Cable curl 5 x 10-12
    5B. Cable pushdown 5 x 10-12

    Rest 45-60 seconds between sets

    THE FINISHER

    6. BB shoulder + arm complex 3 x failure

    Rest as little as possible
    *Complete shoulder and arm day with ab workout option two.

    Day three: Rest/recovery/active recovery

     

    Day four: Chest, back, and abs

    1A. DB bench press 5 x 8,8,6,6,8
    1B. BB deadlift 5 x 8,8,6,6,8

    2A. DB floor press 5 x 8-10
    2B. Standing cable row 5 x 8-10

    3A. DB flye 5 x 8-10
    3B. DB renegade row 5 x 8-10

    4A. Push-up 5 x failure
    4B. Pull-up 5 x failure

    Rest 45-60 sec between sets.
    *Complete chest and back day with ab workout option one.

    Day five: Steady-state cardio

     

    Day six: Full body circuit (two options)

    Option one: Complete exercises in a circuit format for 6 rounds. Rest 60 seconds after each round. Perform 10 reps per exercise.

    KB goblet squat
    DB bench press
    DB bent-over row
    DB high pull
    Cable curl
    Cable pushdown
    Hanging leg raise

    Option two: Complete exercises in a circuit format for 6 rounds. Rest 60 seconds after each round. Perform 10 reps per exercise.

    DB thruster
    DB renegade row
    Push-up
    Pull-up
    DB curl
    DB kickback
    Plank (to failure)

    The built for the beach ab workouts (two options)

    Option one

    1. Hanging leg raise 5 x failure

    2A. BB roll-out 5 x failure
    2B. Cable chop 5 x failure

    3. Plank 5 x failure

    Rest 30 seconds between sets

    Option two

    1. Stability ball circles 5 x failure

    2A. BB roll-out 5 x failure
    2B. V-up 5 x failure

    3. Plank 5 x failure

    Rest 30 seconds between sets

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