Easy Workout Variations for a Busy Schedule
Isn't it the dream of everybody to have at least 50 hours in day to complete the entire list of obligations and desired assignments? Personally, I'd like to live in Venus because its day length is measured to be 5832 hours. Wait, that's 243 years.
Like many of us, we tend to have reasons about our immobility when it comes to doing sports. Experts try to lower the barrier or even obliterate obstacles of the mental block for physical activities. This is definitely half of the job of a coach.
Along the road as an authentic personal trainer (explanation included in my previous article about fitness, you can visit the page by the following link: https://hubpages.com/sports/Keeping-the-Mind-Sharp-by-Working-Out), conducing elusive results was the most inspiring experience. Many clients would love to relinquish the control of maintaining workout schedules, routines and nutritional strategies. That worked perfectly for me because I loved to orchestrate the entire process.
I would like to emphasize the fact that in any circumstances, you MUST hire yourself an expert to oversee your techniques and performance. The knowledge shared in this article is based on my experience as a coach and I can't stress enough to point out that anything read about fitness is not meant to be performed solely based on theory. You always need an expert to supervise unless you are 1000 percent sure about your safety and expertise.
Variation One: Old School Split
Split type: Push-Pull-Legs
My recommendation for timing: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Goal: Overall strength and muscle growth
This is one of the oldest methods, in which you work out multiple muscle groups concurrently. I prefer starting with pushing movements because you push with smaller muscle groups therefore you wouldn't spend as much energy as on pulling movements (or even lower body exercises). For the purpose of controlling energy usage, you need to set the workout order from light to heavy throughout the week.
There is not an optimal set of exercises to do when it comes to working out. You can choose to only to work on compound or isolated movements, or mixing them up with different variations of resting times. You can mix explosive movements with static exercises. The universe is the limit and think beyond the universe.
Variation Two: Marathon Repetitions
Split type: Legs, Back, Chest
My recommendation for timing: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Goal: Overall endurance and muscle growth
This is definitely for you if masochism is included in your dictionary. Allow me to elucidate.
You need to work on 50 to 200 repetitions at once. No breaks, no rests, no water intakes. It makes a lot of difference if you can team up with a workout buddy whose obligation is to strip off the plates, for instance when you are huffin' and puffin' a leg press machine.
You need to choose a weight heavy enough to do at least one-third of the target repetitions then drop the weight light enough to endure more unless the goal is completed. Again, there is no standards on the numbers of the sets or exercises. You can start with one and then add either sets or other exercises when your body can take in more beatings.
You can see the inverse order in the days of workouts and that's because your lower body can cope with more workloads than - for instance - pectoral muscles. I can recall the days when I have only done one exercise on a chest day with ultra-high repetitions and went home. The pump was insane.
Variation Three: Lift and Roar
Split type: Can be performed for any muscle group
My recommendation for timing: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Goal: Strength
You heard me! This is raw and savage! You can lift and roar and roar more between the roars! Personally this is my favorite one and I have come up with tons of variations. Basically you are doing a superset within the range of three to six repetitions. Yes, you heard me again, supersets combined with powerlifting!
This method is not recommended to be used more than once a month because you still love your joints and ligaments. I have been questioned about how much stress this method is putting the body under and that any explanations is a non sequitur. As said before, none of the exercises are planned to be done alone, especially if you are not an expert on the field. On top of that, you have to be even more extra careful with this work out method because of the increased possibility of injuring yourself. Please, no perfunctory executions.
At the end of the day, exercising can be done in all forms. You can first try the aforementioned methods then apply the principles to other sports.
For instance, I have duplicated the "Variation Two: Marathon Repetitions" to my beloved hobby - snooker. I had a friend who mercilessly returned the target ball to the same spot every time I have made a shot in order to have my straight shots being injected into my mental and muscle memory. My fellow snooker and pool players know that the straight shots are the most challenging in the whole game.
Another whimsical example is cross-reading books - principle inherited from supersets. When you read two books simultaneously, the unanticipated effect usually occurs - two completely controversial topics can have surprising connections. Like performing supersets to your muscles, the two different exercises create commendable stimulus to each other, therefore yielding diverse end results.
Have fun in whatever activities you do and thank you for spending time here.
Until next time!
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2019 Davie Chen
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