Hey there dad, and welcome to the AotW #1.
I bet you clicked on this article to find the ultimate, absolute best, end all be all workout plan.
But… I’ll have to disappoint you.
Because while, surely, there are some training plans that work better for busy men like you… there is no plan that applies universally to everyone and anyone just the same. Your circumstances, situations, schedule, goals and preferences differ from person to person, thus giving the same training plan to everyone would be a terrible idea.
Here’s what I mean:
A client of mine, Kyriakos, was a butcher shop chain manager, husband and girl dad who I trained for 3 years. He would work 12 hours a day, and the only time he could muster up was 2 1- hour sessions a couple times per week straight after work.
Another client of mine, Alex, was a sought-out celebrity private chef, and a father of 2 who worked at luxurious Villas, and he trained four times a week for 25 minutes, early in the morning before he made breakfast for his celebrity clients in his small Villa room, with just a pullup bar and a pair of gymnastics rings. He ended up losing 40 pounds and being able to hit 15 pullups and 30 push ups in 1 year.
One of our DDP clients, Tomas, runs his own large company, is a father of 5, and a husband and trains 4 times a week for about 30 minutes before the workday starts.
So… as you can see, what might be a perfect training plan for one, may suck for another.
So today, I’m going to show you the EXACT step-by-step method and training system we use with our dad trainees in our 1-1 Dadbod Demolition Project coaching program to help them drop the excess fat, and build a strong, rugged, lean, bulletproof body without breaking the time and energy bank.
(If you’re just starting out… you can always get our FREE Rugged90’ training plan which is a bare bones training plan you can do in just 90 minutes a week with only a pair of gymnastics rings, and go from there.)
The system we are about to teach you is called…
The No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics Method
It’s a simple calisthenics system you can do almost anywhere, anytime with just a set of gymnastic rings (and somewhere to hang them from) and a pair of adjustable dumbbells in around 2 – 2.5 hours per week to build heaps of strength and muscle mass.
Granted, you’re not going to look like a bodybuilder. So if this is how you want then this is not the place for you.
What you will build instead by following our method, is a rugged, lean, and strong body that looks as good as it feels.
So if this sounds interesting, then I reveal all the rules that make this rather minimalistic training system work wonders below.
So without further ado…
Rule #1: Determine your training split and frequency
Before I dive deep into the nitty gritty of our system, you have to decide how many times you can train every week, and how much time you have available. This will then instruct how your program will look like.
Remember, everything can work.
But as I said… every single program we craft for our busy dad trainees follows one very particular philosophy:
They NEVER take more than 2.5 hours per week, split however you want throughout the week.
2 sessions of 60 minutes
3 sessions of 40 minutes
4 sessions of 30 minutes
5 sessions of 25 minutes
Anything can work if you follow every single rule in this guide.
Another thing you can always apply, even if you’ve picked the longer sessions of 60 and 40 minutes is that you can split them into more sessions if, for some reason, you can’t manage to get the full session in.
You can get whatever you didn’t have time to get in later on in the day, or even the day after.
So, now that you’ve picked your preferred frequency it’s time to put some structure.
Step #2: Focus on compound exercises only
Since time is of the essence, and we want to do as much quality work as we can in these 2 – 2.5 hours of training per week, we must pick the biggest bang for our buck exercises.
And these are compound exercises like the pullup, dips, squats, rows, etc.
Exercises that work many muscle groups at once to save time, hit them hard, and have a big capacity for progressive overload which is the most potent muscle-building technique if you’re a natural trainee (whether in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or even 60s).
And these compound exercises must cover all the essential movement patterns.
Which brings me to the next rule.
Rule #3: You MUST train all 6 essential movement patterns
To build a strong, healthy, bulletproof and balanced physique, your training must cover all essential movement patterns.
These are:
- Overhead Pull (pull-up variations)
- Overhead Push (handstand, pike push-up, or weighted overhead press variations)
- Horizontal Push (push-up variations)
- Horizontal Pull (row variations)
- Quads (squat and lunge variations)
- Posterior Kinetic Chain (hip hinge, lower back, hamstring variations)
The exercise variations you pick for each of those movement patterns depends on your equipment, training level, experience and injuries.
Rule #4: You MUST train each movement pattern at least 2x week
Frequent practice is the mother of improvement.
Some say that practice makes perfect, but in reality… only perfect practice makes perfect.
So the aim in our No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics system is to practice often, but practice perfectly.
Training each movement pattern at least 2x per week helps you become more proficient at each exercise, while hitting higher workout volumes which in turn helps you get stronger, and build more muscle mass.
So… no matter which split you choose, make sure you hit each movement pattern at least twice per week.
And this brings me to Rule #6.
Rule #5: You must do 7-10 HARD sets of each movement pattern per week
The keyword here is the word “hard”.
To get the best possible results out of this training system with just 2- 2.5 hours of training per week, the few sets that you do must be HARD and each movement pattern must be practiced twice a week.
Now… does determining your training split, frequency and volume and focusing on compound exercises that train all the essential movement patterns mean you’re going to get amazing results from your training and build heaps of muscle?
Hell no.
Which brings me to this last rule and that is…
Rule #6: You MUST apply the 4 Unbreakable Laws of No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics
This last rule is also the most important one.
If you have followed the rules above you have probably come up with your ideal training split and frequency, and you know which movement patterns you must do, how often, and in what volume.
A correctly structured plan is extremely important.
But it will only make a hole in the water if the quality of the work that you perform sucks.
Which is why we’ve come up with what we call the 4 Unbreakable Laws of No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics.
If you master those 4 I assure you you will soon possess the Midas touch of muscle-building. And that is… any program you touch will yield results.
These 4 Unbreakable Laws are:
Law #1: You must pick appropriate variations for your level
Law #2: You must maintain perfect form at all times
Law #3: You must take your sets (very close) to failure
Law #4: You must try to beat your previous performances every time you train
Now, even though these Laws are extremely important, I’m not going to dive deep into them in this article since I’ll be writing extensive articles on each of them.
For now, If you want to learn more about them you can check this podcast we did on the topic where we go over all of the 4 laws.
Now, there is more to our No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics Method than this, but this is all you need to start and be on your way to getting in the best shape of your life as a busy dad.
Conclusion
Summing everything up… the best workout plan isn’t the best for everyone. It all depends on your circumstances, needs, goals, preferences and schedule.
The best workout plan is the one YOU can be consistent on for long periods of time to see results.
But there are some underlying rules that make a minimalistic plan work wonders and these are:
- Rule #1: Determine your training split and frequency by diving the 2-2.5 hours of training per week in as many or as little sessions suit you
- Rule #2: Focus on compound exercises only
- Rule #3: You must train all essential movement patterns
- Rule #4: You must train all essential movement patterns at least 2x week
- Rule #5: And you must train them for 7-10 HARD sets each
- Rule #6: Lastly, you will only see results if the work you perform is of high quality and the sets are HARD, so make sure you apply the 4 Unbreakable Laws of Hypertrophy Calisthenics
Now… if you lack the time, are overwhelmed and lost about where to start with all this, or are just tired of going it on your own, and you want someone to remove the guesswork out of the process, guide you every step of the way and lay out EVERYTHING for you…
… then you can always apply to our 1-1 Dadbod Demolition Project coaching program and have Anthony and I personally coach you and help you drop the gut and build the lean, rugged, strong and bulletproof body you’ve always craved so that you can feel amazing in your skin and become an amazing role model dad and husband.
