Short intense workouts should form a big part of your business plan for more muscle when you’re short on time, but big on ambitions to keep gaining lean size that dominates in the board and weights room
Your Trainer: Michael Waters is a performance enhancement specialist, president and owner of phase1sports.com
Being an entrepreneur for over 14 years and now approaching 40 years old, things have changed. Like most entrepreneurs and business people alike during certain times of the year, the stress is high, time is limited and productive hours in the gym become less and less likely. This greatly affects consistency, which has a knock on affect on your results.
Why short, intense workouts work
There’s just not enough time in the day to dedicate two hours, six days a week to training our physique. Yes, there are times of the year when everyone has the opportunity to focus on more traditional training programs that require more muscle isolation, hours of training, and six day a week splits.
However, when business and life start to take over its time to transition to CAT – Corporate Athlete Training.
This involves four days a week in the gym combined with an outdoor bonus day, one hour per training session and you can not only maintain, but build muscle, lean out and most importantly stay healthy. By using a series of supersets, athletic movements and shorter rest periods you can have a lean, muscular physique all while continuing to lead the business world.
So as the stress levels go up and down, don’t let your physical and mental health suffer. Simplify your training program – keep your workouts short, intense and stay consistently focused on conquering the world
Your weekly split
Monday- Lower Body
Tuesday- Upper Body (chest, back, shoulders)
Wednesday- Off
Thursday- Full Body Circuit
Friday- Guns Out (Bicep/Tricep)
Saturday- Bonus Outdoor Cardio
Sunday- Off
Session average 45-75 minutes
Workout key abbreviations:
ss = superset, 2 exercises in row
ts = triset, 3 exercises in a row
R = recovery rest time between sets
c = circuit, all exercises in a row
E = each side
S = seconds
8-10 reps min/max reps count
The short intense workout warm-up
Prisoner Squat 10x
Jumping Jacks 10x
Seal Jacks 10x
Cross Jacks 10x
Day 1 Monday – Lower body
rest: 60-90 seconds between sets
Foam roll/specific dynamic stretch
| EXERCISE | WK1 | WK2 | WK3 | WK4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foam roll/specific dynamic stretch | 10min | 10min | 10min | 10min |
| Warm-up | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 |
| Bench squat | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 |
| Barbell Romanian Deadlift | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 |
| Machine leg extensions (superset1) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Dumbbell squat jumps (superset2) | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 |
| Machine lying leg curl (superset1) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Dumbbell single leg Romanian deadlift (superset2) | 3x10 each leg | 3x10 each leg | 3x10 each leg | 3x10 each leg |
| Cool down - jump rope | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min |
| Stretch/foam roll | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min |
DAY 2 – Upper body
rest: 60-90 seconds between sets
| EXERCISE | WK1 | WK2 | WK3 | WK4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foam roll + upper stretches | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins |
| Bench Press | 4x10-12 | 4x10-12 | 4x10-12 | 4x10-12 |
| Lat pulldown (wide) | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 |
| Dumbbell incline press (superset1) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Dumbbell prone bench row (superset2) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Dumbbell seated shoulder press | 4x12 | 4x12 | 4x12 | 4x12 |
| Dumbbell alternating 3-way raise | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 |
| Core - plank (front/side) | 3x30 seconds each | 3x30 seconds each | 3x30 seconds each | 3x30 seconds each |
| Stretch/foam roll | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins |
DAY 3 – Full body Circuit
| EXERCISE | WK1 | WK2 | WK3 | WK4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foam roll/specific dynamic stretch | 10min | 10min | 10min | 10min |
| Warm-up | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 | 3x10 |
| Dumbbell power clean and press (c) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Dumbbell alternating box step up (c) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Dumbbell walking lunge (c) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Dumbbell push-up to renegade row (c) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Core - running man sit-up (c) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Cool down - jog | 10 min | 10 min | 10 min | 10 min |
| Stretch/foam roll | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min |
DAY 4 – Bicep/ Tricep/ Core
| EXERCISE | WK1 | WK2 | WK3 | WK4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell bicep curl | 4x10-12 | 4x10-12 | 4x10-12 | 4x10-12 |
| Cable straight bar tricep extension | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 | 4 x 10-12 |
| Dumbbell hammer curl (superset1) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Cable rope tricep extensions (superset2) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Dumbbell seated alternating curl (superset1) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Dumbbell kickbacks (superset2) | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 | 3x12 |
| Kneeling cable crunch | 3x20 | 3x20 | 3x20 | 3x20 |
| Stretch/foam roll | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins |
DAY 5 – Outdoor conditioning
| EXERCISE | WK1 | WK2 | WK3 | WK4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm up - jog | 5min | 5min | 5min | 5min |
| Sprint 40 yards, walk 40 yards, rest 40 yards | x10 | x10 | x10 | x10 |
| Cool down - jog | 5min | 5min | 5min | 5min |
| Stretch/foam roll | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins | 10 mins |
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