The training program over the next 8 weeks will begin basic but fundamental to prime your connective tissue and neuromuscular pathways for the coming weeks. The workouts will be extremely intense but it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner, female, advance, young, male or old; you will apply the intensity and lift a weight that’s comfortable for you and allows you to reach failure.

The training split for the next 8 weeks doesn’t change; you will hit these muscle groups as follows:

Monday:Quads, Calves & Lower Abs
Tuesday: Chest & Shoulders
Wednesday: Arms
Thursday: Lower Back, Hamstrings & Upper Abs
Friday: Upper Back & Calves
Saturday: Active Rest Day
Sunday: Active Rest Day

The type of workouts you do from one week to the next will change dramatically. Some weeks you will be using resistance bands, other weeks you will be focusing exclusively on unilateral exercises for the most isolated form of training possible. Of course, it goes without saying that my infamous DTPXtreme principles will also factor into the plan.

You will be performing cardio twice per day, every day. The duration will increase weekly to ensure consistent progression and adaptation. It’s essential that you do not perform both the AM and PM cardio sessions together–they must be split up with at least 6 hours between in order to double-spike the metabolism and increase muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

Cardio

You’ll be focusing on more than just grueling workouts on the gym floor—you’ll also have to do your daily cardio for the next eight weeks. Cardio will be done twice per day; one session performed in the morning and one session performed in the evening. You CANNOT combine both cardio sessions into one prolonged session—they absolutely must be split up! Your cardio sessions will increase in length as the weeks go on, to have the maximal fat burning effect. Below, I’ve listed a sample cardio routine for guidance:

Every week you’ll be adding an additional 10 minutes to your cardio session each day to kick your metabolism into overdrive and burn as much body fat as possible. I won’t lie—this is going to be tough, and you will find cardio to be a monotonous task at times, but you’re going to have to suck it up if you want to reach your goal. To keep your cardio sessions feeling fresh, vary the machines you’re using from day to day. For example, use the StairMaster for cardio one day, then consider heading outdoors for a light jog the next day, or jump on the bike.

This cardio program is designed to be low impact, so avoid doing things like sprints. The goal is to get your heart rate up to about 65–70% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) and stay in that range for the duration of the workout.

For years I’ve recommended that you perform non-fasted cardio, and this program is no different. So if you’re doing cardio first thing in the morning, be sure to eat breakfast before heading to the gym.