How We Turned This Popular Fitness Program Into An Audio Workout — Free
Even if you’re not particularly interested in fitness, you probably have a some old workouts lying around? Here's how, in just minutes, we turned one of our favorite fitness routines into an audio-guided, self-tracking workout that forever removed the stress of having to remember the routine and record our results.
The 5BX plan (Five Basic Exercises) was a training pamphlet developed for men; a corresponding program, XBX (Ten Basic Exercises), was later developed and published for women.
Five Basic Exercises
The 5BX Plan – Five Basic Exercises – was devised by Dr. Bill Orban for the Royal Canadian Air Force in the late 1950’s. The Plan is composed of 6 charts arranged in progression. Each chart is composed of 5 exercises which are always performed in the same order and in the same maximum time limit. It takes 11 minutes to complete the workout, unless you substitute a run or walk for the running on the spot portion of the workout.
Strength & Endurance
The 5BX plan is one of my favorite workout routines. I enjoy the body-weight exercises and getting outside to run/walk rather than staying inside to run in place or on a treadmill. I also like that the program is progressive and has aged-based performance targets to measure performance against.
In this example, we’re going to turn the 5BX - Chart 4 routine, reproduced below, into an audio-guided workout and set our performance targets at the B+ Level. We’re also going to substitute a 2 mile run/walk for Exercise 5 — running on the spot.
Creating THE Workout
Replicating the Workout
Dr. Orban referred to exercises by number rather than name. So, even though we don’t need names, we’re going to name the exercises as follows:
Arms-wide Circular Toe Touch
Straight Leg Sit-ups
Floor T-Raise
Wide-Hands Pushup
Walk/Run
Click on the video below for a live demonstration of us creating this workout.
Performing The Workout
More Than Voice CUES
Start by reviewing your workout. Make any adjustments to your workout like substitute exercises or change your target or goal times, reps, distance or resistance.
As you workout, voice cues guide you on what to do, when, how long, how many, how far and how much resistance. Triad Trainer will automatically record your time and distance. If you elected to track them, it will record your actual reps and resistance. You can pause or cancel a workout at anytime or switch from GPS tracking to manual tracking for distance activities.
Your workout concludes with a complete Dashboard Summary of your performance exercise-by-exercise, set-by-set.
Well, there you have it. A boring pamphlet turned into a dynamic workout experience backed with evidence-based data to help you stay motivated, track progress towards your goals, and get the results you want.
The Triad Trainer Before And After Challenge
Check your current workout log now. Then, download the FREE Triad Trainer app and turn your workout into an audio-guided, self-tracking workout. Perform your work out using Triad Trainer and compare logs.
You’ll be amazed how much more motivated you are when you see your results, how less stressful your workouts will be when they’re guided, and how much easier it will be to overcome the training barriers that block you from getting the results you want.
