By the ProSource Research Staff
Get Maximum Results in Minimum Time With These Targeted Workouts
Upper Body
Exercise Sets/Reps
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 5/10
-superset with-
Two-Arm Dumbbell Row 5/10
Don’t rest between exercises. After each set of rows, run in place or jump rope at high intensity for 30 seconds.
Forget about flyes and lat raises. When you’re short on time, you want to train as much muscle as possible and that means heavy-weight compound moves. By using dumbbells, you can also bring more stabilizer muscles into play, contributing to overall calorie burn by maximizing overall muscle recruitment. Bonus: this also means more muscle growth in the long run. Here, you’ll alternate between incline dumbbell presses and dumbbell rows, hitting your chest and back in alternating fashion. Studies show that when a muscle is trained immediately after its antagonist, or opposing muscle group, it is actually stronger. You’ll follow each superset with a quick burst of cardio, keeping the demand of the workout high and your metabolism firing like a supernova.
Lower Body
Exercise Sets/Reps
Dumbbell Walking Lunge
5/30 steps
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 5/12-15
-superset with-
Single-Leg Calf Raise
5/20
Rest no longer than 30 seconds between sets of lunges. Move from the Romanian deadlift to your calf raises without rest.
You don’t need to bury yourself under a bending barbell at the squat rack to get an effective leg workout. New research shows that muscle growth is just as good at 30 reps as it is at 6-8 reps, provided that sets are taken to failure. For this workout, you’ll start with the dumbbell walking lunge, taking 30 total steps. This exercise places a heavy burden on your quads and glutes, just like the squat, but a recent study showed that the lunge might be more effective for building hamstring strength. Next, you’ll move to the dumbbell Romanian deadlift, targeting the glute-ham tie-in and fortifying your posterior chain which is crucial to nearly every lift you do, not to mention your long-term lower back health. RDL’s are supersetted with single-leg calf raises. Just pick a short step to do these on so that your gastrocs get a good stretch at the bottom and focus on a strong contraction at the top on every rep.
Bodyweight Only
Pull-Up 5
Dip
5
Jump Squat
10
Birdpicker 10 (each leg)
Double Crunch
To Failure
Go through the entire circuit as many times as possible, without rest, in 15 minutes.
Can’t make it to the gym at all? Don’t feel bad. If you have a pull-up/dip tower at home, you can still get a good full-body workout in with this fast-paced bodyweight session. Here, you’ll focus on major muscle groups while keeping the pace quick. You’ll start each circuit with five pull-ups. If you’re accomplished on the bar, then this will help you reinforce good form and you can focus on a long stretch and a strong peak contraction at the top. If pull-ups are not your strong suit, getting five good reps in is a good starting point. Do them one at a time if necessary. Follow your pull-ups with dips to shift the muscular emphasis. Then it’s on to jump squats, where you’ll power yourself up off the ground as high as possible on each rep, landing softly before descending into a deep squat and repeating. Birdpickers, which are akin to a one-legged Romanian deadlift done without weight, zero in your hamstrings. Finish the lineup with double crunches to hit your abs from top to bottom, then head back to the bar. Repeat as many times as you can in 15 minutes and strive, each time, to do more total rounds.
Source: http://www.prosource.net/content/art…ter-in-15.aspx
