The 90 Day Challenge: How to Get That Beach Body by Summer!

The 90 Day Challenge: How to Get That Beach Body by Summer!
Updated

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.