In the early months of each new year, thousands of guys like you – real guys with jobs and families - flock to the gym to get back in shape. Some hire trainers. Others find routines in books or magazines. But many of us, well, we just wing it: a few sets of bench press here, some curls there, a few sit-ups, followed by a break to wipe your face with your shirt and secretly try to see if those abs have shown up yet.
Sound like you?
If so, stop. You need to give your rudderless workouts some direction. It’s time to make a plan that will actually get you the results you want, in the limited free time you have to exercise. The good news? You can strengthen your entire body in a 40-minute workout, performed three times a week.
You can strengthen your entire body in a 40-minute workout, performed three times a week.
How It Works
Each workout will consist of five exercises, which can be grouped into the following categories: upper body-push, upper body-pull, knee dominant, hip dominant, and core strength.
Upper Body-Push: Pushups, Bench Press (Flat or Incline), Dumbbell Bench Press (Flat or Incline), Floor Press (Barbell, Dumbbell), Dips
Upper Body-Pull: Chin-Ups, Pull-Ups, Inverted Rows, Dumbbell Rows, Barbell Rows, Lat Pulldown (if unable to do chin-ups)
Knee Dominant: Squats (Back, Front, Goblet), Lunges (Reverse, Walking), Split Squats, Rear-Foot-Elevated Split Squats (aka Bulgarian Split Squats)
Hip Dominant: Deadlifts (Conventional, Sumo, or Trap Bar), Romanian Deadlifts (Dumbbells, Barbell), Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts, Glute-Ham Raises, Back Extensions, Hip Thrusters
Core Strength: Planks, Side Planks, Rollouts, Renegade Rows
By working your entire body in each session, as opposed to focusing on a single area, you’ll burn more calories because you are using more muscles. You’ll also gain strength faster, since you’ll be working each muscle group three times a week as opposed to just once or twice.
BUILDING YOUR WORKOUT
Alternate between the first pair of exercises (A1 and A2), completing all four sets before moving on to the following three exercises (B1, B2 and B3). The rest interval between sets will depend on your needs – just go when you’re ready. You want to make sure you’re fully recovered for each set so you can give it your full effort.
The lower body exercises are listed first in each series for a reason: most guys hate doing them. If legs were left for the end of the routine, lots of guys would give them a wimpy effort at best, or more likely, skip squats, deadlifts and lunges altogether. Take on those dreaded exercises right away, and then rally yourself for the fun stuff later in the workout.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Alternate between Workout A and Workout B three days a week. Your schedule will look something like this:
Week 1: Workout A, Workout B, Workout A
Week 2: Workout B, Workout A, Workout B
Try to give yourself 48 hours between workouts, but don’t worry if you occasionally have to schedule your strength work on back-to-back days – or take an extra rest day here or there. The goal is just to be consistent, and get in those three workouts every week. Chart your progress in a logbook, and always try to beat your previous performance by increasing the weight, the reps, or both.
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