My “Back on Track” Workout

I took about 6 weeks off of lifting weights in the months of July and August. I started lifting again at the beginning of September and it took a few weeks to get my body used to the stresses again. Last week, I finally felt like I used to and decided to ramp up my workouts a little bit. This past week has been a bit of a challenge, but I’m happy with the way things worked out and will be reusing this workout for at least the next 3 weeks.

There’s a few important things to note about my workout:

It is a hybrid split-body workout – most days get their own body part
I do intense cardio every day but Thursday
I don’t lift weights on the weekends
I decided on the weights I would use ahead of time so I wasn’t thinking during the workout

I felt like this week went really well. I feel stronger than I did at the beginning of the week and I feel accomplished because of what I did. I think the plan I followed could be used by pretty much anyone (with modifications to the weight based on your strength levels, obviously). Here’s what I did for cardio and on each day:

Cardio

Every day except Thurdsay, I do 15 rounds of jump rope. Each round is 60 seconds of work followed by a 45 second rest period. I jump as fast as I can and try to mix it up by jumping on one foot, jogging while jumping rope, jumping in a staggered stance, etc.

Monday – Shoulders

Barbell Overhead Press: 95×8, 115×8, 135×8, 155×8
Barbell Upright Row: 95×8, 95×8, 95×8
Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 20×12, 20×12, 30×8
Barbell Front Raise: 45×12, 45×12, 65×8
Shrug: 135×12, 135×12, 185×8

Tuesday – Legs

Back Squat: 135×8, 185×8, 225×8, 275×8
Front Squat: 95×8, 115×8, 135×8
Overhead Squat: 95×8, 95×8, 95×8
Romanian Deadlift: 145×8, 145×8, 145×8
Good Mornings: 135×8, 135×8, 135×8

Wednesday – Chest and Back

Barbell Bench Press: 135×8, 185×8, 205×8, 225×8
Dumbbell Chest Flyes: 30×12, 30×12, 30×12
Pull Up (strict form): 4 sets to failure (between 8 and 15, usually)
Bent Over Barbell Row: 95×12, 95×12, 135×8

Thursday – Olympic-esque

Kettlebell Swings: 53×20, 53×20, 53×20, 53×20
Hang Clean: 135×8, 135×8, 135×8
Hang Snatch: 95×8, 95×8, 95×8
Deadlift: 225×8, 225×8, 225×8
Lateral Bench Jumps: 20, 20, 20

Friday – Arms

Dumbbell Curl: 20×12, 20×12, 30×8
Barbell Curl: 95×8, 95×8, 95×8
Dumbbell Lying Tricep Extension (Skull Crushers): 30×8, 30×8, 30×8
Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks: 20×8, 20×8, 20×8

The Ohrns