Thanks to tropical storm Debra I purchased a week’s membership to Gold’s Gym in Destin. I had planned to take the week off, and just perform metabolic workouts on the beach. However, Mother Nature had other plans.
I haven’t been in a commercial gym since I opened my own 3 years ago. Needless to say, I quickly remembered why I opened up my own.
A Few Things to Ponder
- I despise commercial gyms. I know it’s ironic since I own a commercial gym, but it’s true. Why? At the Gold’s in Destin, there are only two barbell power racks and 40+ machines. The free weight area is literally a 10’x10′ cell. It’s horrible. I’m pretty sure if I started performing a complex of barbell snatches and box jumps, everyone in the gym would stop and stare. I probably would even hit a few people with the bar. The number 1 mistake skinny guys make: Ignoring the free weights and jumping on the machines. During the 45 minutes I was there, 6 guys, who I would classify as skinny dudes, went from machine to machine. Not one of them broke a sweat. Not one of them made a difference. “Pump” workouts are useless for skinny guys.
- When it comes to dieting, if it’s in front of you, you’ll eat it. I don’t diet, but I do watch my carbs. While at home, we don’t stock any junk food, sweets, etc. However, my family does. Our vacation home is filled with Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, chips, powdered doughnuts, and other crap. Unfortunately, my will power sucks. I’ve eaten a ton of junk food, and my energy levels and waist line are paying for it. Bottom line: If it’s in your cabinet, you’ll eat it. Do yourself a favor and stock your cabinets and fridge with fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, peanut butter, protein shakes, and nuts.
So, because I felt claustrophobic in the power rack area, I decided to stick with my original plan and perform a metabolic workout. My wife and I hit the group training room with a few kettlebells, and we were dripping sweat in no time.
Our Vacation Workout #1
Whole Body Circuit
30:30 work:rest ratio, 3 times through the circuit
1. 20lb Med Ball Slam
2. 12″ box jumps
3. Pushups
4. 1-Arm 35lb Kettlebell Swings (30 seconds each arm)
5. 1-Arm 25lb Kettlebell Squat to Press (30 seconds each arm)
6. Lateral Box Steps
7. Band Skier Rows
8. Band Curls
Core Circuit
30:30, 3 times through circuit
1. Stability Ball Stir the Pot
2. 25lb Kettlebell Side Plank (30 seconds each side)
3. 25lb Turkish Half Get Ups (30 seconds each arm)
4. RKC-style Planks
[box_light]One word of caution: Be extremely careful of adding metabolic-style workouts to your training regimen. I have been experimenting with these type of workouts for over 2 years now. I know what my body can handle and what it can’t handle. With the amount of carbs I’ve been consuming I knew I could handle a few metabolic workouts this week. Plus, my strength training had plateaued so I needed to change things up for a week. If 5/3/1 was still working or a simple linear progression was still working, I wouldn’t have even thought about adding a metabolic workout. Strength is the king. Everything else is secondary.[/box_light]
Hopefully my next workout will be on the beach. As always, if you’ve found something that works, drop me a line.