Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha

the starting position.

    A2 Plank
30 seconds
    A3 Javelin Press
10 reps
    A4 Plank
30 seconds

    Perform A1–A4 in a circuit fashion, resting no more than 30 seconds between exercises. Perform 4 circuits, resting 90 seconds between each. After your last set, rest 2 minutes and proceed to the next circuit.
    B1 Barbell Glute Bridge
6 to 8 reps

    Lay on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
    Put a padded barbell across your hips and grab the barbell with an overhand grip, about shoulder-width apart.
    Keeping the barbell just below your pelvis, raise your hips—while squeezing your glutes—until your hips are in line with your body.
    Return to the starting position, and repeat.

    B2 Push-Up
As many as possible
    B3 Mountain Climber
30 seconds

    Assume a push-up position with your arms completely straight. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles.
    Lift your left foot off the floor and slowly raise your knee as close to your chest as you can.
    Return to the starting position and repeat with your right leg.
    Continue alternating for the prescribed number of reps or time.

    Perform B1–B3 in a circuit fashion, resting no more than 30 seconds between exercises. Perform 4 circuits, resting 90 seconds between each. After your last set, rest 2 minutes and proceed to the next circuit.
    C Pull-Up
20 reps

    Perform 20 total reps on the pull-up. It doesn’t matter how many sets it takes as long as you get all 20. For some people, this will be 3 sets, for others, 6. Just do as many pull-ups as you can, then rest, then do more. Continue in this fashion until you get to 20. If you can get more than 10 on your first set, add some weight using a belt.

CHAPTER 10
    Phase II: Adapt
    EMBRACING METAMORPHOSIS
    “The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well, the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions, they cease to be minds.”
    — FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
    P hase II of Engineering the Alpha is where things start to get really interesting, in terms of both diet and training. We’ll cover diet first because, as we mentioned, you get to partake in cheat days, otherwise known as the most awesome thing to hit food since . . . well, food. It’s time to master the cheat day.
    But before we get to that, we want to talk about the hormonal components of Phase II. This phase is called Adapt for a few reasons: You have readapted to carbs in your diet. Your insulin receptors have adapted to a higher level of sensitivity. And, of course, your body has adapted to the workouts and dieting, making you more proficient overall.
    Adapt will also be highly concerned with testosterone, a hormone so awesome that Roman got its chemical structure tattooed on his forearm.
    As we explained in the hormonal breakdown discussion, testosterone is involved in everything from fat loss and muscle building to sex and confidence. During Phase II, you will notice the first results of increased testosterone. This will happen by way of your newfound friendship with insulin. When you’re insulin resistant, you store more fat, which increases estrogen and lowers testosterone; when you’re insulin sensitive, you flip the switch so you lose fat, increase testosterone, and lower estrogen. Win-win.
    “Oh, that’s good.
    Write that down.”
    — VAN WILDER
    Additionally, testosterone production will be enhanced by your training efforts. All weight training increases testosterone, but studies have shown that when you train with increased density, the effect is exacerbated. During Adapt, the training will be entirely dedicated to increasing density—and thereby testosterone.
    Finally, we’ll look at the hormones primarily responsible for your metabolism: leptin, T3, and T4. In order to create the context necessary to fully explain these things, let’s take a look at what happens to you while you’re on a diet—even an intelligent one, like the one you followed in Prime.
    Overall, Adapt is about increasing your training intensity and volume so you’ll not only be working harder on each set, you’ll also be doing more total reps and sets. On the diet side, compared to last phase, you’ll be eating more on training days and less on non-training days. And then, of course, there’s cheat day, when you’ll eat all types of foods that you never thought would be suggested as part of a fat-loss plan. But we not only suggest—we require you to indulge.

    WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIET
    The human body