Fitness Model James Ellis Workout Routine, Training Guide + Diet Plan!

Fitness Model James Ellis’s Workout Philosophy & Guide!

My philosophy with weight training is to that I train using my ‘Scientific Training Methods’. What do I mean by Scientific Training Methods? I spent several years studying the anatomy of the muscles and how they move and work so that I could get a better insight on how to train each and every intricate part of each muscle. I don’t want to waste my time in any of my gym sessions by either over-training or under-training, so I’d rather have a very detailed program where I know I am hitting every part of the of those primary muscles when I am training them. So, I’ve broken down each of the muscles that I train into intricate parts so that I know I am training the muscle FULLY when I go into the gym and not leaving portions out.

For example, the chest is broken down into the Pec Major & the Pec Minor. Pec Major has three major parts to it, the clavicular head (upper head), sternocostal head (mid head) & the costal head (lower head). Then you have the Pec Minor which is three muscle strands located under the pec major and run from the shoulder blade and attache to the 3rd, 4th, & 5th ribs. With my Scientific Training Methods I learn muscle anatomy like this for all of my body parts and then I study how I can train them for maximum results each training session.

The second part of my Scientific Training Methods was to get an understanding of what secondary muscles are working when you are training those primary muscles. It’s good to know this so that you don’t mistakenly train a secondary muscle two days in a row, because the secondary muscle needs to recover and grow that next day and you don’t want to interrupt that process by tearing it down right away again before it even recovers. You won’t train legs two days in a row would you? Then you shouldn’t train secondary muscles two days in a row.

What is an example of a secondary muscle? On chest day your secondary muscles are front delts and triceps. On back day your secondary muscles are rear delts and biceps. So, you never want to train shoulders the day before or after a chest or back day as you have already hit the delts as secondary muscles on those day. I also don’t recommend training back the day before or after leg day as leg day already puts enough pressure on your back. The program below is what I came up with as I feel it allows plenty of recovery for the muscles. So, learn more about my Scientific Training Methods below.
 

Fitness Model James Ellis’s Full Workout Routine

Day 1: Back And A Bicep Burnout (Abs)

1.) Two exercises for lats (ex. Lat pull-down and seated rows)

2.) Standing mid traps row on the cable machine (palms facing down & elbow at a 45 degree angle)

3.) Superset two exercises for the lower traps (ex. pivot prone pull, & a high T-bar row machine)

4.) Superset two exercises for my upper traps (ex. shrugs using the standing calve raise machine, & trap dips)

5.) One lower back exercise (ex. maybe the hyper-extension machine using a 25 pound plate, or good mornings)

6.) Now a QUICK bicep burnout (3 different bicep exercises, 3 sets each too). Usually some fast super-sets and I make sure to hit the full bicep. (Ex. 3 sets of preacher curls and superset that with 3 sets of standing dumbbell hammer curls, finish off with 3 sets of reverse curls on the cable machine)

 
*I do hypertrophy training, so all of my back exercises are 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 with 60-90 seconds between sets. I do, however allow my Pivot Prone Pull, and upper trap exercises to be in the range of 10-15. The bicep burnouts are 10-15 or to failure.

**With this workout you are hitting FULL back and FULL biceps as well. Try to switch up the exercises occasionally to keep the body guessing though and continue on with maximum results.

***After I’m done with back/biceps I choose an ab exercise and an oblique exercise and super set them for 3 quick sets each.
 

Day 2: Chest And A Tricep Burnout

1.) Incline Barbell Bench Press

2.) Flat Dumbbell Bench Press

3.) Decline Hammer Strength Chest Press

4.) Incline Dumbbell Flyes

5.) Pec Dec or Flye Machine (for mid chest)

6.) Decline Cable Flyes (for lower chest)

7.) Gironda Dips (for pec minor)

8.) Now a QUICK Tricep burnout (3 different tricep exercises, 3 sets each too). Usually some fast super-sets and I make sure to hit full tricep.(Ex. 3 sets of skull crushers, 3 sets of overhead tricep rope presses and superset that with 3 sets of reverse grip tricep press-downs)

 
*I do hypertrophy training (muscle building/bodybuilding), so all of my chest exercises are 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 with 60-90 seconds between sets. Both the Gironda Dips and the tricep dips are to be done to failure.

**With this workout you are hitting FULL chest and FULL triceps as well. I switch up the order each week of what type of barbell bench I will start with (incline, decline, or flat) and that changes the rest of the workout too as you want to make sure you are hitting the FULL chest. Remember, you have to keep the body guessing to continue to get great results. So, switch up your order and exercises often.

***After I finish my chest & triceps workout I do 10 minutes of hit cardio (10 sets of 40 seconds of a high intensity cardio and then 20 seconds standing still to let the heart rate come down)
 

Day 3: Legs (Abs)

1.) Squats and/or Leg Press

2.) Leg Extension and superset this with Leg Curls

3.) Inner Thigh machine and superset this with Outer Thigh Machine (3 sets of 10-15)

4.) Hip Flexor knee raises on the cable machine and superset this with glute kick backs (you’ll need an ankle strap to hook to the cable machine for both of these) (3 sets of 10-15)

5.) Standing Calve Raise machine (3 heavy sets of 12, 10, 8) & superset this with the seated calve raise machine (3 sets of 20-30)

*I do hypertrophy training, so all of my leg exercises unless otherwise labelled are 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 with 60-90 seconds between sets.

**With this workout you are hitting FULL legs, however remember you have to occasionally switch things up to keep the body guessing and continue to get great results.

***After I’m done with legs I choose an ab exercise and an oblique exercise and super set them for 3 quick sets each.
 

Day 4: Shoulders

1.) Barbell, Dumbbell, or Machine Shoulder press and superset this with Arnold Presses

2.) Lying rear delt cable flyes and superset with seated or bent over rear delt dumbbell flyes (3 sets of 10-15)

3.) Lateral Raise Machine and superset with standing dumbbell lateral raises (3 sets of 10-15)

4.) Sit sideways in the lateral raise machine so you can perform and front raise with your forearm against the pad and superset this with dumbbell front raises using a hammer style grip (3 sets of 10-15)

5.) Wide grip upright rows on the cable machine (really focus on pulling with the elbows high as the focus needs to be more on the shoulder caps than the traps) (3 sets of 10-15)

 
*I do hypertrophy training, so all of my shoulder exercises unless otherwise labelled are 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 with 60-90 seconds between sets. The delts are a very delicate muscle, so you don’t want to go super heavy, but rather slow and controlled with less weight…that is why I do higher reps for them.

**With this workout you are hitting FULL shoulders, however remember you have to occasionally switch things up to keep the body guessing and continue to get great results.

***After I’m done with shoulders I do 10 minutes of hit cardio (10 sets of 40 seconds of a high intensity cardio and then 20 seconds standing still to let the heart rate come down)
 

Day 5: Biceps And Triceps

1.) Skull Crushes and burnout with close grip presses and then superset that with standing curls using the ez-curl bar

2.) Tricep kick-backs and super set that with seated hammer curls

3.) Reverse grip tricep press-downs on the cable machine using the straight bar and superset that with lying down reverse grip bicep curls on the cable machine using the straight bar

4.) Body weight skull crushers leaning against the smith machine bar and burnout by doing decline push ups with your feet on the smith machine bar. Super set that by doing a curl with both hands on a 45 pound plate (hammer style curl) and burnout by doing palm up curls with 10 pound plates in each hand. (This is the end of your biceps and triceps workout, so these are to be done to complete failure)

 
*Since the arms are typically a secondary muscle I train them 3 sets of 10-15 reps with about a 30-60 second break between sets.

**With this workout you are hitting FULL biceps & triceps, however remember you have to occasionally switch things up to keep the body guessing and continue to get great results.

***After I’m done with this workout I choose an ab exercise and an oblique exercise and super set them for 3 quick sets each. Don’t go super hard as you’ll have the weighted ab exercise the next day.
 

Day 6: Weighted Abs

1.) Hanging Weighted Leg Raises superset with hanging side knee raises (I typically use the ab sling for these as I don’t want my grip to give out before my abs)

2.) Decline Bench Weighted Crunches superset with side crunches on the bench

3.) Flutter kicks lying on the bench superset with a plank

 
*All of these exercises are to be done to failure with about 30-60 seconds between sets. You don’t have to use a ton of weight on the ab exercises but do challenge yourself. I don’t ever suggest using weight for your oblique exercises.

**After I’m done with abs I do 10 minutes of hit cardio (10 sets of 40 seconds of a high intensity cardio and then 20 seconds standing still to let the heart rate come down)
 

Day 7: Day Off

 
Attention: Now you can get all of my workouts I mentioned above (Back, Chest, Legs, Shoulders, Arms, Abs/Obliques) as video downloads from my website: www.JamesEllisFit.com. You will then see the how the exercises are performed, the pace of workout, etc. I am very descriptive and give a lot of great pointers and substitute exercises. My Abs video actually has 6 different ab workouts too. I’ll also be doing a few 15 minute workout videos soon that include HIIT cardio and quick weight training for those of you who don’t have a ton of time, so be sure to subscribe to My E-mail Listing on the website for updates.
 

Fitness Model James Ellis Cardio Guide!

My favorite form of cardio is HIIT cardio. However, when I’m prepping for show/competition I typically go through a cardio cycle: I do 30-45 minutes of speed-walking (4-4.5 mph) cardio in the morning on an empty stomach (take some BCAA’s) as this is one of the best ways to burn fat. Then every other day I will do 10-15 minutes of HIIT cardio on an empty stomach. You can read about HIIT cardio online, but I basically go for 30 seconds at 100% effort and then 30 seconds at a standstill. Do that interval 10-15 times and you’ll be pooped. So speed walking one morning and HIIT cardio the next is a great way to keep the body guessing and burn some fat.
 

Fitness Model James Ellis Diet Plan & Nutrition Guide!

For diet I typically eat some good lean protein. So, chicken breast, fish, turkey, egg whites, Greek Yogurt & lean protein shakes are the foods I typically eat. I find that the good carbs I like to eat are sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats/oatmeal, rice cakes, & fibrous carbs (steamed broccoli & grilled asparagus). Another tasty thing I like to eat Greek Yogurt with Chocolate Protein & Blueberries mixed into it.

If people would like to get a good diet plan tailored to your specific needs they should go to my diet and training company page and drop us a note there: www.facebook.com/scientificbodysculpting. Just leave a note there saying that I sent you via this interview and I’ll give you all a great deal. 🙂

As far as the supplements go, I currently use and enjoy Magnum Nutraceuticals supplements as they are clean Pharmaceutical Grade supplements. I am always taking there ‘DNA’ (BCAA’s), ‘Quattro’ (Protein), ‘G’ (Glutamine), ‘Primer’ (Performance Packs), & ‘Acid’ (CLA).

When I am trying to cut up I stack their ‘Acid’ (CLA) and their ‘Heat Acc.’ (Fat Burner) as it gives me some amazing results. Here is a link to the cutting stack deal they are running: http://hardmagnum.com/product/incinerator-stack

When I am trying to bulk up I use Magnum’s Bulking Stack as it gives me a great Jump Start to that process. You can find that here: http://hardmagnum.com/product/anabolic-growth-stack. To get 10% off of any Mangum supplements you can use promo code: JAMESELLIS10%. If you are outside of the US & Canada then you will have to get the Magnum supplements at Bodybuilding.com & I unfortunately don’t have a promo code for them.
 

For More Of Fitness Model James Ellis Please Check Out His:

Website: www.JamesEllisFit.com
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