It’s Sunday and watching football has kept me horizontal for the past three hours, rising only for the essentials: to drink water, to expel water, and to refill my bowl of ice cream (cheat day). Sunday is my lazy day. I did, however, still get up at 5 am and hit the ground running, but that run became a walk, then a full-fledged nap at around 9. Now, here I am, feeling like the most subdued human on the planet, and it’s time for me to hit the gym.
What to do?
How do we have a Legendary workout when we’re lazy as shit?
First, and most importantly, I can’t under-state the importance of routine. When a workout is simply a part of our routine, there’s less “getting up” for it. It’s just something that we do at this time of day, every week. It’s like waking up or eating lunch.
If you’ve ever read The Power of Full Engagement, by Tony Schwartz – great book – you’ll know that having a routine also programs our bodies to be ready for the next event. That is, if we write at 9 am everyday, our minds are programmed to be active and ready for that task. The same can be said for working out. If we train at the same time everyday, we know what’s coming, and we’re accustomed to mustering the energy and the focus to engage in the workout wholeheartedly.
Before we cover any of the other tactics, make a workout schedule, and make it firm.
Here’s one of the schedule’s we use in the PowerHowse Challenge – it separates the workouts and the recovery days as to allow your body to recover as much as possible before your next training session.
Training Days: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Recovery Days: Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
Set firm times for each of your training days. Have a look at your schedule and make sure you can keep this routine up every week, only making adjustments ahead of time, and if necessary – not because you’re too lazy to train.
How to Lift Legendary When You’re Lazy
On those days when we’ve set ourselves firmly in from of the boob tube, or even in our beds reading, it’s tough to get up for a workout. And there’s nothing worse than a half-assed attempt at a training session. One where we get little bloodflow to the muscles, a moderate sweat, and experience almost no intensity. Those days are useless – so how do we eliminate them altogether (note: I didn’t say avoid them)?
1. Find a training partner.
This doesn’t, and maybe even shouldn’t, have to be a close friend. When you lift with a close friend, sometimes the workouts end up being laugh sessions more than workouts. Their light on the work and heavy on the chatter. So find someone you know, who has similar goals as you, and is willing to work hard.
It’s great if you can find someone who’s in better shape than you are, but if that’s not an option, no worries. If you’re creating the workouts, as well as leading them, a partner is still beneficial. He’ll be there to spot you, to push you, and he be there. Meaning that on those days you want nothing more than to stay on the couch, he’ll be waiting for you at the gym. Just find someone willing to learn and to work very, very hard.
2. Start a program.
This is a great time for a shameless plug, and it’s easy to call me out on this point because, yes, I sell programs – namely this AWESOME one ;). But we need to have structure to our training if we’re going to get serious results. “Chance” has no place in creating success in any field.
Why we need a program…
A good program will give us specifically what we need to do to reach our goals. It’ll provide the most linear path to our ideal body. When we start a program we’re given what to do. If it says 4 sets, we do 4 sets. When we go to the gym and just workout, we end up doing pretty much whatever we want. If we don’t feel like doing the fourth set, we don’t.
Just like we need to be structuring the times of our training, we need to structure our training. The rest periods are there for a reason, they need to be timed. As are the cadences, the reps, and the sets. A program is thought out ahead of time by someone who knows what they’re talking about. It isn’t created on the spot by someone who doesn’t.
I follow programs, whether they’re made by me, or quite often created by other people – because I like trying things that I wouldn’t do on my own. After umpteen years working out and training for sports, I’ve grown to respect the notion that a good workout and nutrition program isn’t just something that’s good to follow, but necessary. If we’re not on a schedule, and our training isn’t structured, most of the time we’re wasting our time.
Here are 3 great programs other than my own, that’ll help you reach your goals:
Fat Loss: Final Phase Fat Loss
Created by a good buddy of mine, John Romaniello, this program will help you attack your excess fat on a hormonal level. John is one of the leaders in the industry. He knows what he’s talking about, and he’ll help you burn that last little bit of fat, when most programs won’t.
Click Here to learn more.
Build Muscle & Burn Fat: Lean Hybrid Muscle
This solution to bulking, and it’s various downsides, was created by two friends of mine, Mike Westerdal and Elliott Hulse. Mike is a former powerlifter, and Elliott is a strongman competitor. Needless to say, they know a thing or two about building lean muscle mass. They also know a ton about building athletic muscle.
I’ve done this program. It’s awesome. It’s tough, but effective. If you’re an athlete trying to pack on muscle, but improve your explosive power, this is also a great program to use. I give it a massive thumbs up. In fact, I shall follow this guy over the holidays.
Click Here for a free video about building muscle while burning fat – from Mike and Elliott.
For Ectomorphs (Skinny Guys) Who Can’t Build Muscle: the Muscle Maximizer
Another friend of mine, Kyle Leon, created this groundbreaking program for skinny guys. I say groundbreaking, because this program customizes the nutritional needs of every single person who buys it. You plug in your height, weight, and a few other measurements, and, through an algorithm that Kyle created, you get a meal plan specifically for your needs.
If you seriously can’t build muscle, this is the solution.
Click Here for a free video (only for skinny guys who can’t build muscle).
3. Have a pick me up.
If I’m pooped, lazy, tired, or if I just finished a massive work session and forget what daylight looks like, I’ll have a pick me up. Some will rag on using supplements for a pre-workout boost, but I say silence! to those who do. A good pre-workout supplement will give you energy – through caffeine and vitamins – but it’ll also flood your body with good nutrients that will start the recovery process while you’re still training.
Extreme Rush (click here for more info) is my favorite pre workout supplement. It gives me energy, increases my pump when training, and starts the recovery process while I’m pumping iron.
About that “pump”. A pump is important because it ushers more oxygen-rich red blood cells to your muscles. It also brings more testosterone and HGH to the area where the blood is pooling (the muscle you’re working), along with other nutrients your body needs to recover. That’s why we want a pump. It isn’t about looking huge, it’s about getting results. A supplement that helps us achieve this pump is a good thing!
Coffee is another excellent option. Have a cup or two before a workout. This will increase your alertness and give you more energy to train harder, but a couple cups of Joe will also increase the lipid burning process – helping you burn more fat while you’re training.
Try this next time you’re in the gym…
In the end…
You just have to go. Start. Begin. Use the tips I’ve mentioned in this article, but the most powerful thing you can do when you’re lazy, is to get up, have a cold shower, step outside, and start moving. Just go. Don’t think. Forget about pondering your next move or the effects of each scenario. Get off your ass and go, just like I did this past Sunday.
