Finding the time to workout is a common problem in the modern day. Between work, home commitments and a social life; time for exercise and fitness quite often gets bumped down the ‘to-do list’.
Whilst this is true, it can be hard to find an hour, three or four times a week, I do believe there is always time to get a workout in. Whether that be one hour or 10 minutes. For those of you that can only manage the later, this workout is for you.
Before we jump into it, let me just say that this is not your typical ‘ticking over’ type of workout. The idea behind this program is to encourage composition change (gain muscle and lose fat) for those with time constraints in their daily schedule.
So, let’s talk about the two major components.
Cardio
So, we need to find an alternative from your traditional cardio workout as we all know 10 minutes of cardio will not cut it. Tabata drills are a fantastic high intensity type of training. These drills will get your heart rate up and those muscles contracting within your allocated time frame.
Tabata training was founded in Japan for martial artists to lose fat. It involves roughly 8 sets of 20 second high intensity exercises that involve short sharp bursts of action, with 10 seconds rest between each set.
One of the reasons Tabata drills are ideal for this type of training is because it mostly uses your own body weight for resistance. Therefore, these can be performed anywhere.
However, for the purpose of this workout and in order to completely maximise our timeframe I suggest:
• Kettlebell swings – a fantastic total body fat burner that will help generate power and increase muscular endurance and aerobic capacity.
• Burpees – a classic exercise that holds accolades for pushing your heart and lungs to their max (be sure to pace yourself).
Resistance training
With only ten minutes on the clock to gain muscle, I suggest we use static contraction training.
Static contraction training emphasizes on the intensity of your workout. This involves working with weights that are far heavier than you would traditionally use for strength training for roughly 5 – 10 seconds.
Let’s say you normally military press 50kg for 3 sets of 8. Try increasing your weight to 80 or 90kg.
This type of training is effective because it recruits more muscle fibres than your normal weight training. This sends signals to your brain to build new muscle in order to handle the new load.
Static contraction training should be performed twice a week, 5 exercises per day with one static hold for 5 – 10 seconds per exercise. It is crucial that you choose a weight heavy enough to get the response we need, However, safety is paramount and you may prefer to use a fixed machine at first (which you will see below) or get someone to spot you.
The workout
Monday – Static Contraction Training (1)
1. 1 x Seated shoulder press machine or Military press
2. 1 x Barbell shrugs
3. 1 x Tricep pull down
4. 1 x Preacher curl
5. 1 x Weighted ab crunch
Tuesday – Tabata Drills
1. 1x Kettlebell swings
2. 1 x Burpee
Wednesday – Rest day
Thursday – Static Contraction Training (2)
1. 1 x Hyperextension
2. 1 x Chest press machine or Smith machine bench press
3. 1 x Lat pull down
4. 1 x Leg press machine
5. 1 x Calf raise machine
Friday – Tabata Drills
1. 1 x Kettlebell swings
2. 1 x Burpee
Saturday – Rest day
Sunday – Rest day
Rest and Nutrition
The amount of time we spend on these workouts can be misleading. Shorter workouts do not necessarily mean less calories burnt. Do not alter your diet – you still need the right nutrition.
A 20 percent calorie surplus should suffice on your training days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). 10 percent on your rest days, and don’t forget to get sufficient sleep to allow your body to recover adequately.
