pic: How to maximize weight training in a short time?

“Darrin, with my schedule, the only time I can lift is during lunch.  I can do cardio in the mornings, but I don’t have a home gym so lunchtime is when I lift.  The gym is 30 minutes away from home, but right across the street from my work.  I only have 60 minutes for lunch, so I need to shower too. What should I do for my lifting routine?”  -  Mike

This is a common question.  But it’s a good question and I’m psyched that you are going to make every effort to get in your lifts.

We can take cardio out of the mix, per your email.  But what about lifting?

Most fitness experts say you need to keep your time in the gym to under an hour.  I think this is a good target for most people, but it all depends on your current level of fitness and your goals.  I’m not one of those guys who goes crazy when I hear someone spends 1.5 hours in the gym.  The rule you may have heard about “45 minutes” is just a myth.  No valid science supports that, because it varies based on too many variables to control in a scientific setting.

But in your case, you are tight on time with a hard deadline from your employer.  You have only 60 minutes and you have to walk there, change into your gym clothes, warm up, workout, shower, and walk back.

[Side note:  don't forget to actively participate in the free discussion forum - I give away a free ebook each month to the most active person!  After you read this article, go to http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/forum/ and either ask a question or answer a question!]

Let’s assume you take 4 minutes to walk there, 3 minutes to throw on shorts and a t-shirt, and 4 minutes back.  Then make sure you do 5 minutes of muscle-specific warm ups.  And a 10 minute shower.  That leaves you 35 minutes to workout.  I’m going to round it down to 30 minutes to ensure you get back on time.

With Only 30 Minutes Available A Day, Go With A Split Routine

The key is to do a split routine, not a full-body routine. I don’t know if you are a beginner or not.  I usually recommend beginners do full-body routines.  But I don’t think anyone can make good, consistent, long term progress on only 30 minute full body routines.  (Being full-body, you can only do them 2 or 3 times a week because you need recovery days.  Newbies can make progress for several weeks in 30 minutes a shot, but they will plateau if they don’t add more volume.)

Under this scenario, which is not ideal, I would recommend lifting 5 days a week.

I want to point out that normally, I only recommend 5-day routines to more advanced lifters. I also include a 5-day routine in my annual intermediate routines, but only for a brief period.  In your case, you are looking for a long-term consistent solution (unless you change employers and have more flexibility with your time).

Even if you are a beginner, in what I’m recommending you won’t be overtraining.  At 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, that’s only 2.5 hrs a week lifting which is nowhere near over-training levels.

Day By Day Breakdown

Each day, pick a different major lift.  I’ve talked about The Big 7 before.  Pick one of those each day as your main lift.  I know, you have only 5 days and there are 7 of The Big 7, so I suggest these:

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…..

Last week we talked a bit about cases were it might be ok to use machines instead of free weights.  But even in those limited circumstances, you have to take some precautions to prevent injury and to maximize the effectiveness of your workout:

pic: Don't Be Stupid - use machines as they were intended

The 8.5 Precautions You Need To Take Before Using Fixed-Path Machines

1.  Be absolutely sure you can’t find a free weight alternative. Most of the time, with some advance research, you can find a better way to work the desired muscles by using a free-weight exercise.  Note well:  “free weights” includes dumbbells, kettlebells, and medicine balls too!
2.  Be absolutely sure you can’t find a cable alternative. Same as above.
3. Always take the time to try different seat heights, and other ergonomic settings to get the best range of motion; then

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……….

Last week I outlined the argument in favor of free weights over machines.  But is that the end of the story?  No way.  There are some advantages to machines in some cases.  I’ll go into details momentarily but first let’s dispel some myths about who should use machines…

Cases Where You Might Hear Machines Are Better, But Where No Evidence Exists

You might hear pseudo-experts pontificate about who should/shouldn’t use machines.  For example, I often hear people tell me that the following groups of people “should” use machines instead of free weights:

• older people
• children
• fat people
• women
• newbies to lifting

Hogwash!  There is no scientific evidence to support such claims.

So When Are Machines Ok?

That said, there are a few cases where machines are acceptable (or, in some cases, even preferred).   Machines usually (and I do mean usually, as in “not always”!) have these advantages:

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This is the first article in a 4-part series on using lifting machines.  This is part one and next week I’ll share part 2, then part 3.  And then in part 4, I’ll share what the science says about all this.

You’ve heard me, and many other online fitness guys, really blast the use of fixed-path machines.  And for good reason – I stand solidly behind the premise that free-weights are better than fixed-path machines in almost every case.  That’s why I use free weights for the majority of my muscle building programs.

But, like any rule or scientific study, there are exceptions.

First off note that I’m using the phrase “fixed-path machine”.  What does this mean?

Well, for one it does NOT mean the newer cable machines.  The newest cable machines don’t require a fixed path – you can move however you want and the cable simply provides the connection to the resistance.  (I could make the argument that cable exercises are in fact the best bang-for-the-buck possible, but that would be another article…)

I categorize fixed-path machines into two buckets:

a)       Selectorized – Machines where there is a stack of weights built into the machine and you select the weight with a pin (see picture).  In these, the bars are connected to the apparatus and usually both arms or legs move together (non-independent).  For example, the old-school Universal Machines, the early Nautilus machines, most of the Body Solid line, some of the Cybex line, etc.  Usually all these machines are in their own section at the gym and most involve sitting.

b)       Plate Loaded – Weight machines where you manually load free-weight plates onto a machine that still follows a fixed path; these are fake free weights, and just because you are loading 45 pound plates onto it doesn’t mean you are doing free weights!  For example the Smith Machine, leg press machines, many of the Cybex line.  One improvement these often have over the Selectorized machines is that each limb moves independently (at least for upper body exercises – see picture). These are usually integrated into the free-weight section of your gym.

Keep in mind though, that there are so many different “machines” out there, and every generation of machine is better than the first.  It’s really hard to do a direct comparison, but I’ll try anyway since you are a LeanLifter (smile).

Why Free Weights

Let’s start with a summary on why free-weights are generally better than machines:

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It all started one day at a new training center I was visiting.  This was an intense place, designed for football teams to do strength training.  Far more advanced than my home gym (especially back then) and it made my regular fitness center look like a badminton club.

I saw these absolutely huge guys doing shrugs with these odd-shaped bars.  They were hexagon shaped so the lifter stood in the middle of a hexagon hole.  (See picture to the right.)

I asked one of them what it was called.  “A hex bar,” he answered.

Ok, nobody won any creativity awards for that name.

But what amazed me was the range of motion it allowed for the shrug.  I waited until he was done and sidled over to try for myself.  Holy cow – I was in love!

See, I’ve always loved working my traps, and I love the way big traps look.  But doing shrugs with a barbell had range of motion issues.  Doing them in front hit my “jewels” and doing them in back hit my butt.

And shrugs with dumbbells are a real challenge because of grip issues.  Once you start shrugging heavy, it’s really hard to hold on to those 150 lb dumbbells.  (And forget about using straps with dumbbells.  Not only is it awkward.  You’ll also get made fun of like a 5^th grader picking his nose.  And someone might even give you a wedgie.)

Using the hex bar for shrugs was perfect – I could lift heavy, get a full range of motion, and grip issues were negligible.

Next Up:  Trap Bar Deads

Feeling stoked, I moved on that same day to try an exercise I had vaguely heard about, but then saw a football guy doing:  hex bar deadlifts (a/k/a trap bar deads).

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Buddy McKee hasn’t followed a typical path. It’s been an exceptional path, covering multiple sports, various powerlifting records, NFL free-agent, competitive bodybuilder, full-contact karate (before MMA was in vogue), teacher, and coach.  And if that weren’t even, he even recorded a hit song he wrote and sang (#80 on the national charts many years ago).  [For a more complete bio, scroll to the bottom of this article.]

Buddy is STRONG.  His in-meet records are Squat – 810 lbs. Bench Press – 600 lbs. Deadlift – 622 lbs. And of course, in the gym he’s lifted even more.

He’s held various titles and records recently in the over 50 class.  And, at the prime age of 54, he’s still competing and 2010 may hold a couple of new records for Buddy.

I talked with Buddy a couple weeks ago, and he was kind enough to let me record the call and share it with you!

The tool below lets you listen to streaming audio of the interview. LeanLifters will get the full MP3 download via email.

This guy looks a little too happy with his lifts - he needs to work harder!

Quick tip here for you that works with just about lifting program you are using.  (Of course, you only use my lifting programs, right?????  [smile]).  The only routines I would NOT use this technique with is when you are doing sets to failure.  I’ll explain why.

Science has shown that the eccentric portion of the lift (the lowering, or “negative”) actually stimulates more muscle growth than the concentric (the lifting or pushing portion).  The theories as to why this is true are varied and inconclusive; yet the fact remains that negatives are great for progression.

Does that mean you should do sets of 10 negatives?  Not really. 

Taylor Lautner’s Muscle Gain Story (pic from buzznet.com)

How many stories have you heard about how Taylor Lautner, the 17-yr old kid in the popular Twilight movie “New Moon“, went from scrawny to brawny?

Some of you might saying “who?” but if you’ve got teenage daughters, you are probably sick of hearing about him.

Well here’s another story about how Taylor Lautner gained so much muscle.  But I’m taking a different angle than other writers.

I’ve dug up interviews with him and with his trainer to dissect what he did and what you can learn from it.  Although I’m a fan, this is not a “fan post”.  This is about your physique and how you can improve.

I think any guy out there has to be impressed with this kid.  He gained 30 pounds of muscle in a year, all naturally, and looks fantastic.  Who wouldn’t want that? (There is one imbalance we’ll need to talk about though.)

But here’s the question: If you want those results, why don’t you have them?

Reason: Because it takes hard work!

He’s no genetic superior to you!  The only advantage he might have over most of you (and me included) is that he’s younger.  Ok, so I’ll handicap him 10% because he’s at a great age metabolically to see muscle growth without fat growth.  But that’s only 10%.

So why don’t you look 90% as good as him?

Taylor Lawtner did two critical things:

a) he got great advice from someone who knew more than him

b) he worked incredibly hard, even when he didn’t feel like it

Can you say the same about yourself?  If not, why not?

Ok Darrin, Enough Lecture.  What Are the SECRETS He Used?

First, hear his own words for some of the techniques:

From what I can tell (using many resources beyond this video), he used 8 techniques that made a difference: