My Weekly Workout Routine
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I’ve received a number of emails from readers asking for more details about my workout routine, especially after publishing a Case Against Cardio and the recent video of my beach sprints. Though I do snowboard and hike and love to try my hand at new stuff – especially while traveling – this basic weekly routine has been my foundational regimen for years. Of course, depending on travel, business and family matters, the routine varies, but this is the general idea. Over the years I’ve concentrated much more of my efforts on weight training, with great results. And I’m definitely an “outdoor” kind of guy. One thing I really appreciate about living in Southern California is the great weather; you can’t beat a hike for a natural, challenging work out. (By the way, if you’re not doing resistance activities, I encourage you to start. Weight-bearing and resistance exercises are essential, particularly as we age.)
Monday
Weights: 45-55 minutes of chest/shoulders/triceps training
Tuesday
Intervals: 35-40 minutes on the Lifecycle (5×1 minute hard intervals within that time)
Wednesday
Weights: 45-55 minutes of back/biceps/legs training
Thursday
Beach sprints (Weather permitting!)
Friday
Weights: 45-55 minutes chest/shoulders/triceps (I rotate every other week – Monday/Friday – to back/biceps/legs)
Saturday
I hike for at least 2 hours or, if I’m traveling or pressed for time, I repeat my Lifecycle workout
Sunday
The best day of the week: 2 hours of ultimate frisbee in a multi-family pick-up game. It’s great to spend time with the kids and our friends and get everybody into fitness together. This has become my favorite activity by far.
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
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Interesting routine, Mark. Care to divulge what lifts, set, and rep range you’re doing for your weight training schedule?
I’ve been doing this program for a week now (since I first e-mailed Mark about it after reading his Case Against Cardio) and I have to say that I am impressed enough with my results to continue my experiment for another week. All of my workout buddies think I am INSANE. I went from doing cardio 9 times a week (60+ min a pop) and weight training 5 days a week to doing what Mark does (3-4 days cardio w/ 2 days sprints & 3 days of weights on non-consecutive days). So basically I cut out a TON of cardio and some of my weights. The results? In ONE week I’ve lost 2 lbs and gone down 1% in bodyfat. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot but I’m going to try it again this week:) Thanks Mark!!
Thanks, guys. I’ll divulge the details soon…
Charlotte, if it makes you feel any better all my friends and family think that I am nuts when I tell them how little I work out. I do about 90 minutes of weight training per week, about 10-15 minutes of intervak training per week and then just take enjoyable 30-60 minute walks whenever I can. People also look at my weird when I tell them I am a 1 set guy when it comes the weights.
Most the time I just keep my diet and fitness routine to myself unless someone specifically asks about it.
primalman,
A few weeks ago I would have thought you were nuts too but now I think you may be on to something. Can I ask – what is your bodyfat % at? Do you do your one set to failure?
I plan on returning to weight training and doing something like this once I recover from double hernia surgery. 4 more weeks of going nuts. I won’t cut out all cardio. Instead will probably work some sprints into my road rides and start taking it easier for the majority of the ride. Adding weights probably twice a week. Then modify from there.
Since I can’t ride at all and I was riding 100 miles per week, I’ve started losing weight again. After reading Mark’s article and a couple other’s I began to suspect that I needed ease off and definitely include cardio. Hopefully once I can start again, I will resume losing weight because its been about 6-7 months since any good progress.
Charlotte, I really do not know what my BF% is for sure. I can only estimate. I am about 172 lbs. and my waist is 30-31 inches, so I would guess somewhere around 8%, give or take.
I do one set as hard as I can, stopping when I cannot do anymore reps. I did abou 4 sets of each exercise for years and years. I then did the research and found that sets 2-4 were probably a waste of time. So, I did an experiment on myself and started doing just one hard set and found that it works just as well.
How often do you work your abs?
My background is in running and cycling (I used to do biathlons until the guys with the guns insisted we change the name to duathlon),and I always neglected my upper body. I’ve just started a program using a kettlebell (google it if you haven’t heard of them)and it’s great. The best thing is that you don’t have to “go to the gym.” You can do all the workouts in the back yard. Some of the workouts are about developing strength and others help with endurance. I’ve tailored mine so that one of the workouts serves as an interval workout, and I’m gaining some upper body strength for the first time in my life. I credit Primal Nutrition for the bulk of my 25 pound weight loss, but following Mark’s advice on exercise has played a big part as well. My old influences were Marty Liquori, Dave Scott, and Greg Lemond. Now it’s Mark and Grok!
That’s pretty similar to my routine Mark. Except I do still add a bit of cardio to my routine. Four days of weights, around 30 minutes each and on three of those days I do a bit of cardio, usually on a bike or treadmill. Nothing too serious, just around 30 minutes. Not sure how much it helps, but I know I like the way I feel afterwards.
Plus I hike on the weekend when the weather permits.
Gal
A bit late with this comment, but I notice you don’t really have a rest/recovery day. I am sure that with your background you are aware of whether you need rest or not; but Mr De Vany, for example, would cavil at the Primalness of this regimen since it defies the law (his law??) of randomness and intermittency. What do you think?
Huw
http://Www.runflux.com for running news and links
Huw,
Good point.
I wind up taking unplanned days all the time…so I don’t plan them. When I travel I’ll go a day or two without working out. If I’m fried from an intense session the prior day, I take a day off and pick up where I left off. Sometimes my kids have soccer days (I coach) and it’s just not worth it for me to fit a workout in. I used to agonize over lost days. Now I couldn’t be bothered.
Thanks for your reply, Mark – and it makes your routine sound even better. (I’ve given up agonising about lost days, but some of the athletes I coach need tons of reassurance when they lose a day!)
Hi Mark,
I’ve recently come across your site, and have been avidly trying to catch up on the several years worth of posts you have here.
Having come to this one, you mention that you were going to post details of your weights regime, but I cannot seem to find it.
I’m just interested on your hearing your thoughts around how a weight program should be structured, beyond the ‘lift heavy’ detailed in the primal blueprint.
I personally achieve the lift heavy goal by following the stronglifts.com 5×5 program.
Looking forward to your response.
Mark,
Do you do one set of reps on your weight lifting days of the week?
Mark,
Do you lift one set of reps on your weight lifting days during the week?
I’ve tried 5 x 5 but no luck gaining muscle mass. First 3 sets are light to warm up for the last two heaviest sets.
David, all depends on what day it is and how I’m trying to mix it up. I will say that at 55, it’s a little dicey to do one set of really heavy. The injury potential is greater, so I usually do 3-4 sets now. Sometimes I’ll do ten sets (like if it’s a pull-up marathon)
Hi Mark its only been a few months since i discovered your site through Rustys fitness black book, and thanks to you guys i have gone from ok to awesome, please we are still waiting for you to post your weight lifting routine, weight range, sets, reps etc, it will really be appreciate. thanks alot
Great stuff. Can I ask what is a lifecycle? Treadmill or exercise bike?
Short-e In this case the Lifecycle is an exercise bike
Hi Mark,
I was wondering, do you specifically fuel the cardio/more strenous activity you do or eat specifically afterwards to aid recovery etc?
Many thanks
I weigh 290lbs and push myself hard when I workout. My workouts and diet(paleo) are designed to stimulate HGH and Testosterone.
Here is an example of my workout:
Goliath Circuit (I’m a dork
)
3x Burpee + Clean + Push press
1x Deadlift, 275lbs
1 lap Carcass carry (carry an 80lb sandbag on my shoulder for about 40 seconds)
100x Jump rope
5 rounds for time
I do a similar workout to this at about 3pm every once in awhile. EVERY time I go to bed that night, I feel incredibly hot and I can’t sleep. I know that there is a phenomenon called the “HGH Flush” but I thought it was right after the workout, not 7hrs later.
Has anyone experienced this? Am I not getting enough of something? (i.e. salt, etc) I sweat a ton but I drink a lot of water (1 gallon). Am I shocking my system? I go from about 400g carbs per day to about 50g. I live in West Texas where it is dry and between 90 to 100 degrees.
Also, I want to point out that Mark is exactly right about the 5×5 program. It does stimulate the most HGH and Testosterone because I feel energetic afterwards and the following day. But I don’t do it often because I am so out of shape I am sore two days later and then for the entire week (delayed onset of muscle soreness).
Thank you for your time,
Steve
I’ve recently moved to strength/olympic/body weight training at 30 minutes x 4-5 days a week with 1 trail run a week. I used to be an endurance junkie so this is a major change from the 12-15 hours of training I used to do. Plenty of benefits including no longer married to food(eating mostly paleo now), increased muscle mass, decreased body fat, increased performance, and I’m rarely sick compared to 4-5 bugs a year when I was an endurance ‘junkie’.
The best advantage is the free time I have!