Everyone I know complains about time, its “The great American excuse”. “I’d love to lift but I can’t miss the bowflex informercial”, I really expect to hear this someday.
Anyway here are some workouts that give you some mighty big bang for the buck in fifteen minutes or less, two or three times a week. The tricks are:
1.) Not to think in reps and sets but in time sections
2.) Think of one exercise or compound for the shoulder/arm area, lower back and upper legs if you have something that effectively covers more than one, then great!
3.) Pay attention to loading, make your exercises progress from light to heavy or heavy to light with no reverses so you don’t waste any more time changing plates than need be.
4.) Use the same equipment for everything, That way you you can stay in the same spot and not kill time cleaning up more than you have to.
Let take a first example:
2 Db Clean and press-As many as you can do in 3 min
Rest 1 min, add more weight to one DB
1 Db swings-As many as you can do in 3 min switching hands every 5 reps
Rest 1 min, add more weight to the other DB
2 Db toe squats- As many as you can do in 3 min
Try and use a weight where there aren’t many gaps in the 3 min. Work towards a certain number like 12-20 and then increase the weight.
Or with a barbell:
Floor press—As many as you can do in three min
Rest 2 min and add plates
Bent rows—Same
Rest 2 min and add plates
Deadlifts—Same
Or one of my favorites with a barbell. Its kind of crazy but….
Bridge press—3 min as many as you can
Rest 2 min
*Leg press—As many as you can safely in one set.
Rest 2 min, get up
High pulls—3 min. as many as you can.
*Performed by putting the bar on your feet and pressing it up on the soles of your feet after bridge pressing.
With one dumbbell:
DB swings or windmills--Same
Rest 1 min.
DB side presses switching sides every two reps—As many as you can do in 3 min.
Rest 1 min.
DB overhead squats –Same switching hands every five reps
For anyone interested in O-lifts:
Pwr Snatch— work up to near max single in 5 lifts, in 4 min.
Rest 2 min add more weight.
Pwr Clean and push press-- work up to near max single in 5 lifts, in 4 min.
Rest 2 min add more weight.
1 Clean then Front squats—As many as you can in 3 min. with best clean weight.
I’m sure you get the idea.
If you don’t have fifteen minutes sometime in your day, then you really need to re-examine your lifestyle. Its easy also to set up a simple home gym with a homemade 6’ exercise bar and plywood platform sheet or a pair of dumbbells on a rubber mat somewhere in a corner of your house, yard or garage. These kind of workouts are effective and won’t cut into your Sci-Fi channel time much at all.