WEEK FOUR :: What Is The Best 20 Minute Weight Training Workout?

[the_fake_webmaster]

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TOPIC: What Is The Best 20 Minute Weight Training Workout?

For the week of: 10/18 - 10/31
(Monday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut).

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Many of us could be short on time and unable to perform an averaged length workout. If only there was a faster weight training workout……

What is the best weight training routine 20 minutes or under?

For big gains fast, should one lift a short amount of time and really intense, or a longer time with moderate intensity?

BONUS QUESTION: In your opinion, what is the best length for a weight training workout?

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Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $50 in credit to use in our online store and will have their workout posted on our main site for the world to see! We will only be picking two winners until this section starts becoming more popular. So, get to work and become famous!

Thanks,
Bodybuilding.com

[ravadongon]

My Response.

[Squats]

Here is my entry.

Sorry, it's updated for the bonus question.

[ho_124]

Why are you all word processing it?

[Squats]

Why are you all word processing it?

Because it doesn't matter.

Plus I didn't have enough time to convert it.

[ho_124]

This is my post for this weeks workout of the week.

[perldog007]

Many of us could be short on time and unable to perform an averaged length workout. If only there was a faster weight training workout……

What is the best weight training routine 20 minutes or under?

Twenty minutes is a tough one. According to the folks that market the bowflex, that's all you need! Never worked for me. What does provide noticeable gains for almost everybody is to concentrate on one body part or one compound movement and get in some good sets.

Some of the best "day after burns" I have felt have been after short workouts focused on one body part.

I am a huge believer in stretching before and after a workout. A good but quick stretch can be done in less than two minutes.

A great warmup from Franco Columbu's "Winning Bodybuilding" is to take an empty bar and do twelve to fifteen standing military presses with it. According to Dr. Columbu, this warms up all of the muscle groups.

Now we have about fifteen minutes left. Eight repititions with two seconds for the contraction, one second squeeze at the top, and a two second negative with thirty seconds between sets will take exactly three minutes for three sets of eight. So, theoretically we have enough time for five upper body exercises of eight reps, three sets.

Twelve repititions at the same cadence will take four minutes to do three sets. We can do four exercises if we can transition from the pre-workout stretch to the warmup in less than a minute.

So let's take a whack at a workout for our newest client. We'll call him Norm. Norm is a busy guy. He has a gym membership but with the time it takes him to get there, change, and then shower and change before going home, he can only work out for TWENTY MINUTES! The good news is that in the gym we have lot's o' equipment to choose from.

Norm really wants big guns so we will start with arms on monday, the priorty principle...

We will make sure that Norm stretches before and after all workouts, and that he does his warm up so he doesn't get injured and stop paying us, his valued trainer.

1. Monday
   1. triceps pulldowns, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   2. E-Z bar curls, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   3. seated barbell triceps extensions, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   4. seated hammer curls, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   5. wrist curls, 8 reps, 3 sets.
2. Tuesday
   1. seated calf raises, 12 reps, 3 sets.
   2. lateral side raises, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   3. Arnold presses, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   4. dumbell shrugs, 8 reps, 3 sets
3. Wednesday
   1. standing calf raises, 12 reps, 3 sets.
   2. bench press, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   3. seated cable rows, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   4. dumbell flys, 8 reps, 3 sets.
   5. pullups, two minutes or until failure.
4. Thursday
   1. reverse crunches, 1 set, 25 reps.
   2. leg extentions, 12 reps, 3 sets.
   3. leg press, 12 reps, 3 sets.
5. Friday
   1. decline crunches, 1 set, 25 reps.
   2. leg curls, 12 reps, 3 sets.
   3. stiff=legged deadlifts, 12 reps, 3 sets.
   4. eight extra minutes of stretching.

(Norm probably has his weekends filled}

Of course we would like to have more time, but if twenty minutes is all we have we can still get in a workout that will make a difference. Norm will see results from this workout for a couple of months, giving us plenty of time to track his progress and make the next rotation up. Since our trainee is seeing results he will remain a client. Win/Win.

For big gains fast, should one lift a short amount of time and really intense, or a longer time with moderate intensity?

Yes. We need both for maximum gains. Concentrating on short intense workouts with occasional longer moderate workouts will likely yeild the best results for most folks. If forced to choose one or the other I would have to say short and intense.

BONUS QUESTION: In your opinion, what is the best length for a weight training workout?

When time is not a factor, my entire workout including stretching and warmup lasts about an hour. This is what I am most comfortable with, so if for no other reason than the placebo effect this is the best duration for me.

[BigNorwegian]

WOTW4

[DoTheRobot]

Looks like im out of time. Hopefully I'll get next weeks though.Good luck to all who posted.If anyone really only has 20 minutes a day to workout let me know and I'll give you what I have to work on :P(about 3/4 finished) .

[BigNorwegian]

How in God's name didn't I even place... or tie for even third for that matter...