As mentioned in my Keto Diet Experiment, Week 1 post, I usually do two strength workouts a week (Strength Workout A and Strength Workout B), plus 2 or 3 running sessions.

I’ve decided to post up my weekly workouts here so you can try them out for yourself. My strength workouts are purposely designed to meet the following:

• No longer than 30 Mins Duration (I train in my lunch hour!)
• Full Body Workout
• Uses compound exercises that engage lots of muscle fibres at once
• Uses Minimal Equipment, if any
• 6-8 Reps of each exercise to target strength

Everyday Equipment

I’m not a big fan of barbells, dumbbells – much prefer to use either bodyweight only or equipment that is unpredictable when lifted/moved/slammed! Equipment such as sandbags and kettlebells – or tyres/kegs.

The sand in a sandbag will constantly move around as you lift it. Therefore your body is constantly challenged to readjust its position and make use of its stabiliser muscles.

My workouts are more in tune with the demands of everyday life. When you pick up a child, that child is likely to move and wriggle (a lot if your kids are anything like mine!). They are not going to stay perfectly still like a barbell would, and the weight is not distributed equally each side as is a barbell/dumbbell!

The Workout

Strength Workout A consists of only six exercises. Well the first two exercises are actually four exercises in total, but 2 exercises are bundled into one movement, to save time (otherwise known as a superset)

Set your equipment up so that you can perform a set of each superset immediately followed by a set of the next superset. So for example:

• 1. SUPERSET1A – do 1 set of  6 reps. Immediately move on to the next superset
• 2. SUPERSET1B. – do 1 set of  6 reps
• 3. Rest for 3-5 mins (or less if you are short of time)
• 4. Repeat the above until you’ve completed both supersets.
• 5. Move onto the next exercise
•  If you’ve got plenty of time you want to be resting about 3-5 mins between sets when training strength. However I don’t have that luxury, I usually go into the next set after about 1min30 secs rest.

*KB = Kettlebell
** Pullup/Monkey Bar Pyramid – Do 1 Pullup, then a length of monkey bars. Then 2 pullups and a length of monkey bars, then 3, then 4. Keep increasing pullups until you can’t complete the set, then make your way back down the pyramid. So 3 pullups & 1 length, 2 pullups & 1 length..

Feel free to fire over any questions in the comments, I’m usually pretty quick at replying