I completed the Max Workouts program and really got fit in 90 days. I did try to adapt some things, and, also, I didn’t follow it precisely as it was intended on some aspects, but overall, I still got good results from it. As I guy who experimented with some highly-praised fitness programs before but wasn’t satisfied, the surprise of finding one that works was pure gold.
I first read about the Max Workouts here, and it convinced me to give it a try. Here is my story of how going through Shin Ohtake’s Max Workouts program changed me, how I managed to cope with it and what changes I could take away with me after completing it.
The Max Workouts program at a glance
As a brief overview, the Max Workouts fitness program is a moderately intense one, requiring you to train 5 days a week after you start up for it.
These main 5 workouts of the week are divided between 3 Circuit workouts (for Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and 2 High Intensity Cardio Sessions (for Tuesday and Thursday).
Technically, all of these training sessions only take 30 minutes to complete, and the weekend days are free. More realistically, the exercises may take you somewhere closer to 1 hour to complete, considering the fact that you’re probably not super-fit to begin with. I, for one, wasn’t, so at least for me, the exercises took around 45 minutes to complete.
You should know that the Max Workouts program doesn’t target complete beginners or people who can’t work out intensely for a health reason. It addresses people who are not newbies and already train consistently in at least one type of exercise, however lightly.
How I was for me to start the Max Workouts program
I was previously training at my local gym on an off before the Max Workouts program, and had what could reasonably be described as a dad bod. I wasn’t super in shape, but could manage to get 1 hour of machine training done without becoming exhausted.
Ideally, I did this workout twice a week, but in the past few months I kept finding excuses and being ‘too busy’ to work out. Therefore, I was either going to the gym once a week or not at all. This, paired with a love of unhealthy food, was already beginning to be visible, hence my decision to start the Max Workouts program.
So, when I started it initially, I knew it would require a lot of commitment to able to stick to that schedule and follow every instruction. This made me hesitate a bit and get cold feet, but then I finally dived in.
It was indeed a bit hard for me to take at first. I will confess that I am not capable to this day to complete one 30-minute Circuit without taking a single break to rest a bit and breathe. To maintain the intensity of the program, I made sure that at least the breaks I took were no longer than 30 seconds.
In the first 2 weeks, I was sore all over and tended to fall asleep at my desk because I was so tired. Then I started drinking more water, taking magnesium supplements and going to bed earlier and I felt better and more able to take each new workout. In 4 weeks, my body started gradually getting stronger. I will get into more details on the results tab, and for now I will continue describing the program.
The extras offered by the program
There are also some extras coming with the Shin Ohtake’s Max Workouts program. First of all, there is a meal guide and plans, so you know what to eat in order to be able to get the best results out of your training. In addition to that, there are also a couple of guides on how to recover lost muscle mass and a 4-week bodyweight workout program.
So, to recap, these are the 3 extra guides you receive for free with the Max Workouts program:
- The Lean Body Diet (I strongly recommend you follow this while completing the training in Max Workouts);
- The Muscle Recovery Guide (also useful during the Max Workouts training)
- The 4-Week Bodyweight Workout Program (this lighter fitness program is ideal for the time after you finish the 90 days of Max Workouts).
The way you have to adapt your life to Shin Ohtake’s program
For me, at least, the Max Workouts program would have tanked if I hadn’t also made some lifestyle changes to accommodate it.
These were the changes I had to make, and they were all for the better. First of all, I started sleeping much earlier in the evening, and I also got up much earlier. My entire rhythm of energy seemed to be re-centered towards mornings, but I also felt like I had more energy to expend throughout the day.
Also, and this one is very important, I followed all the meal plans and guidelines from The Lean Body Diet as much as I could, and I don’t think I could have done it without that. The workouts in the Max Workouts program can get pretty intense and without the proper diet to sustain them, all that effort wouldn’t have managed to rebuild my body as intended.
My results with Max Workouts
To wrap things up, my satisfaction with the Max Workouts fitness program was very high and I think it’s one of the best training programs that I followed. It’s one of the few which I’ve actually managed to follow through till the end, also.
I shed only about 10 pounds at the end of the 90 days, but I my entire weight now contains much more muscle than it did before, I feel stronger and I look better. Nevertheless, there are two downsides to the program that you should consider:
- The exercise programs are quite tedious and dull,
- The workout materials are expensive compared to other programs I’ve found online.
Some of the lifestyle changes that I made for the Max Workouts program were a great habit to break into, so I will do my best to keep them even now after the program is over. I am referring mainly to the diet and the early bedtime, but the routine of working out every day is also a keeper.
