Blessed to Be Ben
Welcome to Workout Wednesday. Every Wednesday, I’ll be talking a little about my training philosophy, explaining the exercises and giving you a free workout. As I’ve mentioned before, by night I’m a Catholic writer and nerd, but by day I’m a strength coach, personal trainer and strength athlete. I’ve done this as my full-time job since 2016, and part time in some capacity or another since 2006. As always, you should check with a doctor before embarking on any exercise journey. If you have any specific questions, you can ask them directly on either my Facebook fitness page, or my Instagram fitness page.
The why of this Workout Wednesday
Building a large capacity for work – and a higher level of cardiovascular health – has been important for everybody I’ve ever coached or trained. A great way to do both of those and also save time is to complete your accessory work as a circuit. Hence, the below workout.
The what of this Workout Wednesday
But first, a few conventions for those that might not know. You’ll need to understand that exercises are given in terms of “sets” and “repetitions” or “reps”. For example, “Goblet Squat 3×12” means to perform a set (or group of repetitions) of goblet squats (which you can see this nice gentleman doing in the video above) 3 times. Each set will consist of 12 repetitions of goblet squats before resting. Unless otherwise noted, you should always warm up with lighter weight, and move up to heavier weight over 2-3 increments before you reach the “working sets” (in this case, the 3×12). Form is crucial. I will go over form for some of the more esoteric exercises I give to you, but a great resource that I often send clients to is www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory. I have yet to fundamentally disagree with any of their information.
And second, it is crucial that you know how to complete a circuit. This circuit can be completed just about anywhere, but a timer that will automatically count down for you will make your life easier. There are many free and paid choices in the Mobile Device Store ® of your choice. Simply
Lower body workout for strength, heart and lung health, work capacity, and time.
- Complete a heavy lower body compound movement. This can be a squat for 5×5, or a deadlift for a maximum effort. The important thing is to (safely) push your limits. If you don’t know how to do that, get yourself a coach, either online, or in person.
- Next, complete this circuit. Do 30 seconds of each exercise and then give yourself 15 seconds to move to the next one. After you’ve completed all 8 exercises, rest for 1-3 minutes (depending on how quickly you can get back to being able to pray the Hail Mary without gasping). Then repeat all 8 exercises again until you’ve completed each at least 3 times. If you have more capacity (and time, do them up to 5 times).
- 1 arm kettlebell (or dumbbell) swing
- 1 leg box squat (make the box as high as you need to in order to make 30 seconds of work doable)
- Vertical jumps, or 12-24″ box jumps if you have that equipment (land with soft knees, they will act as shock absorbers)
- Frog kicks
- Other arm kettlebell swing
- Other leg box squat
- Hyper (or 45 degree back raise)
- Sprint
Having done this and had many clients do this, I can tell you that you will get a great workout from it that is directly related to how much effort you give it.
If you do this workout and like it, let me know!
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