When we last saw former U.S. Navy SEAL and C.I.A. contractor Shawn Ryan, he was getting Keanu Reeves prepared for John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum by training the action hero actor on shootout tactics and strategies. Now the ex-military serviceman will outline his morning workout that gets him pumped up to tackle the day.
Ryan says that you need more than your morning cup of Joe to get you mentally and physically ready to own the day. You first need motivation, something that sparks a fire in your heart. For Shawn, his passion is running his own company Vigilance Elite, which trains normal people and Hollywood stars on how to protect themselves in the event that things go south in a hurry.
With your head in the right frame of mind, the next objective is to get your body ready. Ryan swears by pyramid training to get his motor running in the morning.
Pyramid training means starting out with low repetitions or lighter weights and building up your workout. Your goal is to build a steady progression of reps or resistance to consistently get better. Pyramid workouts can be used to build muscle, lose fat, or do both, it’s totally up to you.
The great thing about pyramid workouts is that it is not specific to one kind of exercise equipment or muscle group. The workouts are short, safe, and extremely flexible. You can tailor your pyramid workout to certain muscle groups on certain days.
The pyramid training is five minutes long so there are no excuses that you’re too busy to workout before work. You need to figure out how many reps you can easily and comfortably do in five minutes including breaks if you need them. If you’re a beginner maybe you’ll start with 15 reps of squat jumps, dumbbell overhead press, kettlebell swings, burpees. Record your times on your phone and try to beat your own records as a competition with yourself to push you to the best you.
Then as you progress you’ll increase your rep count to 20 or 25, but still keep it a quick five-minute workout. The goal is to not push your limits immediately, but steadily ramp up your strength and your conditioning. This is a great workout for beginners because you can’t fail. You select exercises that are extremely reasonable and work towards a long-term goal of improvement over time.
Hopefully, you’ll set your alarm earlier so that you can expand your pyramid workout to two or three different five-minute workouts that exercise different parts of your body. This will really get your energized to take on the day. Just look how energized Shawn Ryan is, he’s ready to paint the town (and his face) red.
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[CNBC]