After I posted EAT LIKE THE MIGHTY THOR a few days ago, I received a few requests to see what Chris Hemsworth’s strength and conditioning program looked like.  Here it is…

The challenge was to take Chris from this:

To something more like this:

And to do it in only 3 months…

How did he do it?  Well, you’ve already seen how he ate to put on muscle, so here’s his 2 part workout plan:

Phase One: 8 Weeks Muscle Building

3 Sessions Per Week

Day 1: Chest and Back
Bench press
Bent-over row
Weighted Dip
Weighted Pull-up

Day 2: Legs
Hamstring Curl
Deadlift
Squats

Day 3: Arms
Close-grip Bench Press
Weighted Chin-up

The sets and reps went like this:

Week 1- 4 sets of 4 to 6 reps
Week 2- 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Week 3- 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Week 4- 4 sets of 4 to 6 reps

Weeks 5-8 the cycle was started over.

You can see there was nothing fancy about this workout, just basic compound movements and lots of intensity.

Most people who are looking to add muscle overly complicate things and do every exercise under the sun.  The “everything” approach actually breaks down muscle leading to no progress despite hours and hours in the gym.  Until you are very advanced it is better to pick a few big “bang-for-the-buck” exercises like the bench press and deadlift

Some people are in the gym 6 days a week, 3 hours at a time.  The rest of us (known as people who “have a life”) just want to get fit, lose weight, and tone up in as little time as possible.

This is a 3 day a week program, and it is designed so that you can do all 3 days in a row, if that’s your only option.

At 25-45 minutes a session (as little as an hour and fifteen minutes a week), there’s no excuse for not getting any exercise

There are 2 workouts in this plan, what will change the most is the sets and repetition ranges on each day.  Something like this will work for about 6 weeks, after that your body will stop making progress.  After that switch to another one of these programs: 6 Week Workout Plans

You’ll alternate the 2 days like this:

Week 1:

• Day 1: Workout A 5 sets of 5 reps, 60 seconds rest between sets
• Day 2: Workout B 3 sets of 10 reps, 45 seconds between sets
• Day 3: Workout A 2 sets of 15 reps, 30 seconds rest between sets

Week 2:

• Day 4: Workout B 5 sets of 5 reps, 60 seconds rest between sets
• Day 5: Workout A 3 sets of 10 reps, 45 seconds between sets
• Day 6: Workout B 2 sets of 15 reps, 30 seconds rest between sets

Got it?

Good.

Here are the workouts….

Workout A

A: Double Kettlebell Clean:

B1: Overhead Slider Lunges (Do reps on both sides)

B2: 2 Point Dumbbell Row

C1: 1 arm 1 Leg Romanian Deadlift

C2: Dumbbell Incline Press

D1: Plank Hold for 30 – 90 seconds

D2: Alternating High Pulley Woodchoopers

Workout B:

A: Romanian Deadlift/Bent Forward Row Combo Lift

B1: Back Foot On Bench Lunge

B2: Pull Up

C1: Weighted Glute Bridge

C2: Rope Face Pull

Repeat D circuit 3x

D1: Slider Core Drill (20sec each of Pike, Knee-In, Mountain Climbers)

D2: Prone Cobra 60-120 sec

The End

If you use this simple program to keep exercising during those busiest times of the year (back to school, Christmas Holidays, Etc.) then you’ll not only keep the progress you’ve made toward your dream body, you’ll push yourself even farther!

I call my metabolism based training system “Firestorm Fat Loss” since it rapidly accelerates the rate at which you burn fat both during and AFTER your workout.

You hit the road, and your metabolism hits overdrive.

This six week workout is what you need if you want to lose more fat in less time – 30 minute bootcamp style workouts – than ever before.

Secrets Of This 6 Week Workout

Why Your Metabolism Will Burn Extra Hot

Firestorm Fat Loss programs are designed to maximize fat loss through resistance training. Here are the 3 main principles this workout is based on:

1. You burn more calories by moving your body through a 3D world. Most programs have you exercising in only one plane of movement – this workout has you going forward and backward, side to side, and up and down.
2. You burn more calories both during and after your workout by performing exercises bootcamp-circuit style. Studies have shown that a circuit-based workout will raise your metabolism for 38 hours AFTER your workout. That means if you exercise on Monday before breakfast, you’ll still be burning calories after lunch on Tuesday!
3. You burn more calories both during and after your workouts by training athletically. This means lifting weights, using explosive movements, and performing exercises on unstable surfaces like sliders, swiss balls, and balance boards.

How To Ignite Your Metabolic Furnace

Do each of these total body burning workouts once a week, with your “cardio” workouts either immediately following or on your in-between days.  (Here is a complete fat loss cardio plan I wrote: Interval Training)

Example:

• Monday: Workout A
• Tuesday: Interval Training
• Wednesday: Workout B
• Thursday: Interval Training
• Friday: Workout C

The workouts in this 6 week bootcamp are planned as a circuit, so you go from one movement to the next without resting. Once you’ve completed one circuit, rest for 90 seconds and go again. 3 circuits for beginners, 6 if you’re more advanced (or determined to lose the most fat in the least time!)

6 Week Progression

This workout will be effective for about 6 weeks.  After that your body will adapt and stop raising your metabolism so high.

Try to lift a bit more weight weight each week you cycle back through the workouts.

The Right Resistance

In this workout, use the heaviest weight you can to complete all of the reps in perfect form.

Warming Up:

Here is the best warmup you can do (pictures and all!): Wold Fitness Functional Warmup

Workout A:

Exercise One: Front Squat and Push Press
Reps: 4-6

Exercise Two: Swiss Ball Reverse Crunch
Reps: 12-15

Exercise 3: Chin Up
Reps: 4-6

Exercise 4: Kettlebell Windmill
Reps: 4-6 (each Side)

Exercise 5: ValSlide Pike OR Swiss Ball Pike
Reps: 12-15

Rest 90 seconds, and repeat circuit 3-6 times.

BONUS EXERCISE: Prone Cobra
2 sets of 2 minutes

Workout B

Exercise 1: Power Snatch/Overhead Squat
Reps: 4-6

Exercise 2: Swiss Ball Roll Out OR ValSlide Reach Out
Reps: 12-15

Exercise 3: Kettlebell Tactical Lunge
Reps: 24

Exercise 4: Two Point Dumbbell Row
Reps: 8-10 (each arm)

Exercise 5: Swiss Ball Dumbbell Woodchopper
Reps: 16-20

BONUS EXERCISE: Wall Planks
2 sets of 1 minute

Workout C

Exercise 1: Romanian Deadlift/ Bent Row Combo
Reps: 6-8

Exercise 2: Med Ball Kneeling Shoulder Press
Reps: 8-10

Exercise 3: Mogul Squats
Reps: As Many As Possible in 30 seconds

Exercise 4: Swiss Ball Atomic Pushup OR ValSlide Atomic Pushup
Reps: 10-12

Exercise 5: Medicine Ball Russian Twist
Reps: 20 (10 each side)

BONUS EXERCISE: Extended Hamstring Bridges
2 sets of 90 seconds

Conclusion

If you really want to lose body fat quickly, this program WILL work.  Head to the gym, get your favorite music rocking, and get after it!

Short and sweet: This is the summer volleyball weightlifting program for Carson City Volleyball Club, where I’m the head strength and conditioning coach.

There are 3 different “days” in this program, A, B, & C.  If you workout on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it would would look this:

• Mon: Day A
• Wed: Day B
• Fri: Day C
• Mon: Day A (add weight, reps, time, etc)
• Wed: Day B (add weight, reps, time, etc)
• And so on for 6 weeks

Day A:

A1: Rack Pulls 5×5 (45 seconds rest)

A2: Swiss Ball Mountain Climbers 5×30 (45 seconds rest)

B: Barbell Step Back Lunge Off Box 3×8 (30 seconds rest)

C1: 45 degree back raise with 5 sec hold at top 3×10 (0 seconds rest)

C2: Sprinter Sit Ups 3×20 (0 seconds rest)

C3: Rope Face Pull 3×12 (30 seconds rest)

The deck squat is one of my favorite bootcamp exercises.  Any time you take your body from the floor to standing you will burn a lot of calories, use a lot of muscle (which raises your metabolism), and improve your ability to move athletically.

Here’s a video of the deck squat:

There are some keys to make this exercise easier:

1. Tuck your pelvis under at the bottom of the squat to engage the ground smoothly
2. Place your feet in your stance as you roll back up to the squat, and keep your feet close to your butt
3. If you’re having trouble rolling back up, you may be holding your breath – remember to exhale hard, and lift your sternum to the ceiling as you roll to your feet

An amazing fitness goal would be to do 100 deck squats non-stop.  And here’s a 6 week workout bootcamp-style plan for you to get there…

Week One:

Day 1: 25 sets of 4 in 25 minutes
Day 2: 20 sets of 5 in 20 minutes

Week Two:

Day 1: 17 sets of 6 in 17 minutes
Day 2: 15 sets of 7 in 15 minutes

Week Three:

Day 1: 13 sets of 8 in 13 minutes
Day 2: 11 sets of 9 in 11 minutes

Week Four:

Day 1: 10 sets of 10 in 10 minutes
Day 2: 9 sets of 12 in 12 minutes

Week Five:

Day 1: 8 sets of 14 in 14 minutes
Day 2: 7 sets of 15 in 15 minutes

Week Six:

1 set of 100

Split the days up during the week, Day One on Monday, Day Two on Thursday would be an example.

And each individual workout will look like this: You’ll perform one set every minute until you’ve done them all. Start your reps at the top of the minute, when the second hand hits twelve at the top. Say that 4 reps of your deck squat exercise takes 10 seconds to complete. The rest of that minute — 50 seconds — is for rest. Shake your legs out, and when that second hand reaches the top of the next minute, get ready and do your next set.  (Check out this article for what to do in between exercises: What To Do During Rest Periods)

What you’re doing is compressing the rest time during the program while keeping the number of reps the same — the best way to build up to 100 nonstop reps. By the time you reach week 6 of this program your rest time will be cut down, requiring you to complete more work in less time, to recover your energy faster, and get right back into your workout. But you’ll be ready because you got there following a planned out bootcamp-style workout.

And once you’re able to do 100 reps, you have a perfect workout that you can do anywhere – at home, when you’re traveling, or if you get stuck in a crowded gym.

Here are some other deck squat variations for when you become pro at the basic variation:

Pause Deck Squat

Jump Deck Squat

One Arm Burpee To Deck Squat