Fitness 360: Samantha Ann Leete, Training Program

Samantha trains to overcome her weaknesses. She doesn't cherry-pick workouts for her strengths or make excuses for lagging muscle groups. Her most productive days in the gym are when she's learning a new lift, working on muscle groups that need extra attention, and moving heavy weight. Her desire to build a better body and become a better athlete fuels her through every workout.

Samantha Ann Leete Fitness 360
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Mixing It Up

Samantha likes to use multiple training strategies so she never gets bored. "I love incorporating supersets, giant sets, circuits, HIIT cardio, low-intensity cardio, dropsets, and negatives," she says. "I also like to switch up my rep ranges, tempo, and exercises." These constant changes help keep Samantha excited about her workouts and motivated for her future goals.

Although she uses different modalities to train various muscle groups, Samantha likes to keep her split fairly consistent. "I usually lift three or four days per week and do sprints or plyometrics once per week. For my upper body, I usually stick to a 10-12 rep range. For my lower body, I do 10-20 reps per exercise."

Romanian Deadlift

Like most of us, Samantha has a tough relationship with cardio. "Sometimes it can be fun and I look forward to it, especially when I've had a stressful day and could use a cathartic sweat session." She'll squeeze in a cardio session during lunch at work, but if she's in the gym, she prefers the arc trainer, the stepmill, or plyos.

Unlike some elite competitors, Samantha believes in rest days. "I just try to listen to my body," she says. Sometimes a rest day means hitting a hard cardio session, sometimes it means going for a long, fun hike, and sometimes, rest just means rest. "Rest days can literally mean just chilling out and watching a movie," she explains.

Samantha's Training Split

Giant Set (60 seconds rest between giant sets)
Single-Leg Barbell Squats
3 sets of 12 reps (per leg)
Lying Leg Curls
3 sets of 15 reps
Sled Pushes
3 sets of 100 meters
Superset (45 seconds rest between supersets)
Deficit Romanian Deadlifts
4 sets of 12-15 reps
Dumbbell Step-Ups
4 sets of 10 reps (per leg)
Giant Set (45 seconds rest between giant sets)
Plie Dumbbell Squats
3 sets of 10 reps (per leg)
Barbell Glute Bridges
3 sets of 15-20 reps
Ball Leg Curls
3 sets of 15-20 reps

Giant Set (60 seconds rest between giant sets)
Inverted Rows
3 sets of 12-15 reps
Close-Grip EZ Bar Curls
3 sets of 12 reps
Burpee Tuck Jumps
3 sets of 15 reps
Superset (45-60 seconds rest between supersets)
Pull-Ups
4 sets of 12 reps
Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Barbell Rows
4 sets of 10 reps
Superset (45 seconds rest between supersets)
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns
4 sets of 10 reps
Incline Dumbbell Curls
4 sets of 12 reps
Superset (30 seconds rest between supersets)
Straight-Arm Pulldowns
3 sets of 18 reps
Hyperextensions (Back Extensions)
3 sets of 20 reps
Plyometrics (45 seconds rest between each set)
Box Jumps
3 sets of 30 reps
Lateral Box Jumps
4 sets of 20 reps
Scissors Jumps
3 sets of 20 reps
Knee Tuck Jumps
3 sets of 20 reps
Side Hop-Sprints
2 sets of 2 minutes
Lateral Bounds
2 sets of 2 minute
Freehand Jump Squats
2 sets of 20 reps

Superset (60 seconds rest between supersets)
Barbell Squats
4 sets of 20 reps
Bench Sprints
4 sets of 30-60 seconds
Superset (60 seconds rest between supersets)
Dumbbell Walking Lunges (bodyweight version shown)
3 sets of 15-20 reps each leg
Dumbbell Seated Box Jumps
3 sets of 12 reps
Superset (45 seconds rest between supersets)
Leg Press
3 sets of 15-20 reps
Calf Press On The Leg Press Machine
3 sets of 20 reps
Superset (30 seconds rest between supersets)
One-Legged Cable Kickback
2 sets of 15 reps per leg
Flutter Kicks
2 sets of 60 seconds

Giant Set (45 seconds rest between giant sets)
Push Press
3 sets of 10-12 reps
Face Pulls
3 sets of 15 reps
Push-Ups - Close Triceps Position
3 sets of 15 reps
Giant Set (45 seconds rest between giant sets)
Kettlebell Upright Rows (shown with dumbbells)
3 sets of 12 reps
Bench Dips (weighted)
3 sets of 15-20 reps
Mountain Climbers
3 sets of 50 reps
Giant Set (45 seconds rest between giant sets)
Front Plate Raises
4 sets of 12 reps
Side Lateral Raises
4 sets of 12 reps
Reverse Grip Triceps Pushdowns
4 sets of 12 reps
Battling Ropes
5 sets of 1 minute
Rest no longer than 60 seconds between sets