Body By Dan

Category: Wellness
Published: September 2006

Our own Dan Cronin teaches you to drastically improve your physique by only spending 3-4 hours in the gym each week.

Do you want to know how to pack on solid muscle, while only spending 3-4 hours in the gym each week? To many, this seems like an impossible dream. The average American businessperson works long and strenuous hours each week. They come home tired and stressed, and feel that effort put into working out will not yield any results with such low energy levels and with such little time available.

How can I possibly work out if I am so spent after a long day at work?

There are two answers to this question. The first requires a bit of dedication, but if done properly can give you a nice kick start to the day. The second requires a more watchful eye on your diet and perhaps some extra money spent on supplements.

Option 1: Get up early! This will be very difficult at first, but if you set your alarm clock an hour earlier three to four times a week, it will give you all the time you need to get a satisfactory exercise session in and after about a month or so your body will adjust to the new sleep pattern and you won't feel tired when you first wake up. If you're having a lot of trouble with this method, then try taking a quick cold shower as soon as you get up to get the blood flowing. However, if you can avoid that step, once you start working out, the hormones released will certainly wake you up, put you in a pleasant mood and give a nice jump start to your day.

Option 2: Studies have shown that if you eat protein before carbohydrates, you will delay serotonin production and you can avoid that tired spell that many of us get in the late afternoon. This is because the amino acids from protein are absorbed much more swiftly and easily than Tryptophan, the amino acid responsible for serotonin production. Therefore, the amino acids from the proteins will slow down and in some cases block the Tryptophan that is trying to pass through the membrane. There are also other nutritional supplements that can boost your energy levels. Among these are caffeine, potassium, and B vitamins. Seeing as most Americans drink a lot of coffee before and during work, I would recommend getting your caffeine source from green tea - a much healthier option. For simplicity's sake, your potassium intake should come from a banana. A banana will supply you with 400mg of potassium and around 29g of carbohydrates, it is one of the top all natural power foods on the market. Your B vitamins can simply come from a very common supplement known as "B-complex", which contains a fair dose of many of the important B-vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and many more. Therefore it could be said that a perfect pre-workout power snack could consist of any of the aforementioned foods/supplements.

Great, I have some energy. Now what? How can I possibly gain muscle when I only exercise 3-4 hours a week?

The secret to increasing your muscle mass in such a short period is a technique known as the superset-a training method in which you rotate two different exercises while taking minimal breaks between them. These supersets can be done with opposing muscle groups, different muscle groups, or the same muscle group. For example an opposing muscle group superset would be barbell curls/skull crushers (biceps/triceps). The beauty of the opposing muscle group superset, is that working the opposite muscle group naturally forces the other muscle group to relax. This is the technique that I would recommend. A different muscle group superset would consist of squats and shoulder presses (quads/deltoids). A same muscle group superset would be barbell curls with preacher curls (biceps/biceps). A tri-set is the same concept as a superset except you rotate through three different exercises instead of two.

Now that you understand the idea of a superset and the importance of workout density, allow me to introduce the program format. Since you are working out three to four times a week for a maximum duration of one hour per session, I recommend using a total body training schedule consisting of 2-4 compound movements and 2 isolation movements. Heavy compound movements promote the production of growth hormone while isolation exercises focus on toning. Your set/rep scheme should be the similar for each exercise in opposing muscle group supersets, to ensure muscular balance.

Some examples of heavy compound movements that you can incorporate into your schedule: Shoulder presses, bench press, dips, chin ups/pull ups, bent-over rows, seated cable rows, deadlifts, squats.
Some isolation exercises: Standing alternate dumbbell curls, preacher curls, barbell curls, triceps cable pressdown, lying triceps extension, overhead triceps extensions, seated calf raise, standing calf raise and various abdominal work.

Monday

• Tri-set:
  Dips: 4x8-10
  Preacher Curls: 2x8
  Seated Close-Grip Cable Row:
• Tri-set 2:
  4x8 Alternate Dumbbell Curls:
  2x10-12 each arm
  Deadlifts: 4x6
  Decline Sit-Up Twists: 4x8

• Superset 1:
  Seated Barbell Shoulder Press: 5x5
  Squats: 6x4
• Superset 2:
  Chin-Up: 4x10-12
  Decline Close-Grip Bench Press: 5x5
• Tri-set:
  Reverse Crunches: 3x8
  Seated Overhead EZ-Bar Triceps
  Wxtensions: 2x12
  Seated Calf Raises: 2x12

• Tri-set:
  Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3x10-12
  Barbell Curl: 4x6-8
  Straight-Leg Situps: 4x8
• Superset 1:
  Lying Barbell Triceps Extension: 4x8-10
  Bent Over Underhand-Grip Barbell Row: 4x6