The time-efficient workout for busy people: “Push” exercises for upper body strength

Time really is one of the most precious commodities. Give us enough and we can accomplish many important and great things. Give us too little and we find ourselves with the common dilemmas of modern life. This is clearly the case where it comes to achieving personal health and fitness – when push comes to shove, a trip to the gym is quite often the thing that falls off the to-do list.

For busy people who persevere toward their fitness goals, it is essential that their exercise time be used efficiently. The following workout plan is developed with that in mind. It is one of three workouts that can complete a good, healthy week: just carve out an hour on three of every seven days for quality exercise time and you will improve your strength and overall conditioning.

Think about it. Of the 168 hours in a week, can’t you designate three (that’s 1.79% of your time) toward improving your health, energy levels and appearance?

But it won’t work just by showing up – you need to start with a plan. In this case, try a structure of nine exercises within each one-hour workout. These exercises are subdivided into three “triplexes,” each of which are to be repeated twice before moving on to the next group. That adds up to nine exercises, performed within three groups of three, twice per exercise. The exercise modalities described here take advantage of equipment available in most fitness facilities (often, this is a structure that many professional fitness trainers use with their clients).

Note that this workout is for the man or woman who wants to improve overall strength. For men, that also includes hypertrophy, or an increase in the physical size of the muscles being worked. This is because the male of the species is biologically programmed to add muscle size 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 – no less important for functioning in life.

In this particular workout, this routine emphasizes (“loads”) the upper body, which includes the core (lower back, sides and abdominals), chest, shoulders, arms and upper back. The lower body, which essentially includes the legs and buttocks, is given lighter (“unloads”) exercises (see other articles by this author for lower body load exercises).

Further, this is a “push” mode group – meaning, the load exercises involve pressing weight away from the center of the body. Examples of “push”-mode exercises are chest presses, tricep presses and shoulder presses. Another workout by this author continues to focus on the upper body with “pull” mode exercises, however the unloads here include a few of these as well.

Exercise program #2: “Push” mode

Instead of defining a workout by muscle group, think instead of the movement: either a push or a pull against weight resistance. The following workout is in the “push” category on the heaviest portion (the load, the first in each series of three modalities), followed by a “pull” movement and a stability or core exercise. Load exercises should be repeated eight to 12 times; unloads get ten to 20 repetitions because they are lighter.

Triplex A

• Dumbbell bench press (load) – With a dumbbell in each hand and lying face up on a bench (incline or flat), begin at chest level and press the weights on a path that is perpendicular to the bench, returning the weights to the starting position in a controlled movement.
• Cable row, one arm (unload 1) – In either a seated or standing position, pull a pulley-cable toward you, balancing the movement with strong core support and rotating the upper body to follow the pulling arm. Return the cable slowly to the starting position. Note the angle of the cable draw can vary greatly according to the machine or apparatus setting used; always strive for variety over time, as that contributes to a better-rounded and more functional muscle structure.

• Stability ball supine rolls (unload 2) – Select a stability ball that is approximately as high as your mid-thigh, then lay out on it facing up. Your feet should be planted on the floor, knees bent and your upper back the point of contact with the ball. Keeping the feet planted, roll onto your right shoulder and hold it a moment, then roll back to center and on to the left shoulder.

Triplex B

• Cable incline press (load) – Position yourself with a two-hand cable machine to press upward on a 45-degree angle. This can be done in a standing (free) or sitting (bench) position; the former contributes also to core muscle development while the latter isolates the chest muscle group. Control movements both up and down with a pause at the fullest extension of the arms.
• Anterior reaches (unload 1) – This is a stability and strength building exercise. Standing on one leg (no bend at the knee), tip forward with the corresponding hand (i.e., right leg, right hand) to reach a spot on the floor or a raised object such as a traffic cone, holding the opposite hand and the back leg (the one off the floor) outward and backward for balance. Touch down, then back to an upright position, repeat 10 or more times before shifting the exercise to the other side.
• Stability ball knee tucks (unload 2) – Positioning your body in the wheelbarrow position (face down, arms outstretched with hands on floor, legs supported by the ball just above the knee), roll the ball in by tucking the knees and rolling it toward the ankles, largely by using abdominal muscles. Push the ball back by re-extending the body, then repeat.

Triplex C

• Cable Dips (load) – Use a cable-pulley machine to press weight in a straight-down path, mimicking the body-dips exercise that is otherwise limited to the body weight of the individual (using a cable system, you are less likely to strain from excessive weights)
• Elastic band “swimmers” (unload 1) – Using wall-anchored elastic bands, stand facing the wall, bent at the waist with hands grasping the band handles in front of you. Similar to the underwater portion of the butterfly stroke, push the bands down and back, simultaneously, to the point where your hands are at your hips. Slowly return to the start position. Form tip: keep the shoulders low, near hip height, but look up toward where the bands are anchored at the wall throughout the movement.
• Cable rotations (unload 2) – Standing perpendicularly to a cable-pulley machine, rotate outward from the torso with arms outstretched with only a slight bend to the elbows. Swivel to both the right and left.

Why it works

This workout structure makes optimal use of the exerciser’s time. If instead you were to work a body part, say, the chest, on one day of the week, you would be inclined to rest for longer periods between sets. That rest time tends to extend the workout time, probably beyond your allotted hour, which would tend to make your next trip to the health club less likely. By quickly jumping from one mode to another, you don’t need as much rest because you are about to work a different muscle group.

Also, by working just a single muscle group you might not balance your overall physical development – you would improperly build big shoulders or increase arm strength without proportionately developing the lower body or core muscles. Such imbalances can sometimes even lead to injury due to disproportionate weaknesses.

After all, good health and a healthy appearance are just as important commodities as time. The difference is you have to take control and plan to be healthy, whereas time and competing activities will plan things for you.

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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.