By Tim Frady
Here are some basic routines that I find can really push your muscles and your stamina. I’ve been lifting weights for a number of years, so I’ve done a lot of experimenting over that time. These workouts can be especially useful if you are limited in how long you can work out.
The first workout I like to call simply “total muscle failure”. Let’s face it we don’t have a lot of time today, and people are getting fatter and fatter all the time. If you are tired of having your spare tire filling up with air a little more each day, then it’s time to do something about it with what little time you have to spare. Assuming you have a gym membership or your own equipment, you should first write down on a piece of paper the number of exercises you think that you have time for. If you only have is 30 minutes, then you probably can get at least the three major body parts done in one workout. You can then spend a couple of days recuperating, since I’m assuming you don’t have a lot of time anyway. Even if all you have is thirty minutes to spare a week this will make a difference in your strength and muscle growth. But let me say though, it would be a lot better if you could lift at least three times a week and fit in cardio exercises the rest of the week, but we have to work with what we have. Ok, for the time crunched guy or girl let’s take the bench press first. Warm up for five minutes or so on a elliptical trainer or other cardio machine. Then do one or two easy warm-up sets. You have to know your own body. Take the time you need to warm-up your muscles and get the blood flowing. You don’t need an injury. Once you’ve got warmed up, then with a light amount of weight do eight reps on the bench press. Then add say another 10 to 20 pounds depending on your strength level. Do another 8 reps. Add more weight again. You should be able to increase the weight 3-7 times. Once you can no longer accomplish more than 4-6 reps, stop. Then go back down 10-20 pounds this time doing as many reps as you can. Keep taking the weight off and keep doing the sets until you get back down to where you started. If you have a partner this will work even better. You can have them help change the weight out. Remember you don’t have time for rest. You just keep going. By the time your done you should feel extremely pumped up. Depending on your physical conditioning, you may be very sore the next day.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlGuxB0UIY4[/youtube]
Now that shouldn’t have taken very long at all, maybe 10 minutes. Now go and do a similar routine with a leg exercise like squats or whatever your favorite may be. Now that your legs are sore, then let’s do some lat pull downs using the same method. It’s up to you to push yourself, and be honest with yourself. Do it until you can’t do it anymore. Please remember I’m not a doctor. This type of routine is what I’ve used to get through a workout quickly and still push my body to it’s limit. As Clint Eastwood once said “A man’s got to know his limitations”. So if you have any doubts, better be safe and work your way up, and maybe see a doctor for a checkup to see where you are physically.
The next routine is quick, but you need a little more time. This one is more for the experienced body builder. An hour would be just about perfect. It’s something I picked up reading about a type of workout Sylvester Stallone does, and since I’m a huge Rocky fan I had to try it. I don’t follow Stallone’s workout completely to the letter because I love to mix up my workouts every chance I get. The basic principle is this, in one workout you will touch on all of the major muscle groups both push and pull exercises. I usually like to get the heavy exercises out of the way first like bench or squats. For bench you would do whatever weight you can successfully do for 20 reps, then when your ready for the next set, do whatever heavier weight that allows you to barely lift 6-8 reps. Do only two sets for each body part. Again I think it’s a great idea to plan out which exercises you want to get done in your workout ahead of time, but in this workout you should have done back, legs, chest, stomach, and arms. Be warned this workout is great for pushing your endurance, but switching out from push and pull sets like this can make you sick. You could even pass out if you push yourself too hard. Vomiting is not uncommon. So be careful before you consider this routine. Don’t go too far over an hour.
Now there is no substitute for taking your time and building up your training level over time, but if your reasonably in shape and have to work out in a hurry these workout strategies will help you till you get more time. Even if you are out of shape you should be able to do the first workout plan by decreasing the amount of weight you add to your sets and giving yourself some time to rest. But here’s the thing, if you are holding back because you’re lazy, and not for health reasons, then you’re just cheating yourself.
You are the one that has to look at yourself in the mirror every morning. If you are not exercising now, then start somewhere. Just do it.
About the Author: Webmaster of the Buyersmls Fitness section
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