At some point in time ‘about an hour’ seems to have become locked into our collective consciousness as the de-facto length of an effective workout. Far from being cast in stone, what you do in a workout is often far more important than how long you workout for.
If you’ve been put off from striving to achieve your fitness goals by the idea of sacrificing 6-7 hours each week to the God of Gains, our five-day plan offers up the perfect solution. Clocking in at under two hours per week including warm-ups, each 20-minute session alternates between building strong, functional muscle, boosting your metabolism and sky-rocketing your fitness levels.
Stick to the plan for six weeks, pushing hard and aiming to eek out improvements in your performance from session to session, and there’s no doubt that you’ll see huge changes in your body.
The Format
Your three-day weights plan (days one, three and five) requires just two dumbbells and your bodyweight. Simply warm-up and work your way through the three move, full-body circuit as many times as possible in twenty minutes. Keep a track of the total reps you manage to perform before the buzzer sounds and aim to beat your ‘score’ when you repeat the same session the following week.
On your conditioning days (days two and four) pick a ‘cardio’ modality or movement such as running, riding a stationary bike or air bike, rowing, skipping or even burpees, set yourself a running clock and perform a 30-second sprint followed by 30 seconds of slow paced work or complete rest. Repeat in this fashion for 20 minutes. Make a note of your total distance, calories or reps. Again, aim to beat your ‘score’ when you repeat the same session the following week.
Feel