BODY-TYPE EXERCISE / INFO
You are a Mesomorph on a sculpt programme. Fortunately your body-type does not tend to store fat and it finds maintaining muscle relatively easy due to having a good mix of both slow and fast twitch muscle fibre, with the majority being fast twitch. This makes the job of sculpting fairly easy and having the ability to maintain a relatively low fat percentage will help to show muscle definition. You may have heard that performing high rep ranges and lifting light weights is the correct way to achieve definition. At YBP we believe this is the wrong approach, we focus on lifting the correct weight for your specific rep range to define and maintain muscle.
Your exercise plan will be an even mix of resistance and cardio workouts. The type of movement performed in your resistance workouts will be a combination of compound and isolation exercises. The compound exercises are big movements and help in creating the correct hormonal response (boosting growth hormone and testosterone). The isolation exercises will create muscle definition. Your cardio will be in the form of high intensity interval training to help increase mitochondria (where fuel is burnt producing energy). The more mitochondria you have, the more fat you burn. High intensity training will also have the effect of increasing your metabolism, which results in burning more calories over the next 24-36 hours. This is why it is important to keep up the frequency of your training sessions, so try not to have more than one consecutive day off.
At YBP we have researched and created the perfect ratio of resistance and cardio workouts for your body-type on a sculpting goal. We have specified how often to perform these workouts to get the best results. Every month the training concept will change (the concept is the way in which you perform your workouts). Within your concept we have tailored and specified the exact sets, rep ranges, duration, tempo, rest and intensity.
MONTHLY WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Below is our recommended order and number of workouts. Try to stick as close to this as possible. Always keep the order of the workouts the same even if you have to take days off. Ideally do not have more than one day off in a row.
| Day 1 | Workout One | Day 15 | Workout Two |
| Day 2 | Cardio | Day 16 | Cardio |
| Day 3 | Workout Two | Day 17 | Workout One |
| Day 4 | Rest | Day 18 | Rest |
| Day 5 | Workout One | Day 19 | Workout Two |
| Day 6 | Workout Two | Day 20 | Workout One |
| Day 7 | Rest | Day 21 | Rest |
| Day 8 | Cardio | Day 22 | Cardio |
| Day 9 | Workout One | Day 23 | Workout Two |
| Day 10 | Workout Two | Day 24 | Workout One |
| Day 11 | Rest | Day 25 | Rest |
| Day 12 | Cardio | Day 26 | Cardio |
| Day 13 | Workout One | Day 27 | Workout Two | Day 14 | Rest | Day 28 | Rest |
DYNAMIC WARM-UP
The warm-up is to mobilise and prime your body, it should be specific to the exercise you are about to perform. We recommend 5 mins of gentle cardio to increase body temperature and blood flow to the muscles. Follow this with movements that mimic your exercises but at a slower pace with reduced intensity.
Try our basic warm-up or advanced version with a medicine ball.
RESISTANCE WORKOUT ONE
This concept is called Volume. Perform 2 exercises back to back for 12 reps then rest for 1 minute, this completes a set. Perform 5 sets in total, then move onto the next group of exercises. There are 4 groups of 2 exercises. Remember to keep the weights heavy and challenging to elicit the correct hormonal and metabolic response.
EXERCISE CONCEPT – VOLUME
| Exercises in each set | 2 |
| Reps | 12 |
| Sets | 5 |
| Rest between sets | 1 min |
Before commencing your workout click here for technique advice on some of the big exercises.
Block One
CHEST PRESS — Bench / Dumbbells
Lie on an incline bench and hold dumbbells with your arms fully extended in a vertical line. Lower the dumbbells towards your chest by bending your elbows, allowing the elbows to flare out to the sides. Press back to full extension.
CHEST FLY — Bench / Dumbbells
Lie on a flat bench and hold dumbbells above you with slight elbow flexion. Inhale as you open the arms out to the side until they are in line with the shoulders. Exhale as you raise the dumbbells maintaining slight elbow flexion.
Block Two
SQUAT — Smith Machine
Place the smith machine bar onto your shoulders and position your feet shoulder width apart. Keep the chest lifted and lower into the squat maintaining neutral spine. Push through the heels and extend the legs.
LUNGE — Dumbbells
Stand with your feet hip width apart and hold dumbbells in each hand. Lunge forwards keeping the body in an upright position, then take the same leg straight back behind you into a backwards lunge. Continue the movement.
Block Three
SHOULDER PRESS — Bench / Dumbbells
Sit upright on a bench and hold dumbbells with palms facing forward and arms bent at 90 degree angles. Extend the weights overhead without over arching the back. Lower to 90 degrees and bring your forearms together in front of you. Open the arms and chest.
FRONT DELT RAISE — Bosu / Dumbbells
Kneel on a bosu (dome side up) with your feet raised. Engage your core and activate your glutes to maintain balance. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and alternately raise them forwards and overhead with slight elbow flexion.
Block Four
TRICEP OVERHEAD EXTENSION – Bench / Barbell
Sit upright on a box or bench and hold a barbell overhead in both hands, keep the upper arm still and lower the bar behind the head. Do not arch the lower back or let the elbows move. Straighten the arms.
CRUNCH — Bosu
Lie with your back extended over a bosu (dome side up) and place your hands to your head. Curl up into a crunch, keeping a slight gap under the chin and simultaneously raise a knee towards your nose. Lower under control and alternate legs.
RESISTANCE WORKOUT TWO
Perform this workout with the same exercise concept as workout one.
Block One
LAT PULL – Cable
Kneel on 1 knee and hold high cables in both hands. Pull both elbows into your side and hold the contraction. Alternately extend the arms, drawing the elbows back into your body keeping the chest lifted throughout the exercise.
ROW — Bench / Dumbbell
Place 1 hand on a bench and hold a dumbbell in the other. Take the legs back into a plank position so the body is in a straight line from head to toe. Use your core to maintain stability. Begin with the arm extended towards the floor then bend the elbow and pull into a row. Keep the elbow close to the body and extend the arm.
Block Two
STIFF LEG DEADLIFT – Dumbbells
Stand, feet hip width apart and dumbbells held in both hands. Place your weight into your heels, hinge forward from the hip with slight knee flexion and lower the weights towards the floor. Only go to the point where you can maintain neutral spine, do not round the lower back. Engage the glutes and straighten the legs as you stand upright.
LEG EXTENSION – Cable
Stand facing a low cable and attach 1 foot. Hold onto the cable machine with both hand and lean the body forward, maintaining neutral spine. Keep both legs parallel, bend the working leg and then extend the leg behind you as high as possible. Do not over arch the lower back.
Block Three
UPRIGHT ROW — Barbell
Stand and hold a barbell in front of you with a narrow overhand grip. Raise the bar up to your chest leading the movement with your elbows, keep the shoulder pressing down as much as possible. Lower the bar.
BICEP CURL — Swiss Ball / Dumbbells
Kneel and lean over a swiss ball. Begin with your arms extended over the ball. Maintain neutral spine and engage your core. Flex your elbows and raise the dumbbells towards your shoulder. Lower with control.
Block Four
DOWNWARDS WOODCHOP — Cable
Kneel side on to a high cable. Engage your core, keep your arms lengthened and rotate the torso in a smooth downwards motion. Return under control.
HANGING LEG RAISES
Hang from a bar above you with an overhand grip and the shoulders retracted. Keep the legs as straight as possible and raise the toes up towards the bar. Lower the legs slowly.
CARDIO WORKOUT
The cardio workout is split into 3 sections: Intervals, lactic acid removal phase, followed by a repeat of the intervals. You can use any piece of cardio equipment such as the cross trainer, treadmill, rower, bike or skipping rope. You can also combine equipment rather than performing the entire workout on one machine.
Intervals (pre LAR phase) – perform the required number of intervals. The sprint phase should be performed at 100%, the highest intensity possible and the rest phase should be performed at a low intensity to recover. For example on a cross-trainer increase the speed for the sprint phase then bring it back down on the rest phase, allowing you to recover.
Lactic acid removal phase – work at a consistent pace, but to the maximum intensity possible (you should not be able to hold a conversation) yet able to sustain it for the required length of time. The time is stated in minutes below the first table.
Intervals (post LAR phase) – perform the intervals again with the same format as the first section.
Enjoy!
CARDIO CONCEPT
| Number of Intervals | Sprints | Rest |
| 8 | 40 sec | 20 sec |
| Lactic Acid Removal Phase - 28 minutes | ||
| 8 | 40 sec | 20 sec |
| Total Workout Time - 44 minutes | ||
CARDIO EQUIPMENT
This video shows examples of cardio equipment to use when perform your interval training.
STRETCHES
Hold each position for 1 minute and increase the length of time on particularly tight muscles.
GLUTES & BACK
Lie on your back with your arms stretched out wide, take one knee across your body and apply gentle pressure drawing the knee towards the floor.
GLUTES
Lie on your back and place your foot onto the opposite knee. Press the top knee outwards as you clasp the underneath leg and draw it towards you.
BACK
Sit back onto your heels and simultaneously reach your hands forward with your forehead resting on the floor.
ABDOMINALS
Lie prone (on your front) and place your hands beneath your shoulders. Press into the floor, straighten your arms and raise your body.
HIP FLEXOR
In a half kneeling position tuck your pelvis under, squeeze your glutes and press your hips forward.
QUADS
Draw your foot towards your bottom. Squeeze your glutes, tuck your pelvis under and keep your knees together.
HAMSTRINGS & CALF
Raise your foot onto a surface and lean your body forward. Flex the foot bringing the toe towards you.
CALF
Lean into a wall, extend the back knee and press the heel into the floor. Ensure both feet are in a parallel position.
LATERAL
Place one foot behind the other and reach the same arm (as back leg) overhead. To increase the stretch lean laterally.
UPPER BACK
Place your hands together and reach forward. Drop your head between your arms and curve your upper back.
CHEST
Place your forearm onto a wall, creating right angles at the shoulder and elbow joints. Apply pressure into the wall and turn your torso away.
TRICEP
Take one arm overhead and bend at the elbow. Apply pressure with the opposite hand and keep the head raised.
ALTERNATIVE EXERCISES
Use this section to replace specific exercises in your programme which do not work for you. This may be due to not having the correct equipment, the exercise being too challenging / not challenging enough, or possibly due to an injury. Click on the links below to find alternative exercises for the same body part or movement.