The 2 Lift Workout: Your “Take a Chill-Pill” Routine

What Is The 2 Lift Workout?

It’s a routine that consists of two exercises done every other day. You will not lift weights, but rather use machines or your own body weight. The idea behind it is to get rid of the stress from lifting heavy weights and instead focus on building muscle mass.

Why Should I Do It?

You may think that you are not strong enough to lift weights. However, it is possible to build up strength without using any kind of equipment. If you want to gain more muscle mass then you have to train with resistance. Resistance means that your muscles work against the load they are working against. That way they grow stronger and bigger than before.

How Long Will It Take To Build Up Muscle Mass With This Routine?

If you follow the program according to the instructions above, you will probably see results within 6 months. After that time period, your muscles would already be larger than before. The reason why it takes so long is because you still have to build up strength first. When you start doing these exercises regularly, your muscles will become stronger and bigger than ever before!

Who Is This Routine For?

The 2 Lift Workout is for anyone who wants to build muscle mass but does not want to go to the gym. Gaining muscles is easier than you think, and it’s perfect for those of you who have a busy lifestyle. Once you get used to the routine, it will become easy for you. You can even add more sets in order to increase your muscles’ growth!

Who Shouldn’t Do The Routine?

While it is true that anyone can gain muscles by doing the 2 Lift Workout, it may not be suitable for those who are recovering from an injury. This routine requires you to lift your own body weight. If you have a knee or back injury then you should avoid doing The 2 Lift Workout temporarily until your injury gets better.

The Most Important Thing

As always, remember: consistency is key in building muscle mass! Follow the routine and eat lots of food!

Workout Routines

Pull-Ups For Mass Workout

This is an advanced routine and should only be done if you are already used to doing pull-ups. If you can already do more than 10 pull-ups then you can skip the first 3 weeks of this routine and go straight to week 4.

However, only do this if you are already used to doing regular pull-ups.

Warm-Up: Do 3 sets of 5 reps of the following, slowly increasing speed each set:

Bodyweight chin-ups (or fake ones where you hang from the bar and then drop)

Neutral grip chin-ups (or where you turn your hands around)

Lat pulldowns (where you use the strap to pull yourself up)

Barbell or Dumbbell Rows (using parallel grips)

Workout: You can do this routine at the gym or at home. Here’s an example of a workout you could do:

Monday:

Warm Up: 5 minutes of jumping jacks, jumping squats, v-sits, etc.

Exercise Sets Reps Rest Bench Press 3 5,4,4,3 90 sec. Dumbbell Flyes 3 8 45 sec.

Incline DB Press 3 6 45 sec. Dips 3 Failure as fast as possible between sets. Pullovers 3 8 45 sec. Bent Over BB Lateral Raises 3 8 45 sec.

Wednesday:

Warm Up: 5 minutes of jumping jacks, jumping squats, v-sits, etc.

Exercise Sets Reps Rest Overhead Barbell Triceps Extensions 3 5,4,4,3 90 sec. Lying French Press 3 8 45 sec.

Hanging Leg Raises 3 8 45 sec. Weighted Crunches 3 8 45 sec.

Friday:

Warm Up: 5 minutes of jumping jacks, jumping squats, v-sits, etc.

Exercise Sets Reps Rest Flat DB Press 3 6,5,4 75 sec. Incline DB Press 3 8 45 sec.

Bent Over BB Row 3 6 45 sec. Underhand Grip Lat Pulldowns 3 8 45 sec.

Weighted Push-Ups For Mass Workout

If you haven’t already built up to doing regular push-ups, then you can do this routine to start gaining strength in your chest, arms, and core.

Warm Up: Do 3 sets of 5 reps of the following, slowly increasing speed each set:

Feet-Elevated Push-ups (feet on stairs)

Push-ups (real ones)

Chair-Supported Push-ups (where you lean against a chair and dip your body down)

Workout: You can do this routine at the gym or at home. Here’s an example of a workout you could do:

Monday:

Exercise Sets Reps Rest Incline Dumbbell Press 3 8 45 sec. Spider Push-ups 3 15 90 sec.

Bent Over Wide Grip Cable Rows 3 8 45 sec.

Wednesday:

Exercise Sets Reps Rest Bench Press 3 8 45 sec. One-Arm Dumbbell Laterals 3 8 45 sec.

Hanging Leg Raises 3 15 90 sec.

Friday:

Exercise Sets Reps Rest High Cable Crossovers 3 8 45 sec. Push-Ups 3 15 90 sec.

Barbell Curls 3 8 45 sec.

Upper-Lower Body Swap Workout

This routine is for the days where you don’t feel like going to the gym. You can do this routine at home if you have the right equipment.

If not, you can go to a gym and do it there.

Workout A:

Exercise Sets Reps Rest Squats 5 8 2 min. Bench Presses 5 8 2 min.

Overhead Barbell Presses 5 8 2 min. Barbell Rows 5 8 2 min.

Workout B:

Exercise Sets Reps Rest Deadlifts 5 8 2 min. Standing Military Presses 5 8 2 min.

Lying Cross Body Pulldowns 5 8 2 min. Barbell Curls 5 8 2 min.

Nutrition (Optional)

The nutrition program is optional, but I will put it here for those of you that are interested in fat loss or putting on mass. If you are not interested, skip to the next section.

Do you really think that you can put your body through an intense workout day after day and not give it anything in return?

Of course not! It’s important to have a proper nutrition plan if you want to see results. Here is a sample nutrition plan for the program:

Calories: Depending on your goals, your calorie intake will vary. If you are looking to lose fat, consume 10-15 calories per pound of body weight per day from nutritious foods (thus, if you are 200 lbs, consume 1800-3000 calories per day).

If you are looking to gain mass, consume 15-20 calories per pound of body weight (thus, if you are 200 lbs, consume 3000-4000 calories per day).

Macros: The macros for this plan are:

60% of your calories coming from fat.

30% of your calories coming from protein.

10% of your calories coming from carbs.

This is just a general guideline. If you need to adjust, do so according to how your body responds.

Here is an example of a day’s worth of eating for someone on this program:

Meal 1: 8 egg whites, 2 yolks, 1 bowl of cereal (1 cup), 1 oz. nuts

Meal 2: 10 raw almonds

Meal 3: 6 oz. chicken, 1 cup rice, 2 cups veggies

Meal 4: post workout: 1.5 scoops whey isolate, 1 scoop casein, 1/2 cup oats, 2 tbsp olive oil

Meal 5: 10 oz. tuna in water, 1 cup rice, 2 cups veggies

Meal 6: 8 egg whites, 2 yolks, 1 slice bread

Notes On The Program

This program is not for children, women, elderly people or anyone else that isn’t healthy and fit. If you have a medical condition or you aren’t fit, consult a doctor before beginning this or any other workout program.

The exercises in this routine are not proper for beginners. You should already have experience with exercise and have a base level of fitness before starting this program. If you’ve been working out for a long time and you’re fit, you can start the routine, but increase the amount of time you’re warming up by 50% (so, instead of 5 minutes, do 7.5 minutes, etc.)

Make sure that you rest on the seventh day; don’t do anything too physically demanding.

Watch your diet; this program is designed to work with it to maximize your results.

If you haven’t been training for at least a year, don’t even bother with this program. You will not get results and could potentially get hurt.

Start off with something like the Beginner Bodyweight Routine and work your way up to this.

Train hard!

I hope you all gain a tremendous amount of muscle and strength from this program. Go for it!

2nd Place – Hayate

Table Of Contents

Background

The History Of Weight Training

The Evolution Of The Muscle Building Program

An Analysis Of The Progression Of The Program

The Purpose Of The Program And Its Relation To MMA

Beginning The Program

Starting off: the first two weeks

Weeks 3-4: the “Transition” phase

Weeks 5-8: the “Unleashing” phase

Weeks 9-12: the “Explosion” phase

Weeks 13-16: the “Intensification” phase

Weeks 17-20: the “Finishing” phase

Weeks 21-24: the “Peak” phase

Weeks 25-28: the “Taper” phase

Weeks 29-35: the “Race” phase

Weeks 36-42: the “Stabilization” phase

End Of The Program

Additions To The Program

Optional Additions To The Program that can be done at any time in place of one of the exercises listed in each session.

Multiple Session per Day Options:

Three to Four Session per Day Option

Six Session Per Day Option

Weight Training Equipment Options

Barbell and Weights: This is the classic way of weight training. It’s cheap and you only need a basic set up, bar, weights, bench and a power rack.

These are all optional extras. The more of these you have, the easier some of the exercises will be but it’s not essential to have them all.

Free Weights: these are dumbbells and any exercise equipment that isn’t fixed, including barbells and weight plates. The advantage of free weights is that they’re versatile and you can do a vast range of exercises with them.

The big disadvantage is that they require a certain level of coordination and strength to avoid severe injuries.

Machines: these are the opposite to free weights in that they take away your freedom in exchange for protection. Most gym machines are very safe and effective to use but lack versatility and can easily be overdone causing injury.

Cardio Equipment: these are various machines used for cardiovascular training such as running, biking, rowing and cross-trainers. They can be used interchangeably with each other or you could also do bodyweight exercises for added difficulty.

Bodyweight Training: Bodyweight training involves using your own body as resistance rather than equipment. It’s limited to the amount of weight you can lift but it’s also the most portable and flexible kind of training you can do.

Running: Running is a cardio activity that doesn’t require equipment unless you want to use a treadmill, in which case you just need some form of propulsion mechanism. Running is great for people who want to build up their endurance quickly.

Sprints: Sprints are where you sprint short distances at maximum speed. It’s not for the faint-hearted because it’s incredibly physically draining but it also has many health benefits and is an important part of many sports.

Kettlebells: Kettlebells are a weight with a flat bottom and a loop handle on top. They came from old-fashioned iron bells that were used to hang off the side of houses to warn of a fire.

The main focus of kettlebell training is to build explosive strength and cardio stamina.

Strong Man Training: Strongman is a sport which involves many different events that test strength such as carrying, lifting, pushing, pulling and throwing. It’s an intense way to train because each event taxes your full body, but all athletes have to take rests between events.

Stretching: Stretching isn’t just for limbering up and preventing soreness the next day. It helps with increasing flexibility and reducing injury potential during exercise.

Static, dynamic and passive stretching techniques all have a place in fitness but only if done properly.

Warm Up: Warming up is very important before any exercise but it’s also very tedious and boring. It helps reduce injury potential and prepares the body for the increasing intensity of exercise.

There are lots of different warm up exercises but they all have the same basic process.

2 Training Guide

The following section contains training guides for each event, they explain how to train your athletes in each event and the level of training required to gain skill points in them. The training guide explains everything in detail so it’s best to read that rather than this summary.

The training guide says the following:

Strength: this is the measure of your character’s muscular power. Strength is a vital attribute for any athlete and even some of your non-athletic characters can benefit from it.

Speed: this is the measure of how fast your character moves. It’s really just a measure of agility but alas, we do not judge our characters by their gracefulness.

Stamina: this is the measure of how long your character can perform physical activities. It’s the combined measurement of both physical endurance and also the mental attitude of not giving up.

You need stamina to perform well at all athletic events and you also use it when running away from scary monsters.

Acrobatics: this is the measure of your character’s flexibility as well as their ability to move quickly even with restrictive clothing. Acrobatics covers all activities that involve lots of bending, stretching and twisting such as gymnastics, dance or tumbling.

Archery: this is the measure of your character’s accuracy when using a bow and arrow. It involves more than just strength as it also requires patience and concentration as well as a steady hand.

Athletics: this is the combined measurement of your character’s speed, stamina and agility. Most physically demanding events rely primarily on this attribute.

Brawling: this is the measure of your character’s ability to fight using their fists and also how much they can take before they fall down. It involves more than just punching someone until they’re knocked out as it also involves plenty of dodging and blocking.

Covert: this is the measure of a character’s ability to be stealthy and avoid danger or if they’re the aggressive type, kill enemies unnoticed. This involves sneaking around, disguises, hiding bodies and other such things.

Not really an attribute you want your nice kids to have.

Marksmanship: this is the measure of your character’s accuracy when firing projectile weapons such as bows, crossbows or even guns. It is similar to archery but this measures the accuracy with all projectile weapons rather than just bows.

Leadership: this is the combined measurement of a character’s charisma, personality and looks. Many non-athletic events are judged on the basis of this attribute rather than actual physical skill.

Stealth: this is the measure of how much you can hide yourself, be silent or make other people not notice you. This involves sneaking around, being quiet and not getting caught.

Many thieves, spies and assassins depend heavily on stealth.

Wrestling: this is the combined measurement of your character’s strength, speed and flexibility. Most physically demanding events are dependent on this attribute.

All the attributes sound pretty basic and not very fun. I guess they would be more fun if they let you do stuff like shoot cannons or swing on ropes but they don’t seem to have anything like that here.

Dad says I have pretty good brawling and wrestling skills but my marksmanship is weak and my stealth is pathetic. I didn’t realize how much I annoyed him by constantly missing the target and scaring the deer out of nowhere as he was trying to teach me how to hunt.

I wish we had video games here. I’m pretty sure I would be a master at whatever game they made.

Anyway, now that I’m done with my physical training I get to go learn how to read and write! Yes!

That’s something I can look forward to. At least it’ll be different than all the other kids who they’re just going to have train in all these different icky ways.

Till next time.

– Valek

Letter 3

Hey Uncle Ghool,

So I started my education today and I’m bored already. I wish they had some cool games or something instead of just learning how to read and write.

It’s really easy though so I guess I won’t have trouble with it. Not as hard as the physical training was at least.

I wish I had more interesting stuff to tell you about but nothing really happened today. I just learned how to form all the letters of our alphabet and a couple of words.

The teacher keeps saying to myself and this other boy called Semra to pay attention since we’re the smartest ones in class but I don’t think I am.

The boys are already learning more than me! And they’re 8!

I just realized that the boys and girls learn different things though so maybe that’s why.

This Semra kid is kinda annoying. He keeps bragging that he’s going to be one of our nations greatest sorcerers like our nations founder Kyros one day.

He says that he will summon an army of the dead and destroy our enemies in the north. I told him that I want to do that too so I hope we don’t get too many enemies in the north. That made him laugh a bit.

Is it really true that you killed hundreds of people when you were in the army?

Semra also says that you’re the deadliest warrior in the history of our tribe.

I also saw some of the soldiers training and they all looked like they were from another world. They look nothing like how I thought they would.

I don’t think I’ll be able to be one, they’re huge!

See you tomorrow, maybe there will be something more interesting to tell then.

– Valek

Letter 4

Hey Uncle Ghool,

Today was really interesting! A soldier came to the school and talked to us.

His name is Sergeant Harlan and he’s a really big guy! He has a really shiny helmet that looks like a skull and he was wearing really cool looking armor. Not as cool as yours but it was still pretty neat. He wasn’t wearing it though when he spoke to us, just normal cloths.

I told him that I want to be a soldier when I grow up so he talked to me about what it’s like. He said that being a soldier isn’t all killing people and that most of the time is spent doing boring stuff like guard duty or marching long distances.

He said that I should stay in school so I can become a doctor because soldiers need doctors to fix them up when they get hurt. I don’t think I could fix someone with a stab wound or a cut off limb though. That doesn’t sound too good.

Mom’s sick again. She was already coughing a lot yesterday and today she has a fever.

I’m worried about her. I hope she gets better soon. I also hope Semra stops bothering me tomorrow and the other kids in my class stop teasing me about having a retarded mom. They say that because my mom is sick and works at home all day. She’s not retarded, she just has to look after my sister and me since our dad is always working!

If you become a doctor when you grow up, can you be my personal doctor?

See you tomorrow.

– Valek

Letter 5

Hey Uncle Ghool,

Mom died. She was sick for a long time and the doctors couldn’t do anything to help her.

I miss her. Everyone says I look like her and I should be glad for that but I just feel sad. I don’t even know what she looked like. I have a few pictures of her but everyone tells me I’m prettier.

I had to move in with my teacher, Mrs. Delir.

She’s really nice, she’s also really pretty. Semra and Karoff are living with her too now. The kids at the school don’t tease me or Semra anymore. It’s like everyone just accepted that I’ll grow up to be a doctor just like Mrs. Delir.

I still want to though.

I miss mom.

Will you come visit me?

See you soon,

Valek

S: Would you mind sending me one of your swords?

I lost mine and I really want one now.

Letter 6

Hello Uncle Ghool,

Thanks for the sword! It’s really cool.

It’s not as big as yours but I can actually swing it around without getting tired. The blade is sharp too, Semra pricked her finger on it. She cried but it wasn’t because it hurt, girls are weird like that. Girls are weird in general.

I’m going to be a doctor when I grow up.

I don’t think I’ll be able to help mom anymore but other people need doctors too right?

Uncle Ghool, I asked Mrs. Delir if she ever met mom when she was her teacher but she said she was born after mom had already left the university. I hope you or Semra know more about her than me.