Programs Archives - Fitstra

3 Step Start – Weight Loss Program

Samuel Stephens — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 05:27:30 +0000

SIMPLE WEIGHT LOSS

Below is a simple weight loss program designed to help beginners get started.

This three step introduction to exercise and nutrition is intentionally easy because the end goal is habit formation. Consistency takes priority over intensity here. Stick to these simple steps for at least one month before moving on to more complicated programs.

1 Track Your Food

Download a calorie counting app (Lose It, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal) and track everything you consume for at least two weeks. All food and drinks.

Don’t change your diet during the first week. Instead, pay attention to your daily caloric totals and the macronutrient contents of your meals. Train your eyes to identify what’s on your plate and how much water you’re drinking per day. It’s easier to implement good dietary habits when we can reflect on bad ones.

Read this diet guide for more info.

2 Do Easy Cardio

Find a 1-2 mile loop in your neighborhood and travel it 3-4 times per week by walking and/or jogging it.

Slowly decrease your total time each week by jogging more and more of the distance. The walk versus jog structure is irrelevant. Cap your time for each session at ~40 minutes and keep your intensity level in the moderate range. Consistency is the most important thing here. I recommend you do this outside, but a treadmill is acceptable.

3 Add Resistance Training

Incorporate resistance training into your routine 2-3 times per week. Keep cardio days and resistance days separate. If steps one and two are initially overwhelming, add this step when you’re ready. But don’t leave it out.

Below is a simple and effective full body workout to help get you started. Complete 3-4 rounds of this circuit in sequence, resting as needed. Each exercise should be performed for 30-60 seconds before moving on to the next. The entire workout should take less than 30 minutes. The only piece of equipment you’ll need is a suspension trainer or a pair of gymnastic rings. One is required.

Check out the Beginner program for traditional strength training.

Warm Up	Full Body Circuit	Cool Down
Easy Cardio - 5 minutes	Squat (Bodyweight or Goblet)	Foam Rolling (Optional)
Dynamic Stretching	Row (Ring Row or Suspension)	Static Stretching
	Push Up (Standard or Modified)
	Plank (High or Low)
	Superman Hold

Next Steps?

Before moving on to more complicated programs, make sure the routine you’re following looks somewhat similar to the one below.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Cardio	Resistance Training	Cardio	Resistance Training	Cardio	Rest	Rest

Regarding nutrition, build your meals around specific macronutrient portions and stick to a consistent eating schedule. I recommended the 4X4 strategy outlined in the nutrition chapter, but a variety of tactics can work. Dialing this in for your specific needs will take some trial and error. Be willing to experiment.

Cardiovascular conditioning can also be progressed in a number of different ways. If you’re focused on weight loss and the initial two mile strategy has been working for you, keep at it until your progress plateaus. An uninterrupted two mile jog is a great long-term goal here. If you’re looking for general cardiovascular fitness, all Fitstra resistance training programs include a variety of interval work as well as steady state times. Use these programs as they are or modify them to fit your needs. However you choose to implement cardio, be sure to keep it realistic and sustainable.

For resistance training, start the Fitstra Beginner program. Practice the included compound exercises with barbells, dumbbells, and your own bodyweight. Start with two days per week and maintain that frequency for at least a month, then advance to three. Keep running the Beginner program until you stop making strength gains. The Beginner program is covered in more detail below.

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Legs Push Pull

Samuel Stephens — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 05:07:09 +0000

MORE PROGRAM DETAILS

For more information about program language, terms, and abreviations, download the full program PDF.

Legs Push Pull

A 6 day/wk, 15+ week weight training program designed to primarily target hypertrophy through an alternating legs/push/pull setup.

Optional Modifications

Want more upper back work and less traps? Swap out the shrugs for AMRAP(+) sets of suspension rows and emphasize scapular retraction when you pull.

For dips, do them instead of the DB bench press every other month. Keep sets and reps the same. For more vertical pressing, swap out DB incline presses for KB/DB overhead presses.

Bulgarian split squats can be substituted for BB Reverse Lunges. Do not eliminate Reverse Lunges completely.

Arm work labels are intentionally nonspecific. Pick your favorite arm exercises and have fun.

To work in calf raises, combine them with hamstring curls as a two piece circuit, starting with hamstring curls. If you don’t have a dedicated hamstring curl machine, do Nordic curls on a GHD or with a partner.

A 45 degree hip extension or GHD can be substituted for Superman. Maintain the time per set.

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LPPLU

Samuel Stephens — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 05:00:24 +0000

MORE PROGRAM DETAILS

For more information about program language, terms, and abreviations, download the full program PDF.

LPPLU

A 5 day/wk, 10+ week weight training program designed to target strength and hypertrophy through a blended legs/push/pull/lower/upper routine.

Optional Modifications

Want more upper back work and less traps? Swap out the shrugs for AMRAP(+) sets of suspension rows and emphasize scapular retraction when you pull.

For dips, do them instead of the DB bench press every other month. Keep sets and reps the same. For more vertical pressing, swap out DB incline presses for KB/DB overhead presses.

Bulgarian split squats can be substituted for BB Reverse Lunges. Do not eliminate Reverse Lunges completely.

Arm work labels are intentionally nonspecific. Pick your favorite arm exercises and have fun.

A 45 degree hip extension or GHD can be substituted for Superman. Maintain the time per set.

The post LPPLU appeared first on Fitstra.

Full Body

Samuel Stephens — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 04:38:29 +0000

MORE PROGRAM DETAILS

For more information about program language, terms, and abreviations, download the full program PDF.

Full Body

A 2-3 day/wk, full body weight training program designed to improve strength and hypertrophy.

Overview

The Full Body is a continuation of the 2-3 day per week Beginner routine, but this program includes progressive overloading. It is designed to target strength and hypertrophy. If you’ve taken an appropriate amount of time to learn the basics, this will be an easy transition from the Beginner. If you enjoy a 2-3x/week schedule but want more variety, the Full Body is a great place to hang out.

Optional Modifications

For dips, do them instead of the DB bench press every other month. Keep sets and reps the same. Bulgarian split squats can be substituted for BB Reverse Lunges. Do not eliminate Reverse Lunges completely.

For extra arm work, split your biceps and triceps between two days (e.g. biceps on Monday and triceps on Wednesday), start with only one additional exercise, and follow the rep/set scheme listed for the last exercise of that day.

A 45 degree hip extension or GHD can be substituted for Superman. Maintain the time per set.

The post Full Body appeared first on Fitstra.

Upper Lower

Samuel Stephens — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 04:19:21 +0000

MORE PROGRAM DETAILS

For more information about program language, terms, and abreviations, download the full program PDF.

Upper Lower

A 4x/wk, 10+ week weight training program designed to target strength and hypertrophy through an upper body/lower body split.

Optional Modifications

If you’re limited on time, reduce the set count to three for all exercises.

For dips, do them instead of the DB bench press every other month. Keep sets and reps the same.

Bulgarian split squats can be substituted for BB Reverse Lunges. Do not eliminate Reverse Lunges completely.

For extra arm work, split your biceps and triceps between the two upper body days (e.g. biceps on Tuesday and triceps on Friday), start with only one additional exercise, and follow the rep/set scheme listed for the last exercise of that day.

A 45 degree hip extension or GHD can be substituted for Superman. Maintain the time per set.

The post Upper Lower appeared first on Fitstra.

Strength Training for Beginners

Samuel Stephens — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 20:26:37 +0000

MORE PROGRAM DETAILS

For more information about program language, terms, and abreviations, download the full program PDF.

Strength Training for Beginners

The Beginner program is an introductory weight training routine designed to familiarize new lifters with a few standard movement patterns and the barbell. The Beginner is ideally meant to serve as a temporary (2-6+ month) learning period to help new lifters transition to more intense and higher frequency routines. If you’re interested in incorporating a more serious weight training program into your routine but don’t know where or how to begin, this is the place to start. This program is also great for those who have been out of the gym for an extended period of time.

The Beginner program emphasizes strength development. It consists of two alternating days that are performed 2-3 times per week. Each day contains only four compound exercises. I recommend new lifters start with the twice per week version and maintain that training frequency until they stop seeing consistent progress. Increase your weekly training frequency to 3X when 2X stops being effective.

Simplified versions of these two days are listed below.

All working sets should be performed with a challenging weight (RPE 7+), but avoid failure. Leave 1-2 reps in reserve. Aim to add a moderate amount of weight (5-10 lbs) to your lifts weekly or increase reps (up to 8). When 3×8 is consistently repeatable, drop the reps back to 6 and add a little weight. Give yourself 48-72 hours of rest between sessions. The simplified version shows both the standard working set exercises and their modifications, from most to least difficult.

How long should you spend in the learning phase? There’s not an exact duration for the initial A/B split, but all new lifters should spend at least 2-3 months on this program. Closely monitor your weekly progress to determine when you’ve reached an intermediate experience level which is defined by a strength plateau. When you stop improving from the same basic workouts, it’s time to move on. Some may reach this point after 2-3 months while others might continue progressing up to a year. Listen to your body, do what’s best for you, move on when you’re ready, but do not rush it. The more strength you build at the beginning, the heavier your high volume work will be later.

If you plateau on the Beginner but don’t want to change the routine significantly, modify the rep scheme by adding some simple progressive overloading. Instead of 3×6 for all lifts, run a four week cycle with 12/10/8/6 weekly rep counts. (3×12 for all lifts week one, 3×10 for all lifts week two, etc.) Similar to the standard program, keep repeating this cycle until you stop seeing progress.

Download the full program using the link above to view all exercise details, terms/abbreviations, and supplemental fat loss cardio.

Example Weeks

Form FAQ

Exercise Form Video Library

The following video examples are provided to supplement your learning, but the links shared should not be your only source of instruction. No single educator can teach you everything. Seek out other respected content creators and learn from as many experts as you can.

Barbell Back Squat