Strength Training for the Warrior Physique

Strength training is a large component of the warrior physique! Without it you may get lean
but you will lack muscle definition and shape. As well, strength training is imperative as it
will give your body the proper proportions and aesthetics when combined with a low body
fat. However, with the warrior physique, the volume and intensiveness of the workout
session will be lower. This is because we dont want to overdo the muscle building. With the
warrior physique we are after a natural amount of muscle mass in conjunction with minimal
amounts of body fat.
Repetitions will be primarily lower as to avoid sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Therefore most of
the muscle gains will be accrued from increases in the contractile filaments of the muscle,
aka myofibrillar hypertrophy. When limiting muscle growth it makes sense to target this type
of hypertrophy because it will have a direct influence on strength and power and it will give
the muscles a harder and denser look. As well, adding muscle with lower reps will ensure
that you look good all of the time since this type of muscle growth doesnt fluctuate based
on blood, glycogen or fluid.
You may notice that some exercises will be higher in repetitions. This is because particular
exercises and muscle groups respond best to higher reps. For the lateral and rear delt I like
to go higher in reps and volume. This will help keep your shoulders bigger and fuller giving
you a more masculine appearance.
Warrior Strength Training Routine
For the strength training portion of the exercise routine you will alternate between two
different workouts, 3x per week, on non consecutive days. Workout A will be focused on
hitting your chest, shoulders and triceps. Workout B will be dedicated towards training your
back, biceps and legs. I have been following this type of split for several months now and
have made my best gains ever! By going with a 2 day split (half your body on one day and
other other half on the other day) you get to hit each muscle group once every 4-5 days.
From my experience this is the absolute most effective muscle frequency for strength and
muscle gains.
Workout A
1) Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 4-6 reps
2) Standing Barbell Press: 3 sets x 4-6 reps
3) Weighted Dips: 2 sets x 6-8 reps
4) Barbell Upright Row (medium grip, pull to lower chest): 4 sets x 10-12 reps
5) Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
6) 15-20 minutes of low intensity cardio (optional)
Workout B
1) Weighted Chin ups (hands facing each other): 3 sets x 4-6 reps
2) Barbell or Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets x 4-6 reps
3) Bulgarian Split Squats: 2 sets x 6-8 reps
4) Cable Rope Face Pulls: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
5) Dip Bar Leg Raises: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
6) 15-20 minutes of low intensity cardio (optional)
Notes
Exercises 1, 2 and 3 rest 2-3 minute between sets and stop 2 reps before muscular failure.
Use the same weight for all work sets. Exercises 4 and 5 rest 60-90 seconds between sets
and stop 2 reps before failure.
For exercises 1, 2, 3 and 4 increase the weight by 5 lbs when you can perform all sets for
the maximum number of reps. So for incline barbell bench press you will increase the
weight by 5 lbs for the next workout when you can do 3 sets of 6 reps. Try and add at-least
1 rep to 1 of your 3 sets each workout. So the first workout you might get 5, 4, 4. The next
workout youd try to get 5, 5, 4 and then 5, 5, 5. Once you build up to 6, 6 and 6 reps then
you will add 5 lbs the next workout.
For the leg raise variations try to lift your legs as high as possible forming a V with your legs
and torso. As fatigue mounts in you may need to bend your legs slightly to continue lifting
your legs up. Thats fine, do the best you can.
Lastly, if you want to speed up fat loss you can add 20 minutes of low intensity cardio after
the strength training workout. My preferred method is a brisk walk on the treadmill with an
incline. My second favourite option is the elliptical machine. I am not a huge fan of the bike
because I find I have to work twice as hard to burn the same number of calories. As well, I
spend more than enough time per day sitting on my ass so Id rather not do that while Im
exercising.
Cardio Training for the Warrior Physique
Cardio training plays an important role in leaning down to single digit body fat. Im a big
proponent of strength training 3x per week or every other day. However, I feel that it is
important to get physical activity on a daily basis, especially when dieting. Doing 45-60
minutes of low to medium intensity cardio will help you burn 400-600 calories. This gives
you a lot more room to work with in your diet. For example, if you burn 2200 calories on a
rest day then you will need to slice calories down to 1700 to put you into a 500 calorie
deficit. Adding some exercise into the mix and you can bring your energy expenditure up to
2600 relatively easy. Now you can consume 2100 calories and be in an optimal 500 calorie
deficit for fat loss. Alternatively, you could consume the same 1700 calories but this time be
in a 900 calorie deficit. This would allow you to lose fat at almost double the rate!
So hopefully this shows you how cardio can make dieting much easier. Now it may be
tempting to go beyond this and do 90-120 minutes of cardio on rest days. I dont feel that
this is a particularly wise idea. I consider 60 minutes of cardio per day to be the cutoff point
for assisting with fat loss. After which, the cardio becomes a pain in the ass and inevitably
leads to a proportional increase in appetite. So basically, if you want to eat like a bird or lose
fat at a slow rate, complete inactivity is acceptable and can work. However, if you prefer to
eat more calories or burn fat at a faster rate then adding some cardio on rest days may just
be the best thing for you.
Cardio Recommendations
I recommend performing the type of cardio that you enjoy the most on your rest days (non
strength training days). My preference, when dieting, is towards lower intensity forms of
cardio such as walking on the treadmill with a slight incline. This type of training wont cut
into your recovery capabilities. Depending on how Im feeling, I might step up the intensity
at times, but I let my mood and intuition guide me. Sometimes ill alternate jogging with
walking. This is similar to interval training but the intensity is fairly low. If you prefer to play
sports, swim or run then do that! The cardio form that will most consistently get done is the
type that you should do.
If you are already very active during the day then you probably wont need to add additional
cardio exercise on top of that. Your energy expenditure will already be exactly where in
needs to be. Adding cardio to the picture will likely cause more problems than it solves.
What about boosting your metabolism or jacking up growth hormone?
I dont recommend performing cardio for the sole reason to boost your metabolism or jack
up your growth hormone levels. The metabolism boosting effect of interval/sprint training
has been drastically misinterpreted. Best case scenario youll burn an addition 15% on top
of the calories burned from the interval session. So if you burn 200 calories from a 20
minute interval session then youll burn a whopping 30 calories on top of that from the
metabolism boosting effect. And because interval/sprint training requires you to take a lot of
rest between exertions your average intensity level will be substantially lower than if you
were to maintain a steady pace throughout.
In terms of fat loss, its really all about the weekly calorie deficit that you create. Focusing on
boosting your growth hormone levels from training will have hardly any effect at all.
Similarly, chasing the testosterone boosting effect of squats/deadlifts or different training
protocols has absolutely no impact on overall muscle growth. The only way for these
hormones to make a difference is if you take immense quantities, artificially (illegal
injections).
When should you perform cardio?
For most people the best time to do cardio will be when it will most consistently get done.
However, as you reach lower levels of body fat it can become more difficult to mobilize
stored fat cells. So for people who are under 12% body fat its best to do cardio in the fasted
state or 3-4 hours after a meal. However, for this cardio to have any effect, you must be in a
calorie deficit. So doing empty stomach cardio in the morning and then overeating for the
rest of the day will cause you to store excess fat. For those that are already following
intermittent fasting and skipping breakfast you wont have any issues mobilizing stubborn
body fat. You will be oxidizing plenty of fat during the fasted phase, assuming you are in a
calorie deficit.