Workouts
The Little Mac Workout
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So, Little Mac is a boxer, and a boxer we will build! Obviously he’s got pretty solid muscle mass for his size, but the thing that really defines most fighters (boxing, MMA, kickboxing, whatever) is extremely low body fat percentage. I mean, it literally defines them! Muscular definition (six pack abs, defined delts and biceps, etc.) is almost entirely a product of how much fat your body has. That said, reducing body fat is only going to reveal the muscles you have, so if you haven’t built any muscles to start with, you’re not going to have much to show off.
The point of all this is that no matter how hard you work yourself in the gym, you’re not going to look like Little Mac (or any fighter, for that matter), unless you get your situation in the kitchen sorted out at well. As such, I recommend starting with Macros and You! and The Fighter Diet. Those are solid spots to look for the basics, but if you really want to get that “cut” look, I’d say go all the way and spring for The Care and Feeding of You. Your body is worth it!
Professional fighters follow grueling training regimens that are a mixture of strength, high intensity cardio, and low intensity cardio. I’m going to set you up with an appropriately grueling workout regimen here, but that comes with a word of caution: if you have not followed a serious workout regimen before, START SLOWLY. I’ve made up two separate training schedules at the end of the post, if you are at the beginner level, make sure you follow the beginner schedule. There is no shame in starting slowly, and allowing pride to control you will only increase your chance of injuring yourself.
This is going to be a pretty equipment-heavy workout, so you’re going to need either a gym membership, or a pretty extensive home gym to go beyond the beginner level. Sorry, but them’s the breaks if you want to get the body of a champion. For all weights in the strength section, you’re going to want to be doing 65-80% of your one rep max (the amount of weight you can do for one repetition). Generally speaking, when you’re just starting out, you should be able to go by five pounds every week or two (this will get harder as you train more.) As usual, make sure you Warm Up before every workout, and Cool Down afterwards.
Required Equipment:
Squat Rack w/weights
Weight Bench
Pull Up Bar
Jump Rope
Heavy Bag
Strength A:
3×5-10 Deadlifts (starting with just the bar is fine)
3×5-10 Pull Ups (can be chair assisted, an assisted pull up machine, or a lat pull down machine working towards your bodyweight, switch to weighted once bodyweight becomes easy)
3×5-10 Dumbbell or Barbell Bent-over Rows
3×5-10 Bench Presses
3×5-10 Dips (chair or machine assisted to start, switch to weighted when you can)
Strength B:
3×5-10 Squats (start with bodyweight, then do back squats with the barbell)
3×5-10 Lunges (bodyweight to start, then weighted with dumbbells or barbell)
3×5-10 Seated Calf Raises (with barbell)
3×5-10 Russian Twists (with weight plate when bodyweight becomes easy)
3×5-10 Toe-to-bars on pull up bar (knees to chest to start out)
Strength Notes:
We’re looking to build solid power here, and a split workout with weights allows us to do just that. You’ll notice there isn’t our usual level breakdown here. Your goal is just to work out with a weight that seriously tests you for the number of reps required Generally speaking, you should find out what your one rep max is, and then do 65-80% of that. Increase your weight gradually over time (shoot for 5 pounds every 2 weeks when you start out)
Cardio A:
20-30 minute run
Cardio B:
10 minutes jumping rope
10-20 minutes heavy bag work
4 minutes Tabata interval burpees
Cardio Notes:
For Cardio A, go at a challenging pace that keeps your heart rate up for the full time. When you’re first starting out, walk if you have to, and gradually work your way up to running the full time. Cardio B is pretty self-explanatory. Don’t rest between exercises. Tabata intervals are where you perform the exercise (in this case, burpees) for twenty seconds as fast as you can, rest for ten seconds, and repeat seven more times for a total of four minutes.
Schedule
Beginner
Day 1: Strength A
Day 2: Cardio A
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Strength B
Day 5: Cardio B
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest
Standard
Day 1: Strength A and Cardio A
Day 2: Cardio B
Day 3: Strength A
Day 4: Strength B
Day 5: Cardio B
Day 6: Cardio A
Day 7: Rest
Schedule Notes:
On the “standard” schedule, feel free to take an extra rest day on day 3, especially if you’re still transitioning from the Beginner schedule.
That’s it for our Little Mac Workout! Tune in Monday for The Skills of Little Mac! Until then, as always, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!
Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace
You’re missimg day 6 on the standard schedule
You’re missing day 6 on the standard schedule. Is it safe to asy its cardio option A?
Whoops, good catch! Yes, it’s Cardio A =D
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Do any of these exercises work the deltoids, or should I add shoulder presses in
Not much isolated deltoid work here, so you might want to work in overhead presses and/or lateral delt raises on your “A” day.
Can you add a few more efficient ab works to this workout. Liltte mac has really ripped abs and there are only 2 Ab workouts. Other than that I thank you personally very much for making this website. Thanks.
You don’t need them. Toes-To-Bar and Russian twists work all of your core muscles, and if you’re doing them right, so do deadlifts and squats. Your muscles are getting plenty of work, but the real key to “ripped” abs is low body fat percentage, which comes from a solid diet.
Okay thank you very much 🙂
You’re welcome very much! =D
Any good replacement for the punching bag?
Unfortunately not really :-\ You should be able to grab one real cheap (or free) if you keep an eye on craigslist for a few weeks, though!
What weights should be used?
Or is there at least a ratio for weights between the exercises?
Nevermind, I see it now.
Is it ok if I put in Dumbell Curls on Strength A?
Sure! They’re always fun to throw in.
I know someone ask this but that was 2016 and now it is 2016. Any replacement for the punching bag? Like using dumbbells and swinging it shadow boxing style? Is it necessary to do it.
Sorry, i meant 2020?
A bag filled with laundry or sand works. Maybe a padded up wall as well. You can shadow box with weights on (no more than 3-4 lbs), but not too much or it’ll weigh down you punches and throw off your form in sparring
This is very cool this will help a lot thanks man
Cool workouts
Right!
Will it work for a 245 lb 12 year old boy?