The Super Fan Workout: Look Like a Pro in Your Jersey

[01dragonslayer]

There's more than one way to prepare for tailgating for this week's game. Get jacked and rock your team's swag with pride by performing this workout!

WORKOUT SUMMARY​

• Main Goal
  Build Muscle
• Workout Type
  Split
• Training Level
  Intermediate
• Program Duration8 weeks
• Days Per Week
  5
• Time Per Workout30-45 minutes
• Equipment Required
  Barbell, Bodyweight, Cables, Dumbbells
• Target GenderMale & Female
• Workout PDFDownload Workout

Workout Description​

Now that we are in the month of October, football season is in full swing.
Having graduated from an SEC school, the importance of football victories trumps any other claim to fame the fall season may have.
Even bigger than football though is setting up the tent, firing up the grill, and dumping ice into the cooler to start that gameday’s tailgate.
While the players prep for the game, the fan preps for tailgate.
Depending on your age and where you’re located, tailgating may be a weekend long endeavor.
High school Friday night lights? Tailgate.
Saturday College Gameday? Tailgate.
NFL Sunday? You get the picture.
Regardless of how many teams you’re rooting for week in and week out, one thing is a given. You’ve got to be fit to rock your team’s swag with pride.
So whether you’re a high school freshman gearing up for his/her first Friday night out or a 40 year old former frat star living vicariously through his alma matter’s Saturday success, we’ve got the perfect workout to help you fill out your lucky gameday jersey.

The Tailgate Muscles & Filling out Your Gameday Apparel​

When I say “Tailgate Muscles” you may be envisioning your biceps getting worked bringing various food and beverages to your face, your back and hamstrings deadlifting a seemingly 1000+lb cooler, or your legs from the endless marathon walking to other’s tailgates.
Related: Tim Tebow's Upper Body Muscle Building Workout
However, I’m talking about focusing on the muscle groups that are going to be visible (or that you’d hope to be visible) while wearing an oversized jersey.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve worn a lot of clothing items in my day, and the football jersey has to be one of the toughest to fill out. You don’t get the benefits of wearing pads to help you appear bigger either.
So, before moving on to the workout in its entirety, let’s breakdown which muscle groups we’re going to target with this workout and why we will benefit in doing so.
And any ladies out there reading who may be thinking this workout won’t apply since they’re not planning on wearing a jersey to tailgates, think again. Building these muscles are only going to make a gameday dress or tank look that much better on you.

The Shoulders​

The most important muscle group to filling out a gameday jersey is going to be your shoulders. Think about it. You’re going to have to find a way to appear to be wearing shoulder pads without actually wearing shoulder pads!
It’s a tough order to fulfill, but by no means an impossible one. To do so, we’re going to need a good blend of both strength and hypertrophy training. That means attacking a heavy bar for standing military presses and upping the volume for the remaining accessory lifts.
The end result will be boulder shoulders with 3D delts worthy of donning your team’s colors. Seriously, that yoke is going to make you look like more of an animal than whatever your team’s mascot is.

The Back​

A thick upper back is going to serve as the base underneath those pad-like shoulders. It will also assist in the development of a v-taper, which is what we really want out of this program.
The wide shoulders and thick back will taper down to a thin waist creating the allusion that there are pads underneath your lucky jersey. In reality, that’s 100% of hard-body you bro(ette)!
Much like we talked about how to work the shoulders above, the same will apply to working your back muscles. We’re going to pick out two exercises, one heavy for strength and one with high volume for hypertrophy, for the lats, the mid back, and the low back.

The Arms​

If you’ve ever worn a football jersey you already know that the sleeves are super loose. In order to fill those sleeves, we’re going to have to put some serious mass on those guns. By the end of this workout, it should look like you’re hiding footballs underneath those sleeves!
As I’m sure you’re well aware of, the tricep muscles make up the bulk of the upper arm. So our best plan of action is to attack them often, giving them just enough rest for proper recovery before the next time we work them either directly or indirectly. It also means hitting them with high volume to optimize hypertrophy when we train them directly.
Related: 5 Killer Arm Workouts for Tank Top Season
Don’t fret, I know with all this talk about triceps you’re worried about your biceps withering away. This program will give you just enough volume to increase hypertrophy for them too! Heck, it’ll probably be a rewarding break from your current high volume curling routine, and result in some serious gains!

The Legs​

I know what you’re thinking. “Why do I have to train legs if I’m only trying to fill out my gameday jersey? Besides, winter is coming and I’ll be wearing pants soon.”
Until the cold weather does arrive, you’ll be wearing shorts. Do you really want to look disproportional? I didn’t think so. Not only will training legs compliment you’re developing V taper giving you an X like frame, it’ll help you get off the line while your team’s on O during those tailgate two hand touch games.
So, while the sun’s still shining think of leg training as a means to a more complete look.
When the snow falls, think of it as a way to further show off in front of your friends while tossing around the pigskin.

But what about chest?​

While your “International Chest Day” Monday’s may temporarily cease, you’ll still hit this muscle group with enough volume to continue growing. However, much like I talked about with biceps, this group may take a hit in the volume that you are used to.
If you think about it, your chest isn’t going to show much through your gameday apparel. Does this mean we are going to abandon it? Absolutely not. However, we are going to attack it in a much more concise and strategic manner.
Focusing more on training for hypertrophy, we’re going to build a chest that your team’s name will sit proudly on.

The Tailgate Touchdown Workout​

The workout is scheduled to where your off days fall on Saturday and Sundays, which happens to be the two days teams will play on most frequently. As you push through these exercises, your team will be pushing through the regular season.
Related: Marc Megna's Complete Football Training Workout And Meal Plan
While I can’t guarantee the outcome of their season, I can guarantee the outcome of this workout will be a much more jacked you.
If you need to rearrange the program to fit your schedule, that is completely fine. Just remember to keep a day in between your pressing workouts and a day in between your back and leg training days.

Monday - Shoulders​

Exercise	Sets	Reps
1. Heavy Military Press	5	8, 6, 5, 5, 5
2. Lateral Raises	4	10
3. Front Raises	3	12
4. Rear Delt Raises	3	12
5. Heavy Barbell Shrugs	3	8
6. Dumbbell Shrugs	3	12

Tuesday – Back​

Exercise	Sets	Reps
1. Deadlift	3	5
2. (Weighted) Pullups*	4	8, 6, 5, 5
3. Heavy Dumbbell Rows	4	8, 6, 5, 5
4. Lat Pulldown	3	12
5. Inverted Row	3	12
6. Hyperextensions	3	15

*If weighted pullups cannot be performed, do regular pullups or assisted pullups.

Wednesday- Chest & Triceps​

Exercise	Sets	Reps
1. Incline Barbell Bench	4	12
2. Dumbbell Flat Bench	4	12
3. Tricep Dips	3	12
4. Tricep Diamond Pushups	3	12
5. Rope Pressdown	3	12

Thursday- Legs​

Exercise	Sets	Reps
1. Squat	5	8, 6, 5, 5, 5
2. Stiff Leg Deadlift	4	10
3. Leg Press	3	15
4. Walking Lunges	4	20 yards (or length of gym)
5. Seated Calf Raises	3	12

Friday- Biceps and Triceps​

Exercise	Sets	Reps
1a. Chinups	3	12
1b. Tricep Dips	3	12
2. Barbell Curls	4	10
3. Skull Crushers	4	12
4. Incline Dumbbell Curls	3	10
5. Rope Pressdown	3	12

A fair amount of these exercises will hit the core indirectly. However, if you feel the need to add in direct work that will target the core that’s also completely fine. In fact, we actually have a lot of really great core workouts right here on M&S.

Conclusion​

There it is ladies and gentlemen, the perfect tailgate preparation workout for the super fan. Obviously, your off days will be spent enjoying football. If you do end up tailgating, consider the hard work of setting up and breaking down (along with throwing the pigskin and walking from spot to spot to visit others) as your active recovery.

Be sure to keep your calorie consumption in line with your current goals. Tailgate food is some of the best food, but overindulgence can jeopardize all of your hard work throughout the week.
Tracking your macros and keeping alcohol consumption to moderate amounts will only help you out when Monday rolls around and it’s time to start compiling the scouting report for next week’s big game.
Oh… and be careful not to get too close to the sidelines. The head coach might mistake you for a player and actually put you into the game.