In yesterday’s post, I shared some thoughts and several links explaining that while traditional ‘cardio’ is beneficial for you, dedicated strength training is going to pay huge dividends when it comes to athletics and aesthetics. If you want to move better, feel better, and look better naked, you should be strength training.
Due to body building dogma and the stereotypical habits of folks that read body-building magazines like they’re the gospel, many people believe that you need to spend hour after hour in the gym to see great results. Remember, work smarter before you work harder. If you’re doing it right, you’ll be in and out of the gym quicker than you expect to be. Let me share my 20 minute workout with you from yesterday to give you a better idea of what I mean.
I had to run some errands after student teaching yesterday, cutting into my training time. I played some Badminton with the Adelphi Badminton Club at 5pm, but ended up getting to the gym at 4:30pm. No problem.
I was ready for a full-body workout, and I’m a fan of the quote, “Push something, pull something, use your legs.” I first heard it from Mike Boyle, but he credits it to Yoanna Snideman. It helps to maximize time spent doing work, and minimize your time waiting around or checking out your gunz in the mirror. After a 10-15 minute warm-up that consisted of foam rolling and dynamic mobilization, I completed four rounds of a three exercise superset. This is what I did:
- Front Squat w/ pause in the hole. 4 x 8
- Landmine Push Press, 4 x 8
- Meadows’ Row, 4 x 10
The entire lift took about 10 minutes, and even though the gym was seriously over crowded, people were busy doing curls and benching. Plus, the hat makes me look ultra serious. When I was done lifting, I packed up my gear and went down to practice to smash some shuttlecocks. I took care of my lift, and I’ll count the badminton as my conditioning for the day.
After practice was over, I headed back up the fitness center and had my friend Zach take some quick demo videos for me. If you’re ever in a time crunch for your workout; it’s not a big deal. An abridged training session isn’t going to be the end of the world, and will leave you feeling pretty energized. Take a look at the video below, and think about creating a full body ‘push, pull, legs’ tri-set the next time you’re in the gym.
Harold Gibbons 