Excuses, excuses

One of the biggest excuses that people give for not exercising regularly is, "I don't have enough time." Well lets figure this out. There are 168 hours in a week. Resistance training 2 or 3 times per week for 1-hour = only 1.2% or 1.79% of the entire week respectively. That is doable.
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Not convinced? Let’s get realistic:
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Work 8 hours/day at 5 days/week = 40 hours
2 hour preparation and travel time to and from work each day (2 x 5) = 10 hours
30 minutes for each meal eaten each day (x 3 = 1.5) x 7 days = 10.5 hours
Sleep time at 8 hours per night (x 7) = 56
TOTAL FOR WEEK = 116.5
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168 total hours in week – 116.5 = 51.5 remaining hours for other things (e.g., family time, recreation, errands, relaxing, etc.).
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2 x 1-hour training sessions each week = 3.8% of the remaining 51.5 hours
2 x 45 minute training sessions each week = 2.9% of the remaining 51.5
2 x 30 minute training sessions each week = 1.9% of the remaining 51.5
Or if you want to resistance train three times a week
3 x 1-hour training sessions each week = 5.8% of the remaining 51.5 hours.
3 x 45 minute training sessions each week = 4.37% of the 51.5 remaining hours.
3 x 30 minute training sessions each week = 2.9% of the remaining 51.5 hours.
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Find the time, make the time, stick with it, no excuses

These figures were partially taken from Coach Tom Kelso. I have double checked the numbers and added some additional information. There is also time for 2-3 days a week of cardio work at 20 minutes a session.

Full body vs. split routine workouts

I am not sure why there is even a discussion for this topic. The research shows without a shadow of a doubt that in order to get certain hormone releases in the body to enhance strength training that one must to moderately high to high intensity lower body compound leg exercises. So why do so many people insist on splitting the body into parts or even upper and lower.

Whenever I am approached on this subject I have a couple of questions that I like to ask people. First, have you ever seen the musculature system of a cadaver with the skin pulled back. If so you realize that it is very difficult to see where one muscle starts and ends. They are all intertwined to help our body move and avoid serious injury. Next question is usually, "Do you understand that when you are focusing work on the chest that the muscles of the back are being recruited also. There are not stabilizer muscles in the body, stabilization comes from the muscles working against each other to move your body in the plane in which you want it to move. Another question has to do with building!! When building a house where does one start? They start at the bottom (foundation) and work there way through to the smaller details. Hence start with the legs, then chest, traps, shoulders, and lats... not always in that order, but definitely in a push-pull manner (which I will cover in the next blog). After the main upper body push-pull muscles you work the abs, low back, bi's, tri's, grip, and neck. Actually I start with the neck and then legs and so on. There may be a few other questions, but you get the idea.

From there I use a couple of metaphors, for example; "Does the body pump blood to only half of the body a day or even just a body part a day... Does the skeletal system only work in upper and lower days!!" So and and so forth with the other systems of the body. The answer is obviously "NO" not at all. So why is it that we want to train the muscular system different than the way it naturally works!! For this question I have no answer, simply because my clients and myself train the full-body 2-3 times a week and no more then that. 2-3 times a week is all that is needed.

A complete full-body workout should typically consist of 12-15 exercises, sometimes more, sometimes less.

Remember, train smarter AND harder!!