The Cover-Model Workout Part 1

Get fit in 4 weeks. Our hero shows you how to lay a foundation for fitness

Because of my history with this magazine -- my first cover ran in February 1995 -- you may think of me as somebody who's way different from you, as if I have the body from another planet. But it's more like the body from the breakdown lane.

Fact is, I'm a walking sports-injury clinic, thanks to my days as a pro beach-volleyball player. Or maybe it's because I exercised for, oh, about 30 years with an undiagnosed broken back. If I were a horse, they would've shot me a long time ago.

But because of these injuries, I've had to develop a workout program that protects and builds all the places where men are most vulnerable -- back, shoulders, knees. I know, if anyone does, that any man can build endurance and muscle while preventing injury.

Here is step one of a four-part injury prevention exercise program that will remake your body in 4 months. The first one I call "the habit," because it's a routine I do so automatically that it's almost like brushing my teeth. This regimen burns fat and increases endurance, and should help you perform better in anything you do.

I stand here as proof that it works. Thanks to this workout, I was able to shoot my first Men's Health cover 52 days after back surgery. Without a broken back, it might work even better.

The Cover-Model Workout Program

The Cover-Model Workout is divided into four 4-week phases, starting here with Part 1. The workouts in each part include both strength training and cardiovascular exercise, and are designed to prepare your body for the next month's routine.


The weight workouts include two elements. There's the "Core" workout, which you'll perform on Mondays and Fridays. This routine accomplishes the primary goal for each month. In Part 1, the Core workout trains all your muscles, but focuses most of your effort on your legs and back.


The "Integrity" workout, performed on Wednesdays, allows you to focus on smaller muscle groups, providing balance to your strength and muscle mass and also helping you shore up easily injured areas, which is my specialty. In this month's Integrity Workout, you'll emphasize your chest and shoulders.


1. Set a bar on a squat rack and step under it so the bar rests across your upper back. Pull your shoulders back as you grab the bar with an overhand grip. The bar should sit comfortably on your upper trapezius muscles. Lift the bar off the rack and step back. Set your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, back straight, and eyes focused straight ahead.

2. Slowly lower your body as if you were sitting back into a chair, keeping your back in its natural alignment and your lower legs nearly perpendicular to the floor.

3. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, pause, then return to the starting position.

Wide-grip lat pulldown

1. Grab the bar with a wide, overhand grip.

2. Pull the bar down to your chest, pause, then slowly return to the starting position.


If you don't have access to this machine: Do a pullover with dumbbells. Lie on a bench and hold the weights over your chest, palms turned toward your toes, and slowly lower them behind your head until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Then pull them back to the starting position. Keep a slight bend in your elbows.

Neutral-grip lat pulldown

1. Attach the parallel-grip handle to the lat-pulldown cable. Grab the handle with an overhand grip so your palms face each other.

2. Sit and position your knees under the pad.

3. Pull the handle down to your chest.

4. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.


If you don't have access to this machine: Do the pullover described above, but hold the dumbbells as close together as possible, with your palms facing each other.

Lying leg curl

1. Lie in the leg-curl machine with the pads against your lower legs, above your heels and below your calf muscles.

2. Without raising your hips off the pad, bend your legs at the knees and pull the weight toward your butt as far as you can.

3. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.


If you don't have access to this machine: Do the exercise lying on a bench, holding a dumbbell between your feet.

Dumbbell bench press

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and lie on your back on a flat bench. Hold the dumbbells just outside your shoulders, with your arms bent and your palms facing your feet.

2. Push the weights up and slightly toward your head so that when your arms are extended, the dumbbells are above your collarbones. Lower the weights back to your chest, pause, and repeat.

Dumbbell shoulder press

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit holding them just outside your shoulders, with your arms bent and palms facing each other.

2. Push the weights straight overhead, pause, then slowly lower them.


1. Lie on your chest on the floor with your arms extended above your head, palms down.

2. Lift your head, chest, arms, thighs, and lower legs off the floor as high as possible.

3. Pause, then return to the starting position.


1. Position yourself face down on the floor, with your weight supported on your hands and toes. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart, fingers pointed forward. Your feet should be hip-width apart. Keep your arms, back, and legs straight.

2. Bend at the elbows as you slowly lower yourself to the floor. Stop when your chest is an inch from the floor, pause, then push yourself back up to the starting position.

Lateral raise

1. Stand and and hold a pair of dumbbells at arm's length with your palms turned toward each other. Bend your elbows slightly and lean forward at the waist 30 to 45 degrees.

2. Without changing the bend in your elbows, raise your arms out to the sides until they're parallel to the floor.

3. Pause, then lower them back to the starting position.

Walking lunge

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at your sides. Stand with your feet hip-width apart at one end of your house or gym.

2. Lunge forward with your left leg, bending your knee 90 degrees. Your right knee should also bend and almost touch the floor.

3. Stand and bring your right foot up next to your left, then repeat with the right leg lunging forward. That's one repetition. Continue until you've completed half your repetitions in this direction. Then turn and do the same number of walking lunges back to your starting point.

Machine row

1. Position yourself in the row machine with your chest against the pad and grab the handles so that your palms are turned toward the floor.

2. Pull the handles back as far as you can, pause, then slowly return to the starting position.


If you don't have access to this machine: Do a one-arm dumbbell row with your elbow out, as follows. Lean over a bench, resting your left knee and left hand on it. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand at arm's length, your right thumb facing your body. Pull the weight up until your elbow is bent 90 degrees. Keep your upper arm out away from your torso. Pause, then slowly lower the weight. Do all the repetitions with one arm (including the repetitions in the drop set, if you're doing the advanced routine), then repeat with the other.

Owen crunch

1. Lie on your back on the floor with your hands behind your ears, your knees together, and your toes pointing inward.

2. Raise your head and shoulders and crunch your rib cage toward your pelvis. Pause and slowly return to the starting position.

Reverse crunch

1. Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor, and bend your hips and knees 90 degrees.

2. Pull your hips upward and inward, as if you were emptying a bucket of water that's resting on your pelvis. Keep your hips and knees at 90-degree angles.

3. Pause, then slowly lower your hips to the starting position.

The Workouts

Do the Core workout on Mondays and Fridays, and the Integrity workout on Wednesdays.


Speed: Perform each repetition deliberately -- slower than what seems like your natural speed. For example, if you're doing a squat, pause for 1 second in the down position. This keeps your muscles under tension longer and helps build them faster. Plus, it reduces your risk of injury.


Beginner routine: Do one set of 12 to 15 repetitions of each exercise. Use a weight that you can lift at least 12 times. When you can complete 15 repetitions, increase the weight in your next workout. Move quickly from exercise to exercise, resting at most 30 seconds between exercises. As you progress, decrease the rest between exercises. Build until you can do the entire routine with no rest between exercises.


Advanced routine: You'll do drop sets in this workout. That is, do a second set immediately after the first set, without resting, but use about 20 percent less weight. For example, you might do the first set of squats with 95 pounds for 20 repetitions, then immediately do 10 more with 75 pounds. Rest 30 seconds between exercises.


The Goals Beginner

1. Exercise consistently with short, focused workouts.

2. Build endurance through high-repetition strength training and moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise.

3. See rapid increases in strength -- perhaps 10 percent a week on most exercises -- and modest gains in muscle mass. By the end of the month, your muscles should feel tighter, and your pants should feel looser.



1. Get back to basics by turning the standard workout scheme upside down. You'll focus more energy on your back and leg muscles, and less on chest and shoulders.

2. Help your body recover from nagging injuries with short, low-volume routines. You should leave the gym feeling as if you could've done a lot more.

3. Give your muscle-building and fat-burning systems a boost, especially if your body is used to higher-volume routines. Your muscles will almost always respond favorably to a sudden change in volume.

Cardiovascular Workout

Beginner Routine

You'll do your cardiovascular training either right after your resistance-training workout, or on your days off. If you're a beginner, haven't done any cardiovascular exercise in the past 6 months, or are more than 15 pounds overweight, start by walking or riding a bike for 10 to 15 minutes. If you walk on a treadmill, set it on a slight incline (2 to 5 degrees). You should always finish your cardiovascular exercise feeling as if you could've done more. Try to go about 10 percent longer each week. Or go a little harder in the same amount of time--increasing the incline and/or speed of the treadmill, for example.


Advanced Routine

If you've been doing cardiovascular exercise consistently for the past 6 months, try this 20-minute, high-intensity interval routine. It'll prepare you for the more difficult interval routines in the next three months.


How to do it:Perform each sprint described below on a treadmill or an exercise bike at the prescribed percentage of your highest possible effort. Then slow to an active rest at a lower intensity--a light jog, for instance.


1. Warm up for 5 minutes, gradually increasing your intensity to about 50 percent of full effort.

2. Sprint for 30 seconds at 85 percent of full effort.

3. Take an active rest for 2 minutes at 40 percent of full effort.

4. Sprint for 20 seconds at 90 percent of full effort.

5. Take an active rest for 2 minutes at 40 percent of full effort.

6. Sprint for 10 seconds at 100 percent (full sprint).

7. Take an active rest for 2 minutes at 40 percent of full effort.

8. Sprint for 20 seconds at 90 percent of full effort.

9. Take an active rest for 2 minutes at 40 percent of full effort.

10. Sprint for 30 seconds at 85 percent of full effort.

11. Cool down for 5 minutes.


Men' s Health Personal Trainer will customize an offical Cover Model workout plan just for you. Sign up now.

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