Complete 8 rounds of 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds rest of:
rowing
burpees
rowing
squats
rowing
OH BB push press 25/45 (may sub for db)
Post max distances and reps per round to comments
May sub row for KB high sumo's 25/35 (one rep = 10m.)
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Several months ago I began writing answers to FAQ's. I'm not nearly finished. What is done hasn't been edited much. I publish it tonight with hopes that it will answer questions you may have or that others may have for you. Please forgive it's length and my weakness in writing. - FitZoner
FAQ’s
What is FZN training?
FZN training is blindly focused on helping you achieve optimal
health.
To become “optimally healthy,” we believe you must have
balance across ALL aspects of health (mental, emotional, spiritual, social,
PHYSICAL and financial).
FZN’s unique training method is the most complete, effective,
efficient, and safest way for you to achieve balance over all ten aspects (cardiovascular
endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, coordination,
balance and accuracy) of PHYSICAL health.
This type of training is the
fastest way to decrease bodyfat and improve all aspects of health while
improving fitness across broad time and modal domain. In other words, through proper exercise and nutrition you will be completely fit
for the long and short term while being supremely capable of the known and unknown physical stressors and
challenges your life may present.
It is not lost on us that many who enter within strive for
more than improved PHYSCAL presence and capacity. We believe with mastery of the physical you
will have new skill sets that you can use to become more successful across all other aspects of “optimal
health.”
What if I am under a
physicians care can I still do the workouts?
You should obtain clearance from your physician to workout
with us. Please have your physician
contact us so that we can explain this program to him/her. Make your physician understand that this is a
priority to you and that you would still like to work out. Many expert physicians will help you find a
way to continue.
How many times per
week should we do FZN workouts?
We need you here 5 times per week. The programming at the FZN is designed to
improve your health and fitness over 10 different aspects of fitness (cardio,
stamina, strength, flexibility, speed, power, agility, balance, coordination,
accuracy). There is no way to program
all of these aspects into ONE or TWO workouts per week. It takes five. Missing even a single workout per week will
slow progress.
What about rest?
The globo gym standard of resting body parts for several
days after working them out in isolation is an ancient concept that is single
handedly responsible for bogging down more well-intentioned efforts in health
and fitness than few other concepts.
FZN workouts stimulate muscular and metabolic systems in
ways that mimic day to day life. Day to
day life cannot be rested from several times per week and neither should your
workouts. Can you imagine pioneers
walking across the plains in the 1840’s saying to the trail boss, “Hell, we
walked all day yesterday, shouldn’t we rest our legs today?”
Working SYSTEMS daily is a healthy way to increase capacity
for your day to day challenges, both seen and unseen.
What if we go on vacation?
The point of a vacation is to get away from the stresses and
haggles of everyday life. If you have put enough effort into your
nutrition and FZN workouts, then you have earned a break. Take one.
If you are the type who vacations for a week every month…you
may take one week of exercise off per quarter.
Measurements?
You cannot know how far you’ve come, unless you know EXACTLY
where you started from.
As you are putting in the effort to complete your daily
workouts and to dial in your nutrition daily, how will you know if you are
progressing or not? You cannot know
unless you have something to compare it to.
Refer to the “Motivation” tab on the home page of
FitZoneNation.com for info on effectively obtaining baseline measurements. This includes info on how to weigh yourself
(there are secrets), how to measure and how to take effective photos. The title of the document is “Obtaining a Baseline.”
Many veteran FitZoners can be heard to lament the fact that
they did not collect a baseline measurement.
Many of them wish they knew how far they have come.
What if I can’t lift
the Rx’d weight?
Don’t try for a while.
Your first goal with the FZN workouts is to simply make it through all
the rounds while doing all the reps with proper form. The weight you can lift is secondary in
importance to these things.
What is the “Rx?”
Rx simply means “as prescribed.” Your goal as a FitZoner should be to someday
be able complete workouts as they are written, or “as Rx’d.” In other words, Rx’d workouts are done with
ALL the weight, ALL the reps, ALL the rounds suggested and the movements should
be done perfectly as instructed. Where
there is a time component the Rx applies to this, too.
What is the best way
to progress to the Rx?
Methodically.
Remember, beating the hell out of yourself is not the goal here. Any idiot can do that. Progressively adding intensity to your
workouts should follow a process. The
process is as follows:
1. Scale
everything. This means to decrease all
Rounds, Reps and Weights (RRW).
-Generally
beginners should scale all RRW by 2/3.
-Intermediate
exercisers may want to scale RRW by 1/3 to 1/2.
-Advanced exercisers should scale less or more
depending on experience with these workouts.
Just because someone has been working out for years does not
make them an “advanced exerciser” with FZN workouts. FZN workouts are usually much more rigorous
than other workout styles.
2. Add ONE thing back
at a time. Making broad sweeping
adjustments to your workouts will only serve to confuse and frustrate and will
not help you progress. Think about it,
if you change two or three things, meaning you went up in weight on the same
day you added reps and weight, which one is responsible for making you
miserably sore (if you get sore)?
3. When adding back work while progressing to the Rx, do it
in the following order:
a) Rounds. Your first
goal is to complete all rounds suggested.
For example the workout “Oliver” is written with 7 rounds. Before you add reps or weight to “Oliver” we
suggest you progress to where you can do at least a few reps at a scaled weight
over ALL 7 rounds of this workout.
b) Reps. Once you
have gotten to where you can complete all the rounds of any workout on a
consistent basis over several different types of workouts, you should then try
to progress to doing Reps as Rx’d. For
example: “Oliver” is written for 7 rounds of 20 reps of thrusters; 20 reps of
high sumos; 20 reps of situps; and 20 reps of back extensions. Begin now to add back reps gradually until
you are able to complete all reps of any given workout at a scaled weight.
c) Weight. The last
thing you add is weight. This must also
be done gradually making sure that your movements are done with proper form as
demonstrated.
What should I do if I
am injured?
You should never exercise against a doctor’s orders. If injured, you should obtain medical
clearance before working out again.
Trust me; your progress will be much swifter if you listen to good
medical advice.
From there, it should always be your goal to work out within
your PAIN FREE range of motion. In other
words, if it hurts your injury – don’t do it.
Or, modify the movement so that it does not hurt. Your experts at the FZN can help you
determine how to modify a movement so that you get most of the benefits of the
movement while staying clear of further injury.
What if I don’t know
how to do a movement?
Don’t guess. We have
movement standards that are for your benefit and safety. Following these standards will ensure your
immediate and prolonged success. To learn these movements, please ask one of
our experts or refer to the site.
Also, each workout you do should be done with the greatest
integrity. Each workout you do should stand as a
testament to your commitment and dedication to better health.
How hard should I
push on my first day/week?
Half or less of the Rx.
FZN workouts are by design extremely rigorous. These high intensity workouts are responsible
for your success on a level that is unmatched.
However, the very efficacy of these workouts can also make them very
dangerous to the beginner. The beginner
who makes the mistake of getting caught up in competing for time, rounds, reps
or weight in the first couple of weeks of doing FZN workouts is subjecting
him/herself to needless soreness, injury or death.
When will I stop
being “wiped out” after workouts?
Hopefully never. It
should be your goal to put 100% effort into every FZN workout you do. You should be wiped out after every
workout. Don’t worry, after several
weeks this feeling only lasts an hour or so.
The incredible thing about your FZN workouts is they never
really get easier. In fact, as you get
into better shape you will begin to think that we are programming the workouts
to be harder on you. It is a weird
phenomenon. As you get into better shape,
your ability to handle higher loads at faster speeds with less rest increases
dramatically. This exponentially
increases your work capacity during a workout.
Increased work capacity means harder workouts AND increased health and
fitness. This is why there is a
profound lack of ego at the FitZone Nation.
All who leave here, no matter what level they are at physically, will
leave here just as tired as one another.
What can we do about
soreness?
You should try to limit soreness from workouts. Ease your way into your workouts over several
weeks of steadily increasing rounds, reps and weights. Take breaks, drop reps and sets and lower
weight when needed. There may be
evidence that increasing water intake and stretching affected muscles after a
workout will mitigate soreness once induced.
Soreness is not a necessary component of exercise. It is simply a by-product. You should never strive to be sore, as it is
not a good indicator of increased fitness.
What if I am very
over-weight can I still do the exercises?
Yes. And you,
especially you, should. Look, you may
not be able to do each exercise as it is written. In that case, you should modify it in a way
that still provides effectiveness while staying true to the purpose of the
exercise. Use your FZN experts to help
you with this. FZN experts are available
either online or in your classes.
Are there special
workouts for the very young or the very old?
The path to optimal health is universal among humans. This path will differ only by degree; not
kind.
Can I still do other
workouts in addition to my FZN workouts?
Um…if you have that kind of energy, knock yourself out. Here’s the thing though: if you are robbing effort from your FZN
workouts to save energy for other types of activity, you probably won’t get
effective results from either.
FZN workouts are programmed to be your main workout of the
day. If giving your max effort 5 times
per week you should have no need for ANY other type of exercise. However, it is highly encouraged that you
participate in activities that require you to move your body. Activities like, running, biking, hiking,
playing sports and the like are not considered exercise under the FZN
definition of the word. These are
considered healthy activities that you should be engaging in anyway. After all, why achieve such a high level of
functionality if you aren’t going to use it?
Can I do 2-a-day
workouts?
This is not generally recommended. Some people mistakenly think that exercise is
like math. They think that if one
workout is good, then two must be better.
It is NOT. Sometimes two workouts
will TAKE AWAY from the one that would have been good enough and you end up
with nothing for your increased effort.
When it comes to working out; ONE effectively performed and
programmed workout is all that is needed or recommended.
When do we do some
cardio/shouldn’t we be doing more cardio?
Your body cannot tell the difference between breathing heavy
while doing your FZN workouts and pounding the stairmaster at your local Globo
gym. The fact that the work we do
doesn’t resemble the typical cardio workout doesn’t mean your body will not
increase cardiovascular capacity. In
fact, the type of cardiovascular stimulation you get from your FZN workout is
exponentially more effective.
Which meal plan is
right for me?
Weight loss works best when you find a good meal plan or
diet that you can dial into over the long term.
Our meal plans come in four different caloric values. We suggest you eat only enough calories to
support activity and lean body mass.
This will be much lower than conventional protocol. To find your specific caloric value multiply
your body weight by 10 – 12. Correlate
this number with one of the meal plans on this site.
Why are there no meal
plans above 1800 cals?
Because, generally 1800 calories would be the most you might
need. Yes, even if you are VERY
large.
Can I alter the meal
plans to suit my specific tastes?
Generally, NO.
It is our experience that altering meal plans is the first
step to failure. Unless you have
specific allergies to foods on these meal plans or diets – do not alter
them.
Will one of the FZN
experts modify a meal plan to suit my particular and specific needs?
No. YOU do it. We have found through sad experience that
unless you actively learn how to build a nutritional program that suits your
particular needs, you are likely to fail at your goal of improved health.
Understanding proper nutrition is a fundamental principle
for achieving optimum health. To have
someone else do this for you will block your complete understanding of this
principle and undermine your success.
FitZoneNation.com has meal plans and diets that you can use
to get started.
Do you believe in
supplements?
Absolutely. It is our
firm belief that one cannot create a natural diet that will satisfy ALL your
nutritional needs. Add this to the fact
that nutritional supplementation is a more convenient way to ensure optimal
health and fitness and you have a fine argument for using supplements.
Should I eat before
my workouts?
This is highly individualistic. Some people claim they cannot eat before a
workout. Others find it helps
immensely. Take the time and figure out
what works for you.
Should I eat a post
workout meal?
The only people who should be concerned with a post-workout
meal are highly competitive athletes.
The rest of society should concentrate on simply eating what is on their
meal plan. Nothing else.
What is the best time
to workout?
Whenever you can swing it is the best time.
What if I am not
losing weight?
Then you are probably cheating. Or you may misunderstand some aspect of this
program. We suggest you refocus and
rededicate yourself to your goal and learning all aspects of this program.
Are you sure 20 min
is a long enough workout?
No. Some days your
workouts will last 4 min. Other days
they will go for 45 min. The magic is
not within the time you spend working out. It is in the quality and intensity of your
workout.
What if I become
injured?
Your new goal should be to mitigate the effects of that
injury ASAP. You should have your injury
checked by a doctor. Then alter your
workouts so that you are not continually aggravating your injury. Remember, Rest, Ice, Compression,
Elevation.
Also, if you are working out at the FZN please let you
instructor know you are injured so that she may help alter your program or give
you modifications for movements.
Will you calculate my
BMI?
No. BMI charts are
bogus and can give you no meaningful information that would help you in any
way.
Should I bring my
family?
Only if you feel that improving their health would be
important.
What are multi-joint
(compound) movements?
These are the types of movements that humans naturally do
outside of gyms. These natural movements
involve multiple joints and several different energy systems. For some reason the fitterati of the world
believes that you should do single-joint movements using only one energy system
inside of gyms to become healthy. They
then wrongly assume that these single joint movements which use only one energy
system will somehow benefit the totally different (compound) movements we do naturally
in daily life.
What about proper
form?
Some people (mostly the fitterati) become very upset with us
when they see that we encourage you to execute most movements at higher speed
using momentum and other joint factors.
This is totally against the grain with how the fitterati learned to
exercise and to teach others to exercise.
They believe: that one should “unnaturally” isolate joints and muscles;
that each movement must be done at slow controlled speeds; and that you should
never cross planes of motion or use momentum otherwise you risk potential
injury.
We question the validity of this thinking. If the above were true, as they say, then how
did anyone ever…in the entire history of earth, throw a ball without
injury? This movement (ball throwing) is
done at high speed, using momentum, crossing all planes of motion and is not
isolated to one single joint or muscle group.
For that matter neither is kicking a ball, or swinging a racket, or
swinging a golf club, or running/walking/sprinting, or jumping, or water
skiing, or snowboarding, or mountain biking, or mowing the lawn, or gardening,
or getting in and out of your car/bed/chair, or picking up your child, or…I
think you get it.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to train your body in a way that
it actually moves? Doesn’t it also make
sense that if you don’t train your body for how you actually use it…it would be
more prone to injury during activities of daily life? I ask you…who then is potentially responsible
for more injuries?
Where should I keep
my heart rate?
For optimum health, we don’t train using heart rate
anymore. Neither should you.
What about the “fat
burning zone?”
It is a silly myth that never made sense in the first
place. I believe more people have gotten
fat while in the “fat burning zone” than while doing any other type of
exercise.
Does “spot reduction”
work?
Not really.
Is caffeine bad for
you?
Caffeine is a gift from God. We should never question gifts from God.
Aren’t deep squats
bad for your knees?
Quite the opposite.
What most people don’t realize is that your hamstrings are primarily
responsible for supporting the structural integrity of your knees. This is especially true when you are
active.
The problem is that most people don’t sufficiently work the
hamstrings. Hamstrings and glutes are active
mainly when in the deeper portions of your squats. By doing shallow squats you rob the hams and
glutes of valuable resistance and exercise.
This has the effect of overdeveloping the quadriceps (muscles on the
front of your thigh). Over developed
quads creates imbalance at the knee joint.
This simple imbalance alone creates problems with the knees. Then when you become active it creates more
problems and increases the potential for catastrophic injury due to weakness of
the hamstring.
By doing deep squats (below parallel) we effectively work
the hams and glutes. This creates
balanced knee joints and healthier, more functional knees. Therefore it decreases potential for daily
knee pain and for potential catastrophic injury.
Should I workout if I
am sick?
Generally NO. You
should wait 3-5 days or longer for your body to get over the initial stages of
an illness before you attempt a workout.
This will aid in your healing and ensure you do not infect others.
What supplements
should I consider using daily?
First off, it is paramount that you try to eat in a way that
is natural and balanced. Nutrition from
natural foods is always best. On top of
that we suggest you look into supplementing your natural diet with:
Antioxidants (green tea, super fruits, ALA’s, Resveratrol,
etc),
Anti-inflammatory (Fish oil, Vit E, Vit C, Flavonoids, B complexs, etc),
Protein,
H20.
FZN has formulated and created several excellent daily
supplements which you may consider using for improved health. We have gone to great lengths to ensure
their safety and efficacy. We created
them with your specific needs in mind as they relate to what you will go
through with our workouts and lifestyle.
See them in the “store” of this web-site.
“But, I tried the FZN
recommended meal plans and/or diets. I
found myself hungry ALL THE TIME, so I had to go off of them. Shouldn’t I be less hungry when dieting?”
Dieting makes you damned hungry.
Most people forget how much pain they had to go through to gain
weight and become unhealthy. They forgot
how many times they gorged themselves to the point of extreme un-comfort. They forget how miserable they felt the whole
next day. They also forget how crappy
their ongoing heartburn and indigestion feels.
Add that to the aching bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments
they experience daily, and then add the fatigue they constantly experience from
their poor fitness and added weight.
When you stop to realize how much pain occurred in becoming unhealthy
and heavy, it is hard to think that reversing this process would take anything
less than the same amount of pain.
Folks who say “dieting shouldn’t make you hungry” are FLAT
OUT lying. Generally this lie has a
pretty steep price tag for both your wallet and your time wasted.
When will these
workouts get easier?
They don’t. They
shouldn’t. FZN workouts are like
golf. There is ALWAYS another level of
difficulty that occurs within each workout.
If you find you are beginning to breeze these workouts, you should know: You are probably CHEATING yourself of the
benefit of these workouts.
When/if these workouts become easier you should step up your
intensity by forming up your movements; increasing your speed; decreasing your
rest time; or increasing your weight.
After I have gotten into shape should I ever
add reps or sets to the workouts?
No. Simply work
harder during the workout. We suggest
you add weight, speed of movement and/or limit rest.
