MOCO FIT 2020: Training Phase 2

It’s time to start leaning out so you can show off those muscles!

You’ll be following the Phase 2 workouts for Weeks 5-9 of this Challenge, when the focus shifts to losing body fat – while still doing our best to maintain the muscle you gained during Phase 1.

What I’m going to say next might cause some of you to have a mild panic attack but, here it is … you will only be weight training three times a week during this Phase.

WHAT? Three times a week?

That’s right. Because those three sessions are going to be total-body workouts, meaning you are going to be hitting each muscle group three times a week. If you’ve never done this before – and I’m guessing a lot of you haven’t – here are some benefits of this total-body workouts.

• They can help you burn more fat.
• They can help you build more muscle.
• They can help you get stronger.
• They can improve flexibility and performance.

And lastly, since most of you likely haven’t trained like this before, it will be somewhat of a shock to your system. Lifting weights is like any other type of stimulus – over time, your body adapts to doing the same thing over and over. So by switching things up – whether it be rep ranges, exercises, rest periods or in this case, training your entire body in one workout – it will keep your body guessing, growing, and changing.

Phase 2 Training Split

Day 1 – Monday Total Body Workout 1
Day 2 – Tuesday Off
Day 3 – Wednesday Total Body Workout 2
Day 4 – Thursday Off
Day 5 – Friday Total Body Workout 3
Day 6 Off
Day 7 Off

Your rep ranges for this phase increase to 10-12 on most exercises for Weeks 5, 7 and 9, and to 12-15 (on most) for Weeks 6 and 8. Those still fall in the ideal hypertrophy range (8-15), but the higher reps mean you won’t be able to lift as heavy as you did during Phase 1.

However, the strength you gained during the first four weeks means you should still be able to lift heavier than before on most exercises, which will be very important in maintaining muscle.

Week 5 10-12 reps
Week 6 12-15 reps
Week 7 10-12 reps
Week 8 12-15 reps
Week 9 10-12 reps

One other significant change during this phase is incorporating supersets and trisets into your workouts, to increase the intensity and help ramp up your metabolism.

Cardio increases to five days a week, with an optional sixth if you really want to push yourself or if you feel like you need the extra day

Terms To Know

The below techniques are meant to boost the intensity of your workout and ramp up your heart rate to help you burn more calories while you train.

Supersets Two exercises performed back-to-back without resting between individual exercises. Rest when both exercises are completed.

Trisets Three exercises performed in a row without resting between individual exercises. Rest when all three exercises are completed.

Giant Sets Four or more exercises performed in a row without resting between individual exercises. Rest when all exercises in the Giant Set are completed.