Minimalist Strength Training for the Busy Professional

photo credit: jontunn

I‘ve always been a proponent of structuring workouts around your schedule rather than making “time” for a workout or forcing it into daily life.  You’d then be able to pick the right training programs for your time.  Some workout programs require more time than others.  However, take the initiative of assigning exercise as a priority in life.  Assign priority to exercising so it becomes a part of your daily lifestyle.  Fitting a training session into schedule becomes that much easier.  There’s no forcing or obligating yourself to train.

Develop this habit of doing something over and over again, like brushing teeth, until it doesn’t feel “right” when missing a workout.  If you haven’t, make a faithful decision and promise to yourself that you will tackle a training regimen weekly.

Now obviously not all of us can spend 2 plus hours in the gym every day with a 60 hour a week job along with family obligations and chores.  We’re not all care-free, full-time high school or college students.  The solution to maximizing the time you have for training is through efficient and minimalist strength training to work the entire body from head to toe using just a few simple weight lifting compound movements.

Minimalist strength training workouts takes around 30 minutes maximum and can be done at home in a living room with just a set of olympic barbell and weights.  But why strength training?

Benefits of Strength Training,

1) preservation of muscle mass: benefit to men and women as it maintains an elevated metabolism (muscle burns more fat at rest), you’ll look like someone who actually works out by being leaner and fitter

2) gains in functional strength and improved functional fitness; benefits here are obvious so I don’t have to explain this

3) stronger abs/lower back and general core

4) improved posture

4) stronger, more resilient, and healthier joints and connnective tissues

A minimalist strength training routine that anyone can follow is the 3-5 program based off of 3-5 method from Pavel Tsatsouline’s “Beyond Bodybuilding”

The 3-5 program is a 3 days a week routine with 3 main compound exercises for 5 reps each set over 3 workouts.  It’s 3 sets of 3 exercises for 5 reps out of 3 workouts in a week.  There are a number of variations depending on whether you want to work out in a gym or in your own home gym.

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Routines:

Workout 1, 2, 3 are all the same, done on Monday-Wednesday-Friday

• deadlift 3×5 (sets x reps), 2 minutes rest between sets

• barbell row 3×5, 2 minute rest between sets

• floor press or military press 3×5, 2 minute rest between sets

*rest 3 minutes between exercises, entire workout should take no more than 30 minutes and that includes setting and unloading the weights for each lift

you can do the above 3-5 routine using a 300 lbs barbell set, pick up a used set at a garage sale for cheap or buy a new set from the local sporting goods store/fitness retailer (see “Setting up Home Gym tutorial”)

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Here’s a 3-5 routine using a dumbbell set or powerblock set with 3 varying workouts,

Workout 1

• deadlift 3×5

• shoulder press 3×5

• dumbbell squat 3×5

Workout 2

• military press 3×5

• barbell hack squat 3×5

• dumbbell or barbell floor press 3×5

Workout 3

• barbell bent press or dumbbell shoudler press 3×5

• stiff leg deadlift 3×5

• dumbbell row 3×5

*same rest periods as first routine

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Throw in an olympic bench with a power rack/cage  into the mix and you could do this routine below,

Workout 1

• squat 3×5

• dumbbell bench press (flat, incline, or decline) 3×5

• barbell row 3×5

Workout 2

• deadlift 3×5

• barbell bench press(flat, incline, or decline) 3×5

• dumbbell row 3×5

Workout 3

• front squat 3×5

• military press 3×5

• bench dumbbell row 3×5

Notes:

• alternatively you can use a pullup bar (pullup/dip station or doorway bar) to replace deadlift and back movements, a dip station can also replace bench presses and chest movements

• use a weight vest, weight belt, or loaded filled backpack for added resistance for pullups and dips

• refer to bodybuilding.com’s exercise database for instructions and visual demonstrations of exercise form

• don’t go to failure on all sets of each exercise; use 75% of 5 RM, 5 RM is the most weight you could lift for 5 reps, let’s say 5 RM is 100 lbs so 75% of that is 75 lbs (100 x .75 = 75), you would start with 75 lbs, alternativel you can use just enough weight to leave 1-2 reps shy of failure, to be on cautious side start light and build your way up

• throw in some ab work and body weight exercises like crunches, situps, leg raises, pushups, and burpees as you see fit

Now you can use all 3 programs in a home gym (see home gym tutorial parts 1 and 2).  Gym memberships are not necessary.  Working out and exercising in general is dynamic with variety and options.

This form of minimalist strength training can be applied to every fitness goal, be it fat loss, building muscle and strength, cardiovascular fitness, getting back into shape.

For fat loss, refer to fat loss principles article for a comprehensive look at the overall big picture of the things you have to do to achieve permanent fat loss results.  As a substitute for strength based free weight lifting workouts, check out interval conditioning with body weight and distance protocols to bolster cardiovascular fitness and conditioning.

For building strength and muscle, refer to the Muscle Building Principles and Progression articles.  Progression is a must for building strength and muscle mass.  A hypothetical progression outcome looks something like this:

Bench Press, starting weight of 150 lbs for 2 sets of 5:

• workout 1: 150 lbs 2×5

• workout 2: 155 lbs 2×5

• workout 3: 155 lbs 1×5, 1×4

• workout 4: 155 lbs 2×5

• workout 5: 160 lbs 2×5

• workout 6: 165 lbs 1×5, 1×3

• workout 7: 165 lbs 1×5, 1×4

• workout 8: 165 lbs 2×5

• workout 9: 170 lbs 1×5, 1×4

• workout 10: 170 lbs 2×5

In 10 workouts you went from starting weight of 150 lbs for 2 sets of 5 to 170 lbs for 2 sets of 5, a 20 lbs increase, not too bad

With progressive overload, the goal above is weight loading by using heavier and heavier weights over time.  If you get stuck at a certain weight for more than 3 workouts, then cycle the amount of weight used and start lighter again, about 5-10 lbs heavier than your starting weight for the cycle. The reason for weight cycling is that the body will eventually adapt to the same training stress.

The body also begins to overtrain, especially on a high volume/high frequency routine for many weeks.  Going back down to using lighter weights will give your body a fresh break and allow enough recovery time while letting the earlier training stimulus from previous workouts to catch up to training adaptations.

Taking the example above, let's say you keep on trucking with 170 lbs 2 sets of 5,

• workout 11: 175 lbs 1x5, 1x4

• workout 12: 175 lbs 1x5, 1x4, you stalled on the second workout with 175 lbs, this is ok and it's quite normal so just keep on working at this range until you break a new PR (personal record)

• workout 13: 175 lbs 1x5, 1x4, you stall again

• workout 14: 175 lbs 1x5, 1x4, you stall for the third time so it's time to cycle the weights down and build back up again.

You'll start at about 5-10 lbs heavier than the starting weight for this cycle.  Your starting weight was 150 lbs, so let's start the cycle again at160 lbs and work your way up to 175 lbs again for 2 sets of 5, new PR.  It's also a good idea to take the weekend off before restarting the cycle.

• workout 15: 160 lbs 2x5, this will feel light, easily achieved

• workout 16: 165 lbs 2x5

• workout 17: 170 lbs 2x5, you've already hit this number before so this should be easy

• workout 18: 175 lbs 2x5, you hit a new record, now continue the cycle for even greater personal records!

Now, this is just a hypothetical linear progression model, it may take less or longer for you to hit new numbers/use heavier weights. I'm just illustrating how this progression model can work in your favor for building strength and muscle.

And remember, your body won't be able to handle lifting heavier 30 days a month/12 months out of the year.  There will be periods where you''ll need to lift lighter and there'll be times where you'll work up to lifting heavier for new PRs.

Strength Training for General Fitness and Conditioning

A strength-based routine with free weights can also be used for improving cardiovascular fitness, aerobic, and anaerobic endurance while building strength.  You can use a density or work capacity approach by setting a certain time limit and cranking out as many reps as you can within the allotted time.

For example, take 2 compound lifts, deadlift and dumbbell shoulder press and alternate doing as many sets of 8 reps in a 10 minute time frame, or go by the number of reps you can do without regards to sets.  Use about 60-65% of 8 RM.  Set your own parameters.  The key here is to keep work rate high by doing sets and reps after one another with minimal rest or breaks.  Bodyweight exercises also work using this method (see Body weight Training for Gaining Muscle Mass).

Working out in a short and limited amount of time is about systemically training efficiently using full body movements structured in a balanced manner to achieve fitness goals of fat loss, building muscle, improving strength and conditioning.  Excuses are many when claiming you don’t have enough time to work out.  But there is only one kind of doing; ACTION.

Take action and train.  Make exercise a priority.  It only requires 30 minutes a day 3 times a week to a fitter, muscular, leaner, healthier, and stronger you.

Train Hard. Train Safely. Train Smart.

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com

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