OyChicago blog

It was time for a new workout. Partly out of boredom and partly because everyone should mix up their routine every six weeks seeing as your body adjusts to how you train. Also, I’m past the stage of wanting to be a muscle man; I want to be lean and healthy. So far, my plan has really paid off and it can for you too!

I am not guaranteeing success like an infomercial, but this workout has been helping me stay lean while adding a little muscle. My plan was to see how I would respond to a full-body workout as opposed to working out one muscle group a day. It’s almost too simple: full-body workouts 2-3 times a week with lots of leg movements. I believe the leg work has helped the most.

There are two main reasons you need to work your legs:

1. More growth hormones are released when training legs than upper body muscles
2. Your legs contain a lot of muscle, which means using them burns a lot of calories

I have generally had a love-hate relationship with my legs. I remember walking down the steps of my old gym in high school and my legs would be shaking. Once I became a trainer, I fell in love with leg training because there is so much you can do:

• Jumping
• Pushing a sled
• Lunging
• Dead lifts
• Single leg work
• Agility ladder drills

And then I got injured! I had minor hip surgery and gone are the days of heavy squatting, box jumps, and other ballistic activities. The past few years I’ve cut down on leg work and then a month ago, it was time for a new approach—so I decided to do more leg training. I started incorporating a lot of bodyweight exercises, single leg, and light weight movements to my workout. Since I do not have a ton of time, I combined my upper body training with legs. So far, I feel great! Here is a look at my typical workout:

• Calf raises (trying to fix my chicken calves) 20 reps
• Chin ups, as many as I can do
• Hip-raises with my head on bench, 20 reps
• Push-ups, 20-30 reps
• Lunges 10-15 reps each leg
• Bicep curls 10-15 reps
• Deadlifts 10-20 reps
• Triceps extension 10-20 reps
• Wall-sit 30-seconds to a minute
• Shoulder press against wall 10-15 reps

I repeat this routine 2-4 times based on how much time I have. I can usually repeat the routine three times over the course of 35 minutes. On the days I do not lift weights I do light cardio, stretching and core work. Recovering from workouts is IMPORTANT and I am a big fan of the following: massages (either hiring someone or using a foam roller or tennis ball), baths with Epsom salt, SLEEP, and walking.

Along with my new workout routine I continue to add protein to my diet. Every snack and meal has some type of protein. My top three favorite proteins this month:

1. Cottage cheese after a workout
2. Lightly salted almonds between meals
3. Kind Bars 

If you have any questions on how to perform any exercise, email me at rkrit@fitwithkrit.com. I would also love to hear any of your favorite workouts, post them below!