The 10% body fat workout strategy
To get down to 15%, you probably hit the gym four to five days a week and have a solid next-level baseline of strength and conditioning. One vitally important note: If, for some reason, you’re walking into the gym for the first time at 15% body fat, it’s crucial to start conditioning from ground zero to build a base of strength and avoid injury. Sound like you? Here’s our beginner’s guide to strength training. Otherwise, read on.
The ideal training plan
Remember, your focus is on building muscle. That means your workouts should focus on setting fire to what bit of fat you have left—so every workout will do double duty to hit both at once.
You’ll work out six days a week now, but since you’re increasing the intensity, keep your workouts below 75 minutes, Holder says.
Your goal for the week, Holder says, should look something like this:
Day 1: Strength + conditioning
Start with a strength workout and burn it out with conditioning. All your workouts should include multi-directional movement to increase stability and work all your little muscles. But what Holder really likes is to have the same compound lifts in every strength workout that change in rep and tempo schemes week-to-week.
Start with bench press, squat, deadlift, and weighted pullups at 75% estimated max, 8 sets x 8 reps, with 60-75 seconds rest between sets.
For conditioning, get after circuits of 40-yard prowler sled pushes, 1-minute jump rope, repeated for 5-10 rounds or sprints on an inclined, powered-off treadmill, 20 seconds on, 60 seconds rest, repeated 8 to 12 times.
Day 2 – Bodybuilding-focused day
For a solid, all-around bodybuilding workout plan, check out our Foundation workout growth plan and our Timeless workout plan.
Day 3 – Mobility
Day 4 – Strength + conditioning
Day 5 – Active recovery
“As you ramp up your workouts, it’s critical to properly recover both mentally and physically,” says Marc Perry, C.S.C.S., ACE-CPT, and founder of Built Lean. Stretch at the end of your workout, take the time to do active recovery work like yoga or swimming, and sleep a solid 8-9 hours every night. These can really help keep you feeling fresh as you take your workouts to the next level, he adds.
Day 6 – Off
Day 7 – Tempo Conditioning
Gains aren’t always made by upping the weight. Keep adjusting your interval lengths, reps, and sets—longer intervals for fewer rounds, shorter intervals for more reps—to challenge your nervous system and muscles in different ways, Holder says.
Bonus: Add a metabolic conditioning finisher at the end of any day for an extra kick, Holder suggests. Try our MetCon Training: Full Body Workout.