HOUR OF POWER Short on time? In just 60 minutes a week you can stay in GREAT shape and maybe even build a little muscle with these two ultra-intense workouts By Eric Butterman Whilst some people can be a success working 10 hours a week, for those trying to get ahead in the boardroom it usually means less time in the weight room. The irony is that many studies show that attractiveness helps success. So, how do you keep your eyes on the prize while still being able to look at yourself in the mirror? Provided you understand that limited training won’t make you Arnold Schwarzenegger, if you follow this one-hour-a-week training plan, you won’t have to say bye-bye to biceps or wonder if your neck is supposed to flap that way. We’ve all been guilty of working half-heartedly in the training room. And yes, there is intrinsic value in doing any weight movement for hours and hours, even if you’re not pushing yourself to the limit. But remember, we only have one hour a week, so you either bring the intensity or you might as well save the hour for the sleep you never seem to get. Now that you’re geared up, we’re going to divide the hour into two half-hour sessions done with two days of rest in between. That’s right, instead of watching that rerun of Friends where Monica gets ultra-heavy we’re going to spend that time keeping you from the same fate. Exercises will have to be kept to one warm-up set and two working sets per bodypart. That’s right, there will be no pec-deck, no concentration curls, no gravity boot sit-ups – this is about old-fashioned movements that tax as much muscle as possible. Therefore, we’ll do two upper body and one lower body exercise per workout. For the first session, we’re going to do the old stand-by for the upper body – say it with me now – the bench press. After a warm up, do two sets with a weight that you can do no more than seven reps with by the end of the second set. Medium rep ranges provide a good balance of strength and endurance (and besides, we just don’t have time for twenty-rep sets). Bring the weight down with control and shoot it up with power. As much as anything, this is about keeping your strength up. When you get that seventh rep on the second set – and you’d better be struggling – force yourself to do two half reps with your partner providing a close spot. Again, this is about intensity, not dogging it. Okay, that took you about three minutes. With your warm up, you’ve got 22 minutes left. Move it! Move it! On to biceps. Yep, you already know what we’re going to do – biceps curls. Sorry, no 50-rep sessions. Find a weight that’s heavy enough that you can do no more than nine reps for two sets. Warm up with just the bar for a good 15 reps to remember your form and warm up the muscle. Now, with elbows not jutting out and no body swing, we bring the weight all the way down to our thighs and squeeze at the top. Imagine where the split in your biceps would be and it will force your muscle to contract in a way that will bring that split out. Just because you don’t have time for more aesthetic arm routines, doesn’t mean you can’t get some definition out of a power movement. Give those arms a good stretch after you’re done. You’re drawn to the share prices on the gym TV? Well, I hope it’s near the squat rack. C’mon, only 16 minutes left, Mr. Entrepreneur! Now you’re underneath the bar and ready to squat, but I want you to do something really low. No, not paper-shredding. Make sure that squat gets low enough to parallel where your hamstrings and butt get into it. It’s all about maximisation here. Give me 12 reps for two sets after your warm up and don’t you dare bend your back over – there isn’t an executive lumbar chair in the world that will relieve “squat shock”. No bouncing at the bottom either. I know we’re in a hurry, but unless the hospital is right next door, improper form could really take you off your schedule – permanently. Again, really squeeze those hams and glutes, so that you get the benefit of training them without having to waste time on isolation movements for each. Nine minutes left and you’re finished weight training. Way to go! But you’re not going anywhere except over to the cardio area. Understand that we absolutely recommend more cardio than what you’ll get in your two workouts. So, even though we’re squeezing in part of your weekly requirement, you’ll have to find another hour somewhere in the week. Cardio is not about attractiveness; it’s about not keeling over and dying. But, for now, after a good calf and thigh stretch, get on the treadmill and up the speed to as fast as you can go for those last nine minutes or so without struggling to stay on. Again, this is not some leisurely jog. You don’t have time to wimp out just because those spreadsheets are waiting. Okay, nice going. You made it with 1 minute and 20 seconds to spare! Now go make some money and we’ll see you… Three Days Later Sorry about that pharmaceutical stock taking a nosedive on you. But we’ve got more pressing matters. Shoulder press! This is a vital movement because it will also involve the all-important triceps. After you’ve stretched with some full shoulder rolls, find a weight that you can hit for 10 reps for that magic number of two sets. Remember not to do the movement too fast or lock out at the top, as the shoulder is very easy to injure and even more difficult to repair. Now here’s where it gets tough. We have only one movement left for the upper body – and guess which part it’s got to involve? If you see a strong back in your future, you’ve got to see yourself doing dumbbell rows. This power movement hits the upper back directly but also gets that hard-to-reach rear delt, the trap and the lower back. Find yourself a dumbbell that you can hit for two sets of 10, and with the opposing leg resting on a bench, extend the dumbbell down and slightly forward. Really squeeze the lat and hold for a pause, then slowly bring the weight up. There’s a tendency to “swing” the weight up which will completely rob you of the benefit. See, I’ve let up on you. Haven’t looked at the clock once. Oh man, we’ve got 13 minutes! Lower body movement time. No, get away from that leg press! Your leg wouldn’t have a leg to stand on without a strong calf. To the standing calf raise machine we go to the tune of 12 reps for two sets – except you have to take it slow. Let your calves sink down until they can’t reach any lower, giving at least three seconds to each rep. And that puts us back to seven minutes, so let’s finish up by going for the gut. A strong overall movement for abs is the crunch, so do as many quality reps as you can for two sets. If you can do 50 reps solid, adding a small amount of resistance is okay. But make sure you fully contract the muscle or you haven’t really even done one rep. Finish with some stretching and call it a week. Timing is Everything How about that! One hour and you actually can, if not grow huge, maintain or likely gain on the muscle you once had all the time in the world to load up on. But let me ask you this? Did you really only have one hour? Could you maybe have gone out drinking a few less hours last weekend? Maybe spent less time worrying? Remember, there is no substitute for the recommended hours of weight training and cardio – but some action is better than no action. Except when it came to the action you took on that flailing tech stock! M&F