1000 Calorie Workout

By Craig Ballantyne | 11/21/2012 |

Back when I was a teenage bodybuilder at the Stratford YMCA, I remember being in for a workout on Canadian Thanksgiving.

The only other soul in the gym that day was a grizzled, 45 year old, ripped to shreds guy with a waxed handlebar mustache.

As he finished up his workout, Old Handlebars turned and said to me, “Gotta get in a good one today, eh? Not every day you get a good feed like today.”

A “good feed”? What am I, a cow?

Anyways, with that wisdom, he turned and left. He had never spoken to me before that, and he never spoke to me again, despite crossing paths in the gym for years.

And so every Thanksgiving I always start laugh about the “good feed” comment from Old Handlebars, and so in honor of him, and American Thanksgiving, you’re going to get a free workout that you can do any day you’re likely to have a “good feed”.

But don’t go doing this challenge every day. It’s only to be enjoyed as an Epic Challenge on Thanksgiving, or the day before Christmas break, or on Superbowl Sunday.

It’s for those days when you know that you’re going to spend a large portion of the day sitting, drinking and eating. That’s when you’ll use this to rev up your metabolism so that you can keep the foodz out of your belly fat and in your muscles, instead.

This is an EPIC workout for an EPIC meal time.

The TT Thanksgiver 2013 Workout Challenge:

MRT + MCT + MDT + MCF + BONUS ABS

Of course, it all starts with a total body warm-up…

Warm-Up Circuit
– 12 reps per exercise (per side, if applicable)
– No rest between exercises
– 30 second rest at the end of the circuit
– Repeat for 3 rounds

1A) Medicine Ball or Dumbbell (DB) Chop
1B) DB or KB (Kettlebell) 1-Arm Squat and Press
1C) KB or DB Swing
1D) Total Body Extension

MRT: Metabolic Resistance Training
– 8 reps per exercise (per side, if applicable)
– No rest between exercises
– 60 second rest at the end of the circuit
– Repeat for 3 rounds

2A) Goblet Squat or Narrow-Stance Barbell Squat
2B) DB Row or TRX Rows
2C) DB Incline Press or Decline Spiderman Pushups (try with TRX)
2D) Goblet Bulgarian Split Squat

Take a 3 minute break and then move on to MCT.

MCT: Metabolic Conditioning Training
– 40 seconds per exercise (per side, if applicable)
– Rest 20 seconds between exercises
– Repeat for 6 minutes straight

3A) Kettlebell Swings
3B) DB Lunge or Prisoner Lunge
3C) Elevated Pushups (switch sides after 20 seconds) or TRX Rows

Take a 3 minute break and then move on to MDT.

*MDT – Metabolic Density Training with 20-10 Revolution System
– 20 seconds per exercise with 10 second rest = 1 round
– Do all rounds of the exercise before moving to the next
– Do not rest between exercises

4A) Total Body Extension – 8 rounds of 20-10
4B) Close-Grip Pushup – 4 rounds of 20-10
4C) Bodyweight Squat – 8 rounds of 20-10
4D) Mountain Climbers or TRX Rows – 4 rounds of 20-10

*This will take you 12 minutes total.

Take a 5 minute break and then move on to MDT.

MCF: Metabolic Challenge Finisher
– 30 seconds per exercise
– Rest 15 seconds between exercises
– After 3 rounds, rest for 2 minutes & then cautiously CONSIDER
doing 3 more rounds <= Only for super-advanced

5A) Burpees
5B) Jump Rope

BONUS “6-Pack Bally Abs” Superset:
– 20 reps per exercise (10 reps per side for X-Body Mountain Climbers)
– Do not rest between exercises
– Do 3 rounds of the superset