Living Intentionally by God's Grace: #140 New Workout w/Weights Routine

A plan that will have you in and out of the gym in 30 minutes -- a blessing when you're pressed for time.

I've been doing a lot of cardio lately and now it's time to go back to working out three days with weights -- two days of cardio -- two days of rest. . This is my new workout routine, but I can not take the credit for this workout -- I got this workout from my January 2009 Oxygen Magazine.

Mix ‘n’ Match

Group A: Legs	Leg Press	Squat	Lunge
Group B: Chest	Incline Dumb Bell Press	Bench Press	Flat Bench Fly
Group C: Back	Lat Pull Down	Bent Barbell Row	Seated Cable Row
Group D: Shoulders	Dumb Bell Press	Rear Delt Raise	Side Lateral Raise
Group E: Biceps	Bar Bell Curl	Preacher Curl	Seated Incline Curl
Group F: Triceps	Lying Triceps Extensions	Triceps Press Down	Seated Overhead Dumb Bell Extensions
Group G: Abs	Hanging Leg Raise	Oblique Crunch	Crunch

How It Works

Exercise Variability: Your goal is to do three different workouts each week by selecting one exercise from each of the groups, A through G (representing most body parts with the exception of hamstrings and calves). Unlike more traditional approaches that rely on multiple exercises to exhaust a body part during a workout, with this plan you train each body part using only one exercise per workout. However, by selecting a different exercise per body part on each training day you will have worked out each of the body parts from various angles by week’s end.

Example:

Week 1

Workout 1 – Day One

1. Leg press

2. Bench press

3. Bent barbell row

4. Dumb bell press

5. Barbell curl

6. Triceps press down

7. Crunch

These workouts are now no longer available to use when you construct your second workout of the week. So for workout two:

Workout 2 – Day Two

1. Squat

2. Incline dumbbell press

3. Seated cable row

4. Side lateral raise

5. Preacher curl

6. Lying triceps extension

7. Hanging leg raise

Workout 3 – Day Three

1. Lunge

2. Flat bench fly

3. Lat pull down

4. Rear delt raise

5. Seated incline curl

6. Seated overhead dumbbell extension

7. Oblique crunch

In the interest of keeping your muscles confused – and growing – construct entirely different workouts from the list for each successive week of the program. Remember, variety will breed accelerated success in minimal time.

Your Firm & Fit Plan For maximum benefit, follow these repetition sequences each week.
Workout 1:	SETS/REPS 3 sets of 6-9 reps	WEIGHT/BENEFIT Heavy: Strength
Workout 2:	3 sets of 10-12 reps	Medium: Muscle Gain
Workout 3:	3 sets of 12-15 reps	Light: Stamina

REPETITION VARIABILITY: In order to enhance muscle strength, growth and endurance, each of the three weekly workouts relies on different rep ranges. So for the first workout of the week, you’ll shoot for six to nine repetitions per exercise. This rep range will help you build strength and some muscle. For the second workout, you’ll do 10 to 12 reps per set, which is the ideal range for building muscles. For the final workout of the week, you’ll do 12 to 13 repetitions per exercise. This rep range provides its own set of benefits: It improves endurance and stamina, and it helps build a network of capillaries, which aid recovery and nutrient deliver for faster success.

OTHER VARIABLES: You will do three sets of an exercise before moving on to the next one. If done with perfect form, this should be enough to stimulate the muscle being worked. Rest approximately 45 to 60 seconds between sets. Of course, do a light warm-up set of each new exercise before adding weight for the three working sets. Also, while it is not essential to fail on each of the sets, you should try to reach temporary muscle failure on the final set of each exercise so as to train the target muscle fully. Finally, you should use the heaviest weight possible for the first workout of the week, reducing the weight (as you increase the repetition range) for each successive workout. Choose a weight that will allow you to reach muscle failure on the final set of each exercise.

Have More Than 30 minutes

Should you find yourself with a little more time in the gym on day, why not add a fourth set to each exercise of your workout? This will boost the intensity of the workout and keep your body adapting rather than stagnating. However, doing more than four sets per exercise of this program for a prolonged period of time may lead to over training, so be sure to push yourself, just not over the edge.

Rest & Recovery

This is an intense program that demands a lot of your body and mind. To keep you progressing and injury-free make sure you take a day off between workouts. This will allow your body time to recover from the previous workout and keep your mind fresh and focused for the next. On your days away from the weight room, consider going for an easy run or doing very light cardio.

My Weekly Rotation Form
Tuesday
Body Part	Workout	Reps
Legs		3 sets of 6-9
Chest		3 sets of 6-9
Back		3 sets of 6-9
Shoulders		3 sets of 6-9
Biceps		3 sets of 6-9
Triceps		3 sets of 6-9
Abs		3 sets of 6-9

Thursday
Body Part	Workout	Reps
Legs		3 sets of 10-12
Chest		3 sets of 10-12
Back		3 sets of 10-12
Shoulders		3 sets of 10-12
Biceps		3 sets of 10-12
Triceps		3 sets of 10-12
Abs		3 sets of 10-12

Saturday
Body Part	Workout	Reps
Legs		3 sets of 12-15
Chest		3 sets of 12-15
Back		3 sets of 12-15
Shoulders		3 sets of 12-15
Biceps		3 sets of 12-15
Triceps		3 sets of 12-15
Abs		3 sets of 12-15