Thursday thought !
If we were short on time how could / should we train ??
Basically what are the biggest bang for your buck exercises the produce the biggest effect in the shortest space of time ??
I’ll separate into groups for ease,
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Body composition ( muscle tone & fat loss )
Deadlifts ( snatch grip, podium, hex bar, rdl, conventional, sumo )
Squat ( front, back, overhead, goblet )
over head press ( barbell, dbell. landmine, kbell )
vertical pull ( pull ups, chins, pulldowns )
horizontal push ( bench press , standing cable press, push ups, etc )
horizontal row ( cable rows, seated machine row, suspended row, bent over row )
Lunges ( walking , forwards, backwards lunges )
Loaded carries ( farmers, overhead, ball carries )
Sled work ( pulls & pushes )
airbike ( hard short intervals 10-40 secs repeated )
** focus on getting stronger on the compound lifts and keeping rest short btwn sets
** full body workouts are best using the above movement planes with a energy systems element at the end using airbike/ strongman style work
** it allows lost of muscle to be worked hard and high heart rates in sessions lasting under 40 minutes when time is tight
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Strength
Pretty much the same as the above exercise wise but the number of reps would be in the 1-5 range with longer rest between sets and multiple sets ( usually 4-6 )
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Vo2 max / endurance
a mix of super high intensity short intervals ( airbike, battle ropes, sprints ) . Obvs if time allows some steady state heart rate training as well.
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Hyper trophy ( getting jacked )
we know progressive overload is a key factor and time under tension for target muscles is key also.
The large compound exercises in the top section are the foundation here as well making sure we are using tension techniques such as pauses, slow eccentrics (lowering the weight) and keeping focus on the target muscle and keeping the rep ranges ( mostly) in the 6-12 range.
As with top section rest doesn,t want to be too long btwn sets and ideally 45-60 seconds.
If time is key pick 3/4 exercises and work them hard for multiple sets of 4-6 per exercise.
Get stronger over time never sacrificing form or desired tempo of lift.
There is no reason why in 30-40 minutes you cant get a productive workout if the right exercises and intensity are employed.