Kai Greene Workout Special – GET BIG!
Training for bodybuilding means having patience, dedication, and a true desire to want to change your physical form. That also means having a strong mental gain to go along with your physical prowess. The mental game is what sets an amateur apart from a pro. It many fields, athletic or otherwise, the mental game can be the absolute key to either victory or defeat. No one knows this better than Kai Greene.
But not everyone is going to have a powerful metal game right out of the gate. For many people it’s not as simple as waking up one morning with an epiphany. Sometimes it takes the wisdom of a mentor, the ideologies of a seasoned veteran to bolster your confidence and boost not only your mental game, but offer adequate knowledge to the mechanics of your physical game as well.
Well if you’re an avid bodybuilding fan then you should already know the name Kai Greene. The talented bodybuilder has a wealth of knowledge that few athletes possess and now he’s willing to share it to the masses in the hopes that it will improve everyone’s bodybuilding approach.
Kai Greene’s Current Stats
#1. First Things First – Mind Muscle Connection
The number one factor in training is the mind-muscle connection. Practicing your poses between sets will eventually have your mind and muscles speaking the same language. Kai used to do pushups everyday until he reached 100 a day. This method really helped him to connect his mind with the pecs because of the continuous resistance he put on the muscle group day in and day out.
The iso-tension effect of flexing the muscles between sets can help to hit the muscle fibers that a set may miss. This can help to target those muscle fibers in the next set. Posing isn’t just something you do on a stage in front of an audience. It should be part of your bodybuilding program in order to really hit all areas of a given muscle group.
#2. Reps, Reps, Reps
In regards to reps, Kai rarely goes under 10 and may do more than 20 depending on how he’s feeling on that particular day. Kai never tries to limit himself as far as rep ranges are concerned. Like mentioned before, he prefers to go by feel and let his muscles determine how many reps they can handle. Sometimes letting the muscles call the shots rather than the mind can yield even further growth as the muscles can take even more punishment than your mind can imagine.
#3. No Half Assing
Speaking of reps, when it comes to contracting and stretching the muscles, Kai avoids half reps. Rather than focus on getting the weight up it’s all about getting that perfect stretch at the bottom of the lift while getting the best contraction possible at the top of the lift. Stretch, hold, and squeeze. There might be an allure to hitting that higher weight – but you’re cheating yourself out of real hypertrophy.
#4. The Cure For Lagging Calves
Where training calves are concerned, Kai alternates his heels either in or out during calf raises as a means of attacking both the inner and outer parts of the calves. Rather than doing separate sets, Kai pauses during the set and changes the position rather than rest. He will alternate this position with pauses each time as a means to really thrash every part of the calf.
#5. Search Your Feelings
If you want to be able to really hit a muscle correctly then you have to go by feel. As Kai puts it, the weight is simply the tool that you utilize. Focusing on lifting the weight itself makes no sense. Just like it was stated before – you should be focusing entirely on the muscle being hit. Don’t focus on the weight! It’s important to know your body. To understand it. This is essential if you want to reach real size on a pro level.
6. It’s all about hypertrophy – not amount of weight.
It’s not about lifting more weight. It’s about bodybuilding not weightlifting. Bodybuilding is more concerned with contracting the muscles against consistently greater amounts of resistance to achieve hypertrophy. The number of weight is not important. The contraction and hypertrophy is. If you have to drop the weight to make better movements, so be it.
7. Warm ups are key.
A great, high paced warm up before hitting your chosen body part will help to give you great conditioning, to maintain lower body fat throughout the year and also helps with recovery time in between sets. This is an essential component to Kai’s workout regimen. The body will get used to this pace and help keep the body firing on all cylinders.
8. We know you hate running but…
Cardiovascular training should be maintained all year around in order to maintain a leaner physique throughout the year. It will also help the body operate efficiently under oxygen deficiency. Shorter rest periods will also help to improve the body’s functionality and conditioning through a hard workout.
9. Leg day, all day.
For Kai Greene – if he’s training his legs that’s the only muscle group he focuses on for the day. Why? Because he can’t physically muster up the power train anything else. That’s the key tip here: when you train your legs you should be putting them through so much hell that you can’t do anything else. Kai Greene has some of the best legs in the IFBB because in between exercises he is dead on the floor. A full blast of intensity from start to finish.
10. It’s all on you.
You’re responsible for your own success. You can’t allow yourself to rely on anyone or anything else to build your success. It’s the willingness to sacrifice and to motivate yourself that will lead you to the body that you seek. Many people focus on end results, but the real goal is to motivate yourself day in and day out to get into the gym and get to work. There’s no coach, no training partner, no well wisher that’s going to push you to train. It has to be on you and the passion you have for building what you perceive as the ultimate physical form.
Here below is a more detailed breakdown on his workouts, diet and supplementation.
On Monday’s, it’s Chest and Calves
Kai Greene performs 6 exercises in one day, for a total of 3 to 4 sets and 15 reps. He also adds calves into this routine with each exercise being performed for a minimum of 4 sets and 10-15 reps.
1. Full Bench Press (3 sets, 12 reps)
2. Dumbbell Fly (3 sets, 12-15 reps)
3. Arm Pullover (3 sets, 15 reps)
4. Decline Bench Press (3 sets, 15 reps)
5. Seated Calf Raise (4 sets, 15 reps)
6. Standing Calf Raise (4 sets, 15 reps)
On Tuesday’s, it’s Shoulders and Forearms
On Tuesday, Kai focuses on his shoulders and forearms workout routine. There are 8 exercises within Greene’s shoulders and forearms routine.
1. Arnold Press (3 sets, 10-12 reps)
2. Lateral Raise (3 sets, 10-12 reps)
3. Neck Press (3 sets, 10-12 reps)
4. Dumbbell Front Raise (3 sets, 10-12 reps)
5. Shrugs (3 sets, 15 reps)
6. Reverse Curls (3 sets, 8-12 reps)
8. Hammer Curls (3 sets, 13-15 reps)
On Wednesday’s, it’s Back day
Kai performs a back routine that focuses on 4 exercises. Every set is around 12-15 reps.
- Lats Pulldown (3 sets, 12-15 reps)
2. Barbell Pullover (3 sets, 12-15 reps)
3. Seated Cable Rows (3 sets, 12-15 reps)
4. Bent-Over Barbell Rows (3 sets, 12-15 reps)
On Thursday, it’s Leg day
Kai Greene performs his bodybuilding leg routine for 6 exercises. Each exercise is performed for 3 to 4 sets and 10-15 reps.
1. Squats (3 sets, 10-12 reps)
2. Lying Leg Curls (3 sets, 10-12 reps)
3. Deadlifts (3 sets, 10-12 reps)
4. Lunges (3 sets, 10-15 reps)
5. Seated Calf Raise (4 sets, 10-15 reps)
6. Standing Calf Raise (4 sets, 10-15 reps)
On Friday, it’s Arm day
On Friday, Greene performs an arms workout routine by doing 6 different exercises varying between 10-15 reps.
- Hammer Curls (4 sets, 12-15 reps)
2. Reverse Curls (4 sets, 12-15 reps)
3. Preacher Curls (4 sets, 10-12 reps)
4. Bicep Curls (4 sets, 10-12 reps)
5. Dumbbell Kickbacks (3 sets, 12-15 reps)
6. Triceps Pulldown (3 sets, 12-15 reps)
Saturday is cardio day
On Saturday, Greene performs an hour long cardio session on the stair master.
Kai Greene Diet
Kai Greene follows a strict bodybuilding diet that on and off season that comprises of 1.8 grams of protein for each pound of his body mass and 0.5 grams of healthy fats per pound of body weight. He takes his pre-workout at least thirty minutes before starting the workout. And he finishes off his workouts with a protein shake.
Here is Kai Greene’s diet:
Meal 1
- 6 ounces of grilled chicken
- 6 egg whites
- ¼ shredded cheddar cheese
Meal 2
- 2 scoops of Chocolate Protein Powder
- 2 cups of Almond Milk
Meal 3
- 6 ounces of grilled steak
- 1 teaspoon Flaxseed Oil
- 2 cups of Brown Rice
Meal 4
- 6 ounces of boneless Chicken Breast
- 4 stalks of Asparagus
- 1/3 cup of quinoa
Meal 5
- 7-ounces of Wild Salmon
- 2 medium-sized yams
- 5 ounces of baked potato
Suppplements
Kai Greene strictly uses the following supplements to help propel his gains:
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