The 90 Day Challenge: How to Get That Beach Body by Summer!
Are you ready for the beach yet?
If you have to think about that question for longer than a minute then the answer may be no.
If it is then pay close attention to the information in this article because with this workout program, 90 days from now you’ll be excited to take your shirt off at the beach or pool and showoff the results from this 90 day workout challenge.
Warning!
This exercise routine is not for the faint of heart. It’s going to be challenging, and it will tax your limits in just 30 minutes a day.
The program’s routines break down this way:
- Five weeks of just compound body building movements
- Four weeks of high rep compound movements along with moderate fat burning cardio
- Three weeks of high rep, individual body part muscle chiseling plus cardio
- Nutritional muscle support
This program is based on sound muscle building and fat burning techniques that have been used by many other fitness buffs as well as bodybuilders and weight trainers.
Nutrition is going to be critical to achieving the type of results that you’ll expect from this intense workout routine and includes a few supplements that will help you build muscle as well as burn fat over the course of the program.
Let’s talk a little bit about why this program will work and what you can expect out of it realistically.
The Muscle Confusion Principal
In case you’re not aware of what this principal is, simply put when your train your body the same way day in and day out, after a short time it starts to adapt to the routine and it gets easier to get through.
When this adaptation happens in many cases the trainee either reaches a plateau and notices they’re making very little progress or they find ways to change their workout routine.
This is where muscle confusion comes into play, because as you vary the muscle groups you’re working each workout, your body doesn’t adapt as easily…simply because it can’t…and this is the main principal behind this entire routine.
Now let’s take a look at the workout itself and see how it breaks down.
- The Workout Schedule
- Five weeks of five day workouts over seven days.
- 2 days of workouts
- 1 day off
- 2 days of worksouts
- 1 day off
- 1 day workout
Then a new weekly cycle begins leaving off with another day in the gym, followed by a day off.
Stage 1: The Five Week Workout Exercise Routine
Week One
Monday – Chest & Back
Flat Bench Press & Wide Grip Lat Pull downs
5 sets x 5 reps per set for each movement
Tuesday – Legs
Leg Presses & Seated Calf Raises
Legs are notoriously hard to stimulate so the reps are going to reflect that…
6 sets x 7 reps per set
Wednesday – Off Day
Thursday – Biceps & Triceps
Dumbbell Curls
5 sets x 5 reps per set
Lying Triceps Extensions
5 sets x 5 reps per set
Friday – Shoulders
Dumbbell Presses
5 sets x 5 reps per set
Saturday – Off Day
Sunday – Legs
Squats & Standing Calf Raises
Squats
5 sets x 5 reps per set
It’s important to note that you have to do three things during these workouts for them to be the most effective:
- Take just enough time between sets to change the amount of weight you’re using for each set
- Try to go to failure on your last two sets
- Take advantage of Your “Off Days” by resting and recuperating properly
- It’s also important to either train with a partner or make sure that you ask someone to spot you for your own safety.
The other thing that you should have noticed is that by the time you train your legs again, it’s been 4 days since you last trained them. This is something you should try to do with each muscle group.
This five week routine is also designed for the weight trainer in mind, someone who should be able to use different movements for each body part.
In other words if you did flat bench presses during week one, then week two you could do dumbbell bench presses or decline or incline bench presses.
For the back muscles you can try T-Bar rowing, seated rowing or barbell bent rows, but you get the idea. Each week you’ll use a different exercise movement to keep your muscles confused and keep your mind interested enough to push through each set within the 30 minute time frame.
Stage 2: The Four Week Schedule
This is where things get a little tougher, and the reason why is because there’s only one “Off Day” during this four week cycle and cardio is a full 20 minutes with a day of its own as well as the 30 minute allotted time frame to complete a workout per day.
The routines that you’ll be doing during this cycle still involve compound movements, but we start to turn up the heat a bit more as we add more reps to each set along with 12-15 minutes of cardio per workout.
The Four Week Exercise Schedule
The central idea of this workout schedule is simple; same amount of sets, but reps using slightly less weight to attain those extra reps per set.
Monday – Legs
Leg Curls
5 sets x 8-10 reps per set
Tuesday – Chest
Barbell Incline Presses
5 sets x 6-8 reps per set
Wednesday – Back
Seated Cable Rowing
6 sets x 7-10 reps per set
The back is a larger muscle group to train and so that’s why we add an extra set and try to go for 7-10 reps per set
Thursday – Off DayFriday – Shoulders
Machine Presses
5 sets x 6-8 reps per set
Saturday – Biceps and Triceps
Biceps
Seated Camber Curls
5 sets x 7-10 reps
Triceps
Standing Cable Rope Pull Downs
5 sets x 7-10 reps
Sunday – Cardio
Monday starts a new cycle and as with the Five Week Routine, Monday is actually day two of your six day workout routine and Tuesday would be day three.
Wednesday would be your day off this second week of the four week training cycle, and you would once again take a major body part, train it using just one movement, and make sure that you included that additional 10-12 minutes of cardio for each workout day…other than the one day devoted to total cardio.
Stage 3: The Three Week Shred
This is where we separate the men from the boys so to speak. The final three weeks of training is all about targeting each individual muscle… and this is where the training is the hardest and most intense because we’re actually focusing on training almost on the level of a pro bodybuilder chiseling his muscles for maximum definition.
The Three Week Shred
This cycle you’ll be training four days straight with one day off, and then back for another two days before a new week of training begins… without a break leading into that next week of training and don’t forget about that cardio for each workout.Monday – Shoulders
Seated Dumbbell Presses
7 sets 8-10 reps per set
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
7 sets 8-10 reps per set
Dumbbell Rear Delt Raises
6 sets 9-10 reps per set
Tuesday – Legs
Machine Leg Curls
7 sets-7-10 reps per set
Seated Calf raises
6 sets-8-10 reps per set
Seated Leg Extensions
7 sets-7-10 reps per set
Wednesday – Chest
Decline Bench Presses
6 sets-7-10 reps per set
Standing Cable Flies
7 sets-8-10 reps per set
Thursday – Biceps
Barbell Preacher Curls
6 sets-7-10 reps per set
Seated Dumbbell Concentration Curls
5 sets-8-10 reps per set
Friday – Off Day
Saturday – Back
Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs
7 sets-7-10 reps per set
Dumbbell Bent Rows
6 sets-8-10 reps per set
Seated Cable Rows
5 sets-8-10 reps per set
Sunday – Triceps
Lying French Presses
6 sets-7-10 reps per set
Seated Dumbbell Extensions
5 sets-6-8 reps per set
Dips
5 sets-5-8 reps per set
Monday – Legs
Hack Squats
6 sets-7-10 reps per set
Seated Leg Extensions
7 sets-8-10 reps per set
Standing Leg Curls
6 sets-6-8 reps per set
Tuesday – Chest
Incline Bench Press
6 sets-7-10 reps per set
Incline Dumbbell Flies
6 sets-7-10 reps
Decline Dumbbell Flies
6 sets-6-8 reps per set
Wednesday – Off Day (Thank God!)
Okay so you should be able to go on your own from here. Remember that you’re going to finish off your second training week and go right into the third and final week of training four days on, one day off and two final days of training to finish of your final week of the program!
Nutrition
There are going to be three separate nutrition cycles that go with each cycle of training, and they serve different purposes.
Your protein sources for the initial five week part of this program should come from mostly lean sources including fish and chicken, and at least red meat twice per week during the five week cycle, but for the last three weeks of training you’ll avoid red meat like the plague.
Let’s take a look at some of the better sources of lean protein:
- Beef that’s “Grass Fed”
- Whey Protein Isolate
- Shellfish
- Liver
- Wild Salmon
- Tuna
For all you Vegetarians here are a few alternative protein sources:
- Green Peas
- Quinoa
- Nuts
- Chickpeas
- Tofu
- Edamame
Okay so we’re sure you know that in order to just maintain muscle mass, you require 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight on average if you’re the average person.
If you’re a bodybuilder you know that your requirements are anything but average, so you require at least 1.6 grams of protein to build muscle.
The first five weeks of this program is going to require that you consume at least 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per day for each kg of bodyweight. For a 200 lb individual this equates to 145-200 grams of protein per day.
When it comes to protein supplementation one of the hottest protein supplements that many weight lifters and bodybuilders are using is Hardcore Base Shake, a product from Beachbody products, and Muscle Tech’s Build and Burn stack.
The Four Week Nutrition Cycle
The second cycle of training nutrition is where we begin to cut down on protein intake slightly, while increasing our intake of complex carbs and essential fatty acids
The Final Three Weeks
For the final three weeks where you’re upping the intensity of your workouts, you’re going to need increase your intake of carbs to fuel through the workouts and you’re also going to drop the amount of protein that you take in daily down to just below what your daily requirements for protein intake are.
Like anything else you need to fuel your body properly to get through workouts, it’s essential to eat the proper types of carbs which means low fat carbs.
A few low fat carbs include:
- Oatmeal
- Brown Rice
- Whole Grain Breads
- Grits
- Sweet Potatoes
One supplement that’s a part of Muscle Tech’s Build and Burn Stack is Hydroxycut. Hydroxycut as part of a fat burning routine in general is a potent supplement to take, but when it’s added to this part of the program can really help shed fat and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the overall results that this supplement delivers.
Other things to remember during this phase of the program:
- Eat your vegetables
- Hydrate before, during, and after your workouts
- When you’re in a rush and you need some easily digested carbs eat a piece of fruit
- Take in essential fatty acids to promote overall health (While you can get essential fatty acids in a few different foods such as Salmon, Trout and Tuna there are other sources that you can take such as Flaxseed and Soybean oils, and nuts and seeds including Walnuts and sunflower seeds.)
In closing, this routine may even take the most experienced bodybuilders to their limits, that being said even if you have to take an extra 15 minutes per workout sometimes to complete a training day…don’t beat yourself up over it.
This is an extreme routine, and we want to stress that even if you have to make some adjustments to the routine, sticking with it to the very end will deliver surprising results, and a body you’ll be proud to show off…even in the privacy of your own bedroom.