My 2023 Workout Program Update
Today, I am going to share my current workout programming. I’ll explain what I do five to six days a week, as well as what I’m trying to achieve.
If you align what you do in the gym with what you are trying to accomplish, you’ll have a lot more success.
Most people exercise rather aimlessly, failing to lift enough weights or log enough miles or do fill-in-the-blank-exercise enough times to ever accomplish their goals.
For the typical person, a good training program should consist of a variety of straightforward exercises; it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Here is what I do (~5 minute read).
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#1 Lift for strength
Strength and resistance training has a major impact on bone mineral density and strong people live longer and better than weak people.
For these reasons, and several others, I lift weights three days a week – more than I do anything else.
I lift weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I like having a day in between to allow my muscles to rest a bit. Muscles need time to repair and grow.
Building strength requires lifting heavy weights for fewer reps. The goal is to increase how much weight I can ultimately move around.
My strength workouts alternate between what I call an “A Day” and a “B Day.” So one week is A/B/A and the next is B/A/B and so on.
On A Days for strength, I do:
Squats: 2 sets, 5 reps
Bench press: 2 sets, 5 reps
Barbell rows: 2 sets, 5 reps.
On B Days, I do:
Squats: 2 sets, 5 reps
Shoulder press: 2 sets, 5 reps
Deadlift: 1 set, 5 reps
You’ll notice I do squats everyday because I based my strength training off the StrongLifts 5×5 program (which includes only the above exercises for five sets of five reps each workout).
The other exception is that I do just one set of deadlifts because I’m already doing extra leg work with added squats.
Once I can do two sets of five reps of an exercise at a given weight, I add five pounds to the lift next time.
#2 Lift for hypertrophy
Just behind getting stronger, growing muscle is my next biggest priority. Besides looking good, muscle is metabolically expensive, so more muscle mass helps you support a healthier body weight.
The hypertrophy portion of my resistance training is the same both days. To grow muscle size, you need volume (i.e., more sets and reps).
On both A Days and B Days, after completing my strength sets described above, I crank out four, full-body supersets. For these, I use lighter weights where I can only manage about 10-20 reps per exercise:
Goblet squats
Calf raises
Dumbbell flys
Wide grip pull ups
Dumbbell shoulder flys
Tricep dips (using parallel bars)
Bicep curls
Forearm curls
Russian twists
Once I’ve finished my strength exercises and these four sets, that’s it. Resistance training, complete.
So, a quick recap for my MWF weightlifting:
- Two sets of five reps for strength exercises (squats each day, then alternating between bench press/barbell rows and shoulder press/deadlift each day)
- Four sets of 10-20 reps for hypertrophy exercises (full-body superset)
It’s hard work, but it isn’t complicated.
#3 Cardio (abbreviated)
Tuesday and Thursdays aren’t days off, but they are a bit easier and quicker.
I hate cardio. Instead of resisting this aversion, I just cut down how much time I spend here.
I start with either a 10-minute HIIT or “hills” ride on my Peloton. I’m not a big believer in cardio for fat burning or any of that hype, but I do believe it keeps my heart healthy. It also makes me a more multi-dimensional athlete for some of the ridiculous challenges I do.
The goal here is just to get my heart rate up high and work on another aspect of fitness to keep me well-rounded.
#4 Yoga
After I finish my 10 minutes of cycling on Tuesday and Thursday, I follow up with 10-15 minutes of yoga (also from Peloton).
My greatest physical weakness, by a long shot, is flexibility. I don’t do yoga long but try to find a Peloton yoga class that emphasizes mobility in the hamstrings or hips.
Over time, yoga has actually become my favorite workout that I do. It is not most conducive to helping me meet my major goals, however, so I use it more as a tool than a primary workout program.
#5 Stretching
As I said, I am stiff as a board. I know this makes me more prone to injury and is limiting the effects of my strength training.
In late 2022, I started a stretching program from YOGABODY that only takes 15-20 minutes a night, five days a week. It really isn’t bad, and I’ve been pretty consistent about keeping it in my schedule. It will start to take longer each night, though, as I move from one- to two-minute holds per stretch on up to five minute holds.
Additionally, I have the goal of doing the side splits this year, which is maybe the craziest resolution I’ve ever had. Each day at lunch time, I go as low as I can into the splits for one minute. Then at night before bed, I do the same thing for two full minutes. Over time, I’ll increase these to two- and three-minute, then perhaps four- and five-minute, holds.
I can already see a good bit of progress, but I have a ways to go before I’m in a full side split.
#6 (Occasional) runs and rucks
This is a habit that I need to become less occasional. Once in a while, I’ll get out early on a Saturday morning for a short run (two to five miles). Other times, I’ll throw 25-45 pounds in my rucksack and head out the door for a mile or two.
Both offer different ways of training my body, and do so over a greater duration of time and distance than any of my other workouts.
This is a practice I really need to make a habit. It would leave me at a much better baseline when I decide to do dumb things like untrained half marathons, for example.
This may seem like a lot of exercising, but when you break it down it’s really not:
Resistance training: ~3 hours/wk
Cardio: 20 min/wk
Yoga: 20 min/wk
Stretching: ~1.5 hour/wk
Run/ruck: ~30 min/wk
All in all, I’m not even exercising six hours a week, even with stretching. For a guy that studies this stuff and listens to all kinds of health podcasts (e.g., The Huberman Lab, Fundamental Health, The Drive, etc.), that isn’t a crazy amount.
If that is too much for you or your schedule, though, there are other options.
You could cut resistance training in half (to one strength set and two hypertrophy supersets).
You could do cardio one day a week, and yoga another.
You could just do the YOGABODY stretch program and stay at one-minute holds and never increase hold duration.
You could take both weekend days off.
The point is, find something that works for you. Hopefully the way I’m approaching my overall health and fitness is relatively accessible, or at least a starting point, for many of you.
Regardless of what you decide to do, get out there and keep moving. You’ll be glad you did.
Am I missing any important elements of fitness or overall healthy? Send me your thoughts at michael@theothermichaeljordan.com. I hope to hear from you.
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