Could Add On Routines Be The Holy Grail Of Fitness?
Tyler “The Garage Warrior” Bramlett
I first met Mikey “The Finishers Guy” Whitfield in 2011 at the first ever Turbulence Training Summit. He shared his fantastic personal story about losing over 100lbs in such a short amount of time and how he decided that now all he wanted to do is help people get control of their lives. I thought to myself good for this guy, but on the other hand I had heard this same story a million times and often it ends right where it started.
Boy Was I WRONG!
Now listen carefully because what I am going to share with you could change the way the fitness industry works for good. So, pull up a chair, silence your cellphones and lets get started.
The months went by and I didn’t think much about it. I didn’t realize at the time that this Mikey guy up on stage was gonna turn the fitness world on it’s head with a new and unique idea…
The next time I saw Mikey, he was presenting at the 2012 Fitness Business Summit on something called “workout finishers”. If you have been a frequent visitor to this site then you already should know exactly what a workout finisher is. Right?
If not then poke around the site, rip off the band-aid and go give one a shot.
As I listened to his presentation I was amazed with what Mikey had done. He had in one precise swoop, taught people how to add a metabolic conditioning workout at the end of their current routine in such a way that it doesn’t compete with their existing program.
Read that last sentence again…
Instead of coming in with the latest super biceps routine or even worse formulating a precise plan that he thinks would work for every single person that uses it. He walked up on stage and said you can continue doing whatever it is that you love to do, just give me 6-10 minutes of your time, at the end of your workout to try out a workout finisher.
As I listened to his talk my mind was exploding with ideas and I couldn’t help but think to myself, “could add on routines be the holy grail of fitness?”
Let’s stop right there and examine exactly why someone starts working out in the first place.
There are as many reasons to start working out as there are people in this world. One person want’s bigger biceps, another thinks their butt is too small. Yet another person wants to get healthy and lose weight while the other want’s to get jacked and kick some ass. So, herein lies the problem… How the heck is each person supposed to get to his or her goals with a generic program?
Think about it for a sec… If someone who want’s to lose weight ends up getting their hands on a powerlifting routine then their results will be that of a powerlifter, not weight loss. So I ask you this question… Why not treat your workout time as a goal achieving time. What do I mean by this? Simple really.
Everyone needs to do cardio right? I would agree with that statement, however what type of cardio do we need? When I say cardio I could be talking about doing an Ironman triathlon or doing 20 burpees really fast, right? So, then if everyone needs to be doing cardio, then what type of cardio should you be doing? Again the answer is simple.
You should be doing the cardio that you like to do and that you will continue to do because you like it.
Pause… Read that again because that statement contains the secret to working out for life. You need to enjoy what you are doing otherwise you will eventually stop doing it!
Now I personally dislike long duration drawn out cardio routines so something like workout finishers works perfectly for me. I’ll go out to my garage gym, follow a warmup routine that I created to get me closer to my goals, work on my specific strength training goals for about 45 minutes and then hit a quick workout finisher.
This way I didn’t neglect my cardio in favor of just strength training.
My point is this… If you can pick and choose exactly what you do for your workouts. Which you can right? Then you could build your entire workout by using add on routines like Mikey’s workout finishers.
So what else could be an-add on?
That’s the cool part… Everything can be an-add on.
Let’s say you want to learn to do the splits, teach yourself to do a handstand, build your pullup strength, get a mean 6 pack, improve your cardio and fat burn without spending 45 minutes on a treadmill all at the same time. Well your new routine would look like this.
Start with a 10-15 minute warm up that addresses your specific goals, like learning to do the splits (so a lot of leg stretches and dynamic warm-ups) and getting into a handstand (a simple gymnastic movement progression would do). Then you move to a well-designed pullup program (Mikey and I’s friend Shawna who can do more pullups then a navy seal has a sweet pullup program you could follow). Then hit a workout finisher and an ab finisher and viola your probably out of the gym in 45 minutes or less having achieved all of your goals in one precise swoop, how about that?
My point is that full body split routines have their place, if you love training that way and your goals are the same as the person designing the program. But don’t be a fool thinking that someone else has the magic skill of designing a complete routine that will address your exact needs and goals (unless they are your own personal coach, and they are actually a good trainer which is kind of rare).
Instead, take your body and your life into your own hands and choose exactly what you want, find the people who know how to get you there and apply what they tell you to do. If it works, keep doing it, if it doesn’t, then you probably found the wrong guru.
I’ll exit by asking you this one question… When you go to a restaurant, do you think you should have the opportunity to choose what they put on your sandwich or burger? Shouldn’t you be able to say no pickles or add a slice of cheese? Imagine going to a restaurant where you couldn’t customize your meal. Would you continue going there? I think a place like that wouldn’t be around for long.
My point is you should be able to choose what you want in your workout routine, right? No mayo on whole wheat with a side of workout finishers and and an ab finisher for desert. Do you see what I’m saying? I believe that add on workout routines could be the wave of the future, and I hope now you do too!!
Keep Training Hard, And Remember to Choose What You Want!!!
Tyler “The Garage Warrior” Bramlett
Thanks Tyler – good stuff. I used to warm up before my workouts, but after reviewing Tyler’s program, I get ready for war. It’s the one thing that could be missing from your workouts.
Finish and START strong,
Mikey
Check out Tyler’s Warrior Warmup Program by clicking here.
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