01 Dec Pressed for time weight workouts

If you’re not one of those rare people who can spend 1 ½ hours at the gym day after day, then it’s important to be as efficient as possible when you do work out.
Here are three weightlifting splits to keep you in the gym for a shorter time without skimping on the results:

Chest, arms
1. Dumbell bench presses – 3×10-12 (three sets of 10-12 reps) Alternate every other chest day with flat bench and decline bench.
2. Dips – Try to do 3×20-30. If you haven’t done dips much, or find them extremely difficult, there are machines that can offer assistance.
3. Biceps dumbbell curl – 3×10-12

Whole body burn
(Use one weight for all of these and progress through these with limited rest between sets, conserving time and getting great cardio, too)
1. Power cleans 3×5
2. Power clean and jerk 3×5
3. Snatch 3×5
4. Dead lift 3×8
5. Squat 3×10

Shoulders, back and lats
1. Overhead Dumbbell presses 3×10
2. Dumbbell swing 3×10 (start near floor, swing up to shoulder one side at a time)
3. Bent over row 3×10
4. Lat pulldowns 3×10

Do these along with mixing in cardio and a little time (comparatively speaking) will go a long way. These lifts can be completed in 20-30 minutes, with plenty of time left over for cardio.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com