Plan of the Month: Get Lean in 4 Weeks, Week 4
Follow along with MensFitness.com's 'Plan of the Month'. This month is dedicated to leaning down. Here's week 4 of 4.
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Note from the Editor: Mike Simone
Each month, MensFitness.com will select one trainer and a four week training program of their choice. Each week you'll receive the training protocol for that week. This month, Dan Trink, C.S.C.S, owner of TrinkFitness.com and Director of Personal Training Operations at Peak Performance NYC provides a 4 week program for leaning down.
What's New in Week Four?
Just in time for the holidays, we are deloading this week. What, exactly is a deload? It’s a planned reduction in training volume which serves several purposes. By reducing training stress you allow your body to more fully recover and realize the gains of all the training that you’ve accomplished since the start of the program. Deloads also have psychological benefits, as spending a bit less time training in the gym will often get you pumped up and anxious to hit it hard in the coming weeks. We are going to approach this deload by lowering the number of total sets and reps you’ll be performing this week, increasing the rest periods as well as eliminating those brutal finishers.
The parameters of the interval training will change with the length of both the work and/or recovery intervals getting longer.
Are you behind in the program?
Plan of the Month: Get Lean in 4 Weeks, Week 1 >>>
Plan of the Month: Get Lean in 4 Weeks, Week 2 >>>
Plan on the Month: Get Lean in 4 Weeks, Week 3 >>>
WEEK FOUR
MONDAY: Strength Training
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS | REST | |
| A1 | Goblet Squat | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| A2 | DB Push Press | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| A3 | DB Step Ups | 2 | 12/s | 30 sec |
| A4 | Jump Rope | 2 | 60 sec | 60 sec |
| B1 | Bent Over Barbell Row | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B2 | Trap Bar Deadlift | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B3 | Single Arm Cable Chest Press | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B4 | Sprint * | 2 | 100 yards | 60 sec |
* Can be performed on a treadmill or track.
TUESDAY: Intervals
5 minute warm ups
8 total intervals of 4 minutes and 30 seconds. [90 seconds 'work', 3 minutes of 'recovery' as described above]
5 minutes cool down
WEDNESDAY - Strength Training
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS | REST | |
| A1 | Incline DB Bench Press | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| A2 | Barbell Back Squat | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| A3 | Single Arm Cable Row | 2 | 12/s | 30 sec |
| A4 | Farmer's Walk | 2 | 40 yards | 60 sec |
| B1 | Romanian Deadlift | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B2 | Lat Pull Down | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B3 | Alternating Lunge | 2 | 12/s | 30 sec |
| B4 | Rowing Machine | 2 | 200 meters | 60 sec |
THURSDAY: Intervals
5 minute warm ups
10, 3-minute intervals [60 seconds 'work', 120 seconds 'recovery' as described above]
5 minutes cool down
FRIDAY: Strength Training
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS | REST | |
| A1 | Sumo Deadlift | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| A2 | Dips ** | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| A3 | Alternating Step Back Lunge | 2 | 12/s | 30 sec |
| A4 | Kettlebell Swing | 2 | 20 | 60 sec |
| B1 | Chin Up ** | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B2 | Lying Hamstring Curl | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B3 | Single Arm DB Overhead Press | 2 | 12 | 30 sec |
| B4 | Bike Sprint | 2 | 60 seconds | 60 sec |
** Use bands or assistance machines as needed.
SATURDAY: Intervals
5 minute warm ups
8 total intervals of 4 minutes and 30 seconds. [90 seconds 'work', 3 minutes of 'recovery' as described above]
5 minutes cool down
