John Ware
Age: 28
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 165
Body fat: 5%
AB TRAINING
I train abs instinctively, usually once or twice a week. For the most part I only do one or two sets close to failure. My favorite ab exercise is lying leg raises because I can do them in my living room after coming home from a run. I try to increase my reps each time, often reaching 100 reps for one set. In general, I prefer any type of leg raise movement, whether it’s on the ground, hanging from a bar, or on a bench, etc. In my experience, these kind of movements get the best overall ab stimulation (they’re not just for the lower abs, as people commonly believe).
DIET
During the summer season, I will cycle my carbs throughout the week. A sample week looks like this:
- Monday: high carb (300 grams)
- Tuesday: high carb (300 grams)
- Wednesday: medium carb (200 grams)
- Thursday: low carb (100 grams)
- Friday: low carb (100 grams)
- Saturday: low carb (100 grams)
- Sunday: high carb (300 grams)
I’ll shift my protein and fat ratios accordingly, but generally I like to include a lot of healthy fat sources in my diet (you’ll see me eating lots of natural peanut butter, almonds, whole eggs, and extra lean beef). When I’m dieting I also like to eat lots of salad greens and steamed veggies with my meals (broccoli is my favorite). I also make a point of drinking lots of water, at least 1.5 gallons per day.
SAMPLE DIET
To make dieting easier, I alternate between meals based on whole-foods and meal-replacement powders. Here’s a sample ‘medium carb day’:
- 7:30AM: 1 scoop whey-powder, 1 apple
- 10:30AM (after workout): 1 scoop whey-powder, 1 scoop casein powder, 1/3 cup organic quick oats, 1 tsp. cinnamon (all mixed together in a bowl with some water)
- 12:30PM: 1 scoop whey-powder, 1 scoop casein powder, 1/3 cup organic quick oats, 1 tsp. cinnamon (all mixed in a bowl w/ water)
- 3:00PM: 1 cup chicken breast cutlets on a whole-wheat pita
- 5:30PM: 1 can tuna mixed in salad greens
- 8:00PM: omelette (4 whole omega eggs, with 1 tsp olive oil added to the pan), salad greens
- 10:30PM (before bed): 1 scoop whey powder, 1 scoop casein powder, 1/3 cup organic quick oats, 1 tsp. cinnamon (all mixed in a bowl w/ water)
Total calories: 2168
Fat: 59.6 grams
Carbs: 174 grams
Protein: 259.4 grams
Dietary fiber: 26.3 grams
WEIGHT TRAINING
After trying nearly every workout program in existence, I’ve settled into a heavy/volume routine. Every body part is trained twice a week, once using heavy weights with low reps, the other using light weights with high reps. My workouts usually last an hour. While the order of my routine often changes, here’s what a typical week looks like:
- Monday: Heavy back and chest
- Tuesday: Heavy delts and arms
- Wednesday: Heavy legs and calves
- Thursday: Off
- Friday: Volume upper body
- Saturday: Volume lower body
- Sunday: Off
I usually train in the morning, an hour or two after eating breakfast. Every 8 to 12 weeks, I’ll take an entire week off from the gym.
CARDIO
I like to do cardio year-round. My favorite exercise is running outdoors — yes, even in the winter season! I find that running is the most challenging and exciting way to burn calories, and it’s convenient because you can do it anywhere. I run at a medium to fast pace, and always keep it under 20:00 minutes. Also, I like to separate running from my weight workouts by at least six hours. Other than that, if I’m really trying hard to burn fat, I’ll add 15:00 minutes of light cardio right after my weight workout, usually on the recumbent bike or elliptical machine.
One of the most important tools I’ve found to stay on track with my training is to keep a workout journal. Everything I do in the gym is recorded: weights, reps, cardio distance, etc. I also keep a food journal and track all the calories I eat. At first it sounds daunting to do all of this, but it eventually becomes second nature, and the benefits are definitely worth the extra time.
Best of Luck with the SixPackNow Program
Thanks,
John