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  1. #1
    Registered User tracipandya's Avatar
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    Best way to lift in a limited time window?

    I work out in the mornings - between work, two babies at home, etc I can't do it in the afternoons and I'm too worn out by the time the evenings roll around and I get our boys down for bed (they are a handful). I have to be at work by 7am so I'm up at 4:45am every day if I want to get in a workout.

    All of that to say, time is limited.
    I do 15-20 minutes cardio and that leaves me about 30-40 minutes to lift before I have to hop in the shower, get dressed, and head to work in traffic to make it to work on time.

    My quesion is this:
    If I have 30-40 minutes to lift, what is the most effective way to use that time?
    Should I focus on one major body part/muscle group per day and do 3-4 various exercises to target that group (ie - Chest one day, Biceps one day, etc)?
    Or should i combine a couple of muscle groups (ie - Biceps and Triceps together, etc) and only do maybe 2 exercises for each area?
    I usually do 3 sets of 10-12 reps and if I keep to that I only have time to do about 4-5 different exercises in my 30-40 minute window.

    How do I make the most of that 30-40 minutes in terms of lifting to be the most effective?

    Thanks in advance for help/advice!
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  2. #2
    Registered User aresman1221's Avatar
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    aresman1221 is offline
    what is your goal?

    how many days per week can you train?

    If you say at least 3, then this is what I would do.

    Warm up with weights, lift for 45 minutes, then 15 mins of cardio.

    45 mins are more than enough. Try PPL. So you would do Chest/Triceps, Back/Biceps, Legs. Try to squeeze shoulders on leg day or chest day.


    Focus on the compounds. Your triceps will grow by benching heavy ass weight, and your bis will grow by pulling heavy ass weight. Focus on the big muscles.

    I can write up a small routine if you want.
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  3. #3
    Registered User tracipandya's Avatar
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    tracipandya is offline
    Originally Posted by aresman1221 View Post
    what is your goal?

    how many days per week can you train?

    If you say at least 3, then this is what I would do.

    Warm up with weights, lift for 45 minutes, then 15 mins of cardio.

    45 mins are more than enough. Try PPL. So you would do Chest/Triceps, Back/Biceps, Legs. Try to squeeze shoulders on leg day or chest day.


    Focus on the compounds. Your triceps will grow by benching heavy ass weight, and your bis will grow by pulling heavy ass weight. Focus on the big muscles.

    I can write up a small routine if you want.
    Goal - get my body back in shape and look how I did before having kids (or at least as close to that as possible).
    I'm not overweight at all (weigh about 123lbs, am 5'7" tall, wear a size 2-4 in clothes), but I've got your typical soft mom tummy and have lost all my muscle tone/definition. I used to be approximately 12% BF and weighed 135 at my highest pre-kid weight (pretty sure it was muscle, not fat as I've always worn the same size clothes).

    I had two babies in 2.5 years and neither have been "easy" kids in that they didn't sleep at night (biggest challenge). I got to a point where I considered the day a success if I showered and managed to keep both babies fed/uninjured - my sleep was non-existent and working out fell off my list of priorities for a while as I was in survival mode. I'm finally past that stage (they are at least sleeping at night for teh most part) and I'm turning 39 in a few months. Would like to take better care of myself and get back to being comfortable in a bikini again.

    I can train 5-6 days per week, but the most realistic goal is 5 days.

    I think what you are telling me is to put lifting first in terms or priority and squeeze in the cardio around that. Does that sound right?

    Thanks for your feedback and advice!!
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  4. #4
    Registered User aresman1221's Avatar
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    aresman1221 is offline
    oh alright. So basically you wanna lose some weight.

    REMEMBER that the MOST IMPORTANT thing (sorry about caps but it's to make the point) is your diet. You are not gonna progress if your diet is crap. In case you already dont know, you need to calculate your macros and then try to fit your diet around them, eat LESS than what your body uses and you will lose weight. So what I would do is the following. I would train 3 days of weightlifting with maybe a little cardio at the end and 2 days of just cardio.

    So you would do:
    Day 1:
    5 mins of cardio warmup
    Chest/Triceps
    if there is any time left, 15 mins of cardio. You can skip this if your lifting session took longer

    Day 2: Cardio for 45 mins- 1 hour

    Day 3:
    5 mins of cardio warmup
    Back/Biceps
    if there is any time left, 15 mins of cardio. You can skip this if your lifting session took longer

    Day 4: Cardio for 45 mins- 1 hour

    Day 5:
    5 mins of cardio warmup
    Legs/Shoulders
    if there is any time left, 15 mins of cardio. You can skip this if your lifting session took longer

    The lifting is gonna make you stronger and will also keep your current muscle. The cardio will keep your heart healthy , boost your metabolism and help you burn more calories. For the lifting days, this is the routine I have my gf currently on and she has made insane progress:



    Day 1: Chest/Triceps

    Bench Press 4x12 (whenever you up the weight, be sure to hit at least 6-8 reps and work your way to be able to hitting 12)

    Inclined Bench press 4x12 + Skullcrushers 4x12 (do the first exercise, then the 2nd one and rest. Repeat.)

    Peck Deck 4x12 + Shoulder extensions 4x12

    Machine bench press 4x12 + overhead shoulder extension 4x12


    Day 2: Back/Biceps

    Back pull ups machine 4x12

    Dumbbell back rows 4x12 + bicep curls 4x12

    Reverse grip pulldowns 4x12 + Hammer curls 4x12

    Back rows machine 4x12 + Concentration curls 4x12


    Day 3: Legs/Shoulders (I dont know if you can do deadlifts/squats or not. If you can't, adjust accordingly.)

    Squats 4x8 or Deadlifts 4x8

    Kettlebell swinging squat 4x12 + Calve exercise of your choice(soleus) 4x12

    Squat shoulder press 4x12 + Calve exercise of your choice for gastrocnemius 4x12

    Bulgarian squat 4x12 or Leg press 4x12 or Hip thrusts 4x12

    Hamstring curls 4x12


    As for cardio. Swimming is the best thing IMO, if you cant, then running, if you cant then use the machines at your gym. You can mix them up, no problem.
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  5. #5
    Registered User Partyrocking's Avatar
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    Partyrocking is offline
    If you're short on time, you could use metabolic complexes/circuits.There are some good ones out there, Cosgrove's Evil Eight is a killer.
    You can't help the hopeless.

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  6. #6
    Registered User Garage Rat's Avatar
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    I agree with above^^^.
    Make your workout give you a cardio benefit.
    Rest no longer than 60 seconds between sets and as low as 30 seconds.
    Years ago when there was no cardio machines thats how bodybuilders trained before contests.
    Vince Gironda advocated this type of training.
    You can get more sets in and get the heart rate up.
    So if you dropped the treadmill or other cardio machines it would give you more time with the weights.
    It would be considered interval training.
    Ive been in your shoes with two kids now grown up.
    Its not easy but if you have a passion for lifting you will find a way.
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  7. #7
    Clearly Irrational blue9steel's Avatar
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    blue9steel is offline
    I lift in the mornings before work five days a week due to my busy work and night school schedule so I understand the reasoning. Have you considered doing an upper/lower split twice a week and moving the cardio to it's own day? That way it looks something like this:

    Monday - Lower (doing lower first so that it's not before cardio day)
    Tuesday - Upper
    Wednesday - Cardio
    Thursday - Lower
    Friday - Upper

    You'll have to experiment a bit to figure out how many exercises you can fit in the time you have.
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  8. #8
    Natural Competitive BB euro7muscle's Avatar
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    That sounds like a nightmare lol I'm never having a family

    brb forevs alone
    brb train twice a day
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  9. #9
    Registered User tracipandya's Avatar
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    tracipandya is offline
    Thanks for the detailed reply Aresman. I'll give it a shot.
    In the past I've weighted things more heavily on lifting and not on cardio just because I've always been pretty lean naturally (lucky genes) and my main goal/focus was building muscle and keeping my BF low so I show cut/definition (without being too bulky since I don't compete or anything). Basically I want to look good and feel confident.
    If I understand what you are saying above, I probably need more focus on cardio for now so I can lose some of the fat/flab I put on while pregnant/after babies, right? Then the muscle tone/definition will come naturally?

    I don't really need to lose weight per se (at least in terms of pounds). I just want/need to convert the fat and soft stuff back into muscle. I'm guessing I've got to lose fat through cardio/diet and then focus on rebuilding the muscle, right?

    Also, should have noted before. I work out at home, not a gym. We have a full cage/squat rack, dumbbells and barbells of various sizes with plates, and an elliptical (for cardio).
    Got any favorite subs for the machine based things above (ie - peck deck, lat/reverse grip pulldowns, row machine)? I know alts for those, but wasn't sure if you recommended certain subs when using all free weights....

    Thanks again for your time and help!
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  10. #10
    Registered User tracipandya's Avatar
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    tracipandya is offline
    Originally Posted by Partyrocking View Post
    If you're short on time, you could use metabolic complexes/circuits.There are some good ones out there, Cosgrove's Evil Eight is a killer.
    Awesome - will check them out. :-)
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  11. #11
    Registered User tracipandya's Avatar
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    tracipandya is offline
    Originally Posted by Garage Rat View Post
    I agree with above^^^.
    Make your workout give you a cardio benefit.
    Rest no longer than 60 seconds between sets and as low as 30 seconds.
    Years ago when there was no cardio machines thats how bodybuilders trained before contests.
    Vince Gironda advocated this type of training.
    You can get more sets in and get the heart rate up.
    So if you dropped the treadmill or other cardio machines it would give you more time with the weights.
    It would be considered interval training.
    Ive been in your shoes with two kids now grown up.
    Its not easy but if you have a passion for lifting you will find a way.
    Thanks GarageRat - I hate cardio anyway and would much rather just lift! :-) Will focus on that and keeping my rest intervals short.
    You guys are very encoraging! Thanks again!
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  12. #12
    Registered User tracipandya's Avatar
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    tracipandya is offline
    Originally Posted by euro7muscle View Post
    That sounds like a nightmare lol I'm never having a family

    brb forevs alone
    brb train twice a day
    LOL - I won't lie. It sucks sometimes. My first son didn't sleep great due to some medical issues. The second just never slept. It was awful. First time he slept for more than 4 hours in a row was when he was about 12 months old.
    But, I love them of course, so it's worth it, even if I miss my free time and being able to go to the gym at my own leisure...

    It's finally getting better, so it's time to get off my ass again.... :-)
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