An exercise plan for busy people: A time-efficient, high-results workout

Schedule – work, family and other demands – is the most common reason for failing to begin or falling out of a healthy fitness routine. Who has time for the gym when everything else in life vies for attention?

Even sacrificing an hour of sleep to an hour of exercise would not be wise, as emerging research indicates lack of sleep affects overall health and possibly even body weight (sleep less, gain weight). Yet good health and looks are essential to career and life in general – presenting many people with the fitness dilemma.

How can you fit it all in? It’s about commitment, of course. But you’ll stick with your best intentions if you follow a simple but smart plan. This one might work for you because it requires three, one-hour workout sessions per week. Such a plan allows for days when you just can’t make it to the gym, and when you are there it need not be for more than 60 minutes.

And how do you make sure those three hours each week are well spent? At the core of your plan is to work on multiple body parts within each exercise session. The more balanced your workout – training multiple muscle groups, with minimal rest in between sets – the more likely you will see and feel real, tangible results.

Below is a structure of nine exercises within each workout that effectively accomplishes this. These exercises are subdivided into three “triplexes,” each of which are to be repeated twice before moving on to the next group. So that’s nine exercises, performed within three groups of three, twice per exercise. The exercises described here take advantage of equipment available in most fitness facilities, and the structure is one that many professional fitness trainers use with their clients.

This workout is for the man or woman who wants to improve overall strength. Men are biologically programmed to add muscle size (hypertrophy) along with strength: the greater the weight used in these exercises, the greater the muscle mass to be developed. By nature, women are more apt to gain strength than size – the toned “cocktail arms” versus men’s bulging, vascular biceps.

Note that this routine emphasizes (“loads”) the lower body, with lighter (“unloads”) exercises working the core, chest, shoulders, arms and back. It might also be considered a weight-management routine, as the legs are large muscle groups that essentially require more calories for daily sustenance than smaller muscles elsewhere. See subsequent articles by this author that emphasize the upper body.

Exercise program #1: Lower Body

The first exercise in each triplex is the “load,” the modality of greatest emphasis, while the “unload” exercises that follow address different body parts in different ways. Unloads are generally done with lighter weights. Repeat load exercises between eight and 12 times, while unloads employ lighter weights at ten to 20 repetitions.

Triplex A

• Squats (load) – Can be done with free weights, on cable equipment or with no weight at all for beginners. Be sure to shift weight onto the heels throughout each set (complete at least two sets of eight reps in each cycle), and to lower and raise the squat in a controlled manner.

• Cable or bench chest press (unload 1) – Because this is an unload, press lighter weights than you might otherwise do on a day that emphasizes this exercise.
• Stability ball crunch (unload 2) – If you haven’t tried using one of the stability balls commonly seen in health clubs today, this is your opportunity. Discover the range of difficulty these allow, depending on the position you take to perform a traditional crunch. Lay face up with the ball supporting the lower back, then crunch forward.

Triplex B

• Lunges (load) – Whether performed in the walking (across the room) style, or in one place, lunges are the ticket for anyone wishing to firm up the upper thighs and buttocks. Master the lunge with no weights – one leg lunges forward, with knee-over-ankle on the front leg – before proceeding to carry dumbbells to increase the difficulty of this modality.
• Band pulls (unload 1) – Using wall-mounted elastic bands, face the wall and pull back the band with the arms and shoulders while the rest of your body remains stationery (bend slightly at the hips and knees to reduce lower back stress). Slowly allow the band to pull your hands forward before beginning the next rep.
• Stability ball hyperextensions (unload 2) – Lay face down across a stability ball, with both hands on the floor and the ball largely making contact with the chest and abdomen. Next, raise the legs toward the ceiling, using the muscles in the lower back to accomplish this. In a controlled manner, allow legs to return again to the floor.

Triplex C

• Step ups (load) – Either with or without weights, step repeatedly up to a higher plane. This can be a simple stair step or on special boxes up to 3.5 feet high that are constructed to hold your body weight.
• Cable push-pulls (unload 1) – Using a two-pulley cable system, use one arm to pull a load up while the opposite arm simultaneously pushes a weight downward. Reverse hands and repeat.
• Medicine ball rotations (unload 2) – Stand with a medicine ball (2, 4, 6, 8 or 10-pound ball), held with bent elbows just off the abdominal region, swivel from left to right and back, using the torso muscles to control the movement.

Three questions to ask yourself during each exercise can help you ensure proper and effective workouts. They are: Am I controlling the movement in all directions? Am I progressing the amount of weight lifted, to ensure I’m giving my body ever-greater challenges? Am I inflicting injury on myself with improper form or weight?

This set of triplexes can ultimately be done in a 45-60 minute workout session. Remember, this approach is designed to make better use of your time. How? Constantly shifting between modalities enables you to pack in a lot more exercise, allowing rest in the muscles just worked while a new set of muscles do their thing. Overall, the variety not only addresses different parts of your body but it enables a more intense and productive workout overall.

So take back control of your health and vitality with a commitment to just three hours per week. Your career and employer, family and just about everything else in your life will benefit as much as you will.

# # #

Russ Klettke is an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified fitness trainer and also the author of “A Guy’s Gotta Eat, the regular guy’s guide to eating smart” (Marlow & Co., 2004, with Deanna Conte, MS RD LD), available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and more than 70 public library systems in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Complement your exercise with good nutrition: join Russ’ blog on cruciferous vegetables at CabbageUniverse.blogspot.com.