Home Workouts? Try Metabolic 10: Ten Moves To Look Like You Fit

My opinion is that things in the world of exercise have gotten too complex. Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with complexity. When dealing with the human body you come to expect it.

The issue with complexity is that it tends to confuse all but the most educated in a field. And given the very serious obesity crisis we have, confusion regarding what to do to lose weight and get fit is not helpful.

I have been fielding questions on this topic for some time now. Questions like, "Jade what is the best exercise to do to lose weight?" Or, "Jade, I love Crossfit. Can I use that to get in shape and look good?" And things like, "Jade, I don't really care about being able to run a marathon I just want to feel good, look good and live longer. What should I do?"

And then, of course, there was the question that is often posed to me: "I don't understand why I see so many people who exercise like crazy but still don't look like they are fit. They might be thin. They might be able to run a marathon. They can get through crazy metabolic conditioning workouts, but they don't look fit?"

I usually smile at this question and then pry a little deeper; "why do you think that is?" The reply I got back was the beginning seed of the system you will read about in this blog. It was, "I just think people waste too much time doing things that don't work that well or at all."

I could not have agreed more.

I have a philosophy that I know many of you share. More is not better, better is better. And more times than not simpler is what is better.

People have forgotten the simple basics of getting a fit looking body.

So for the last year I have been working with Met10 team member, and my long time buddy from high school, Gary Leake; as well as Monte Reid, the manager of the ME Training Studio and a mad creative workout genius to get back to basics.

I also spent 4-months or so immersed in all the latest workout trends. Including and especially Crossfit, (which I loved by the way). (Shout out to my LA Crossfit family at Crossfit Sandbox).

The system you will read about below is very heavily influenced by much of what I think is great about Crossfit and by my own very deep background in metabolic conditioning and bodybuilding. It also omits much of what I don't feel is useful for body development. Snatches and other high skill movements that don't deliver results in body development are noticeably omitted.

Introducing Metabolic 10

After all this I came up with the next generation of Metabolic Effect workouts: Metabolic 10 - 10 moves and the workouts to go along with them to make you "look like you fit"

Metabolic 10 is the workout solution for those who want to develop the lean muscular physique of an athlete. It is a back to the basics approach to not just being fit, but also looking fit.

The Metabolic 10

What are the 10 moves? They are the moves that in my opinion, deliver the physique development people are looking for. They are in order:

Squat. The king of all exercises in my mind. Tight booty, firm legs, powerful fit frame.
Deadlift. The deadlift is a close second in my book for best exercise of all time. Back, legs, glutes, hamstrings, and it makes sure the back of the body (the posterior chain) is not neglected.
Bench Press. You want a muscular tight torso? The bench press delivers where nothing else does.
Shoulder Press/Hand Stand Push Up. Nothing says fitness like developed shoulders.
Pull-up. Upper back muscles accentuate the female hourglass and the male V-Shape.
Push-up. Many see this as a chest exercise, but the push-up may be the best core strengthening exercise out there and if you can't do push-ups it is hard to call yourself fit and even harder to look that way.
Sit-up. I don't care what they say. Crunches, planks, and bouncing on an ab ball don't and never have done what the sit-up can do for ab development. Of course many will argue, but to me there is no more functional exercise, and the risk to the back in my opinion is minimal compared to the benefits.
200 Meter Sprint. The sprint. Nothing builds a better all around physique than sprinting. Here you work everything and prime the anaerobic system for "anabolic fat burning"......a term that is a bit of an oxymoron I know, but if any exercise can accomplish the very difficult task of building muscle and burning fat the sprint can.
Kettle Bell Swing. Not only a great posterior chain movement, but a nasty way to do cardio as well
Wall Ball. Shoulders. Legs. Lungs. Enough said.

These exercise make up the core of the Metabolic 10 system.

The Workouts

Each workout starts with a strength & muscle building (hypertrophy) component. After you warm-up, you will have 20 minutes to complete 5 sets of one of the 4 major strength movements (squat, deadlift, bench, shoulder press) each workout.

From there you will have 5 to 20 minutes of metabolic conditioning to get through. These workouts rely most heavily on the Metabolic 10 moves listed above. However, there is plenty of room in these workouts for non-related moves.

Although, unlike Crossfit, many of the very technical skill oriented exercises (think snatch and overhead squats) are minimized or eliminated from the system. Mainly because, while they are great for other reasons, they do NOT excel at muscle building and fat loss.

The one core concept you will see in Metabolic 10 workouts is a repeated emphasis on overloading the muscles. This is not about being the best person at exercising, but rather doing what is required to look like you are the best person at exercise :-)

The scoring system is built on volume and density. Total accumulated volume (sets x reps x weight) or density (how much volume can you fit in a given time) is a major determinant of muscle development.

If you want to "look like you fit," then you need to develop muscle. And that only happens when you overload the core movers so they are forced to respond. That is what delivers the hallmark of looking like a fit person.

The Equipment

One thing you will notice about the Metabolic 10 workouts right away is the difference in equipment. This is the next level up in exercise for Metabolic Effect enthusiasts. While we will continue to deliver the best in home workouts using minimalist equipment, the Metabolic 10 system is for the advanced exerciser who wants to go to the next level.

There is some serious equipment required to get started with this system. In general you will require the following:

A rack with a pull-up bar (we like this one)
A Bench (like this)
Barbell (we like this one)
Bumper barbell plates. six 10s, two 25s, two 35s, two 45s (we like these)
A Rower (we like this one)
A kettlebell. ~25lbs (12kg) for women & ~50kg (22.5kg) for men

Any good gym will have all of this and more. But the equipment above will give you one of the best home or garage gyms on the planet. 66% of the Metabolic 10 Workouts use nothing but a barbell and bumper plates.

Want to train?

So, are you ready to get started? The Metabolic 10 workout system is LIVE for purchase until Saturday, June 10th, 2017 at 11:59pm PST.

If you are a Crossfitter, a bodybuilder or even a runner, you will love the way we program Met10. These workouts are heavily influenced by all three disciplines. There is running, metcon workouts and of course the overload required to look fit as well as be fit.

Common Questions:

1) What are the acronyms? Here they are below:

RM= Rep Max (max amount you can lift in exercise at defined reps. (i.e. 10RM= 10 rep max)

NRM= Near Rep Max

AMRAP= As Many Reps As Possible

AFAP= As Fast As Possible

QR= Quality Reps (i.e. good controlled form)

RX= Prescription (i.e. recommended weight)

BW= Body weight

DB= Dumbbell

KB= kettlebell

HSPU= Hand Stand Push-up

2) What is a up-chain or down-chain and how to do them?

Up-chain= Start at one of each exercise and ascend to designated number of reps before starting over again from the bottom. Or just continue up if there is no designated rep range given.

Down-chain= Start at designated number of reps of each exercise and descend to one before starting over again from the top.

Here is an entire blog on how to do them. Metabolic Chain Workout

3) How are you programming these workouts? What are your weekly splits like?

Right now the workouts are in beta. We are putting them out randomly to let you try them and give us feedback. We are curious to see how Crossfitters, bodybuilders and just regular old fitness junkies respond. But yes, there is a rhyme and reason to the way we are programming these workouts. Here is a high level overview of how we will be programming.

As you can see the 4 core barbell moves are the centerpiece. We then fill in the rest of the met 10 through metabolic conditioning. There will also be bench mark workouts thrown in. These are always a 5 minute AMRAP & QR of the moves at BW or 60% 1RM, except of course for the mile, 200 meter and 500 meter row. Those three are scored on time to complete. Here is an example weekly split:

Monday: Lower/Deadlift (Anterior chain focused met con)

Tuesday: Upper/Bench (Posterior chain focus met con)

Wednesday: Mixed Met Con, Endurance or rest

Thursday: Lower/Squat (Anterior chain focused met con)

Friday: Upper/Shoulder Press (Posterior chain focus met con)

Saturday: Mixed Met Con, Endurance or rest

Sunday: Mixed Met Con, Endurance or rest

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