Here at RTC, we have a system that works; it’s a system that built on the single foundation of causing the greatest transformation possible. Take a look HERE for examples.
We want your body to change with each workout, we want the fat to drop and muscles to pop.
We want you looking and feeling better now than you did in your 20’s.
Our workouts are a large part of that system (though not the only part), and we have spent nearly 10 years perfecting this system that causes some of the greatest transformations that we see.
With our system, we focus on three principles when it comes to our workouts.
- Strength
- Reps
- Sweat
Each week, minus a recovery week, you should have touched on each principle in your workouts.
Strength
We have written ample about our strength training, but when we talk about strength, we always preach that getting stronger is more than just benching and squatting for a 1 rep max.
We focus on getting you stronger in not only the big movements but also getting you stronger for 3,5,6 rep ranges in multiple movement patterns.
The reason for multiple movement patters is this prevents overuse injuries from occurring from repetitive movements and keeps you from stalling in your progress. (imagine always doing DB bicep curls to develop your arms and nothing else. Sure, you’ll see some initial progress, but after a period of time, your progress will slow or even stop.)
Examples of this:
One workout could have you doing…
- Incline Bench Press for a 6RM (rep max),
- Next week could be a pause bench (for a 6RM)
- The following week could be a close grip for a 6RM, etc…
Each week the exercise changes, but the overall focus stays the same.
Next, we have you TRACK your numbers (the most important part), so next time that motions come around in your workouts, you know the number that you have to beat.
Tracking keeps you from always lifting the same weight week after week and month after month.
Shooting you straight from the hip here. Strength is important for more than just body transformation; strength is important for LIFE.
“I’ve never had anyone complain that they were too strong.”
There WILL BE times in your life that you have to be strong, this could be lifting a loved one off the floor who can’t get up, moving a heavy object that fell, or heaven forbid an accident.
You need to be strong, strength makes life easier, and it can saves lives.
Repetition
After your strength portion of the workout next, we focus on repetition or reps for short.
The purpose of this method is to make the muscle develope and pop like an athlete’s muscles. This method is what causes a specific muscle to GROW to enhance a physique.
Typically this can range from 12-30 reps, some even 100 reps, depending on the body part and goal of the workout.
The repetition method pushes a lot of blood into the muscle giving the muscle a good ‘pump,’ this pump you DO want in a workout because with a good pump comes development.
Examples of this can be:
Glutes – Hip Thrusts for 10-30 reps (ouch!)
Inner Things – Banded Sumo Squats for 20 reps (oh the burn!)
Triceps – Pushdowns or two-arm DB kickbacks for 15-20 reps
Chest – Push-ups for MAX REPS (superman chest here)
Each exercise can is done for 3-5 rounds.
Also, another side benefit with the repetition method is joint health increases with the increased blood flow in the area and strengthening of the ligaments.
Typically this will 1-2 exercises that we focus on this method, but some workouts can go to 4 exercises. Phew…
Lastly, the most important part is when we do this, we make sure that you are spending time working on the MUSCLE and not just the movement. We hammer the mind-muscle connection, feeling the muscle work, pausing at specific points during the rep, slowing down the rep, etc.. This makes the exercise MUCH more effective for developing those muscles.
Note: For those with a bodybuilding background or primarily use bodybuilding methods, such as this method, you may think this is just a regular workout for you BUT keep in mind you’ll do this AFTER a strength set, AND if you read more you’ll see how we make this even more dialed in.
Sweat
This is the cardio piece of the workout, and 90% of the workouts we have here will have some form of cardio.
Cardio here is more than just walking on a treadmill (which we have done here) or doing 20min on an elliptical or stairmill (again none of those here)
We don’t even call it cardio, we call it our sweat sesh (short for session), and the overall focus is to get everything out of you that we can.
These sweat seshes can alternate between longer circuit styles of workouts (30min) to shorter HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts of 10min or less.
These will alternate between total body exercises done in circuit fashion while keeping your HR between specific ranges.
Side Note: We use polar heart rate monitors here, and we find that most of our sweet sesh’s are best between 80 and 95% of max HR, with 85-88% being the sweat spot.
Here are a few examples of a few sweat sesh’s
Example Sweat 1:
16min EMOM (every min on the min)
- Min 1: 15 cals bike
- Min 2: 15 Pull-ups
- Min 3: 15 KB Swings (American or Russian depending on the person)
- Min 4: Rest
4 rounds
Example Sweat 2:
60/15 (60sec of work, 15-sec rest)
- DB Reve Lunge Hold to Alt Front Raise (change legs halfway through)
- DB Sit up to OH Press
- Plank
- RDL to Row back up to Upright Row
- Alt Staggard Stance Push-up
- Kneeling Curl to OH Press to Tricep Ext
Rest 1min x 3
Example Sweat 3:
100 Cal Bike
Every min stop and complete 3 Devils Press
Their options are limitless, and no sweat workout is the same, but each time your done, you will want to sit or lay down to allow your body to recover a bit.
About half of the week’s workouts will have all three of these principles or methods in each workout. There are some workouts when only two, or even one, of our methods, is the focus.
The MOST important part.
Now, if you made it this far in this article, then here is the point I want to stress to you here with the perfect RTC workout and where we stand out… you must put forth an honest effort.
It’s one thing to do the workout, go through the motions, get in and out.
But, it’s another thing to put forth EFFORT in the workout.
To try, to push your body, to challenge yourself.
If you have to remember that…
“…if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”
Our coaches here spend a lot of their time making you sure you’re putting forth an honest effort, that you’re being challenged, and striving to do better and be better than your last workout.
You should too.
The effort is the most essential part of our system.
Just don’t go through the motions and after a month wonder why you haven’t seen any progress, but instead put forth an honest effort, know that you had to dig deep to finish the workout, that you had to zone out forget the world forget everything just to focus on getting the workout done for the day.
When you do THAT, when you put forth that honest effort and walk away knowing that you gave it, you’re all THEN, you’ll see that transformation.
In Health and Awesomeness,
Travis Merritt, BS, CPT, (and other letters behind the name) is the Owner of Rowlett Transformation Center in Rowlett, TX.
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