The holy grail of training at lunchtime is to burn fat, add muscle, and still have enough time to eat before heading back to the office. You’ve heard of guys going to the gym during your lunch hour, but you’ve always thought, “What’s the point?” Well let us show you.
You have your work to yourself with so little time, since we are not counting the minutes you spend watching TV. This workout effectively gives you strength, size, definition and weight loss, and all in 30 minutes! You’re twice as likely to stick to shorter workouts too, and you’ll also gain more muscle and lose more fat because you train at a higher intensity. Do it three times a week, and you’ll get an added bonus: The University of Illinois found that half an hour of exercise, three times a week leads to improved decision-making, increased attention span, and increased mental longevity. In short, this is the perfect way to spend one.
The first step is to repeat in 3 circuits. Each circuit contains miniseries that are repeated five times and rest for two minutes. Do each exercise in turns with the same weight. Squat press: place a bar 5 cm from your ankles. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down and grab the bar with an overhand grip. Use your glutes to push your hips forward and stand up as you pull the bar up. Keep the bar close to your body. Once the bar is at shoulder height, rotate your elbows and hands so the bottom of the bar is resting on the front of your shoulders with an underhand grip. Bend your knees into a full squat. In one quick movement, straighten your knees, rise up on your toes, and bring the weight overhead as in an overhead press. Bent-over Rows: Holding a barbell, lean forward at the hips until your back is at 45 degrees. You should have a slight bend in your knees, your floor black with your arms below your shoulders. Bend your elbows to bring the bar to a point just below your chest. Pause, and then slowly lower the weight back to starting positions. Good morning: With the bar resting on your shoulders, slowly lean forward, maintaining the normal curve of your lower back. Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, then reverse the movement in a controlled motion to raise your torso back up to the starting position.
The second step is muscle building. Turkish Raise: Lie down with a dumbbell in your right hand. Roll onto your back holding the weight above your chest. Keep your elbow locked and your weight above your chest. Keeping your elbow locked and your weight on top of you the entire time, stand up. Reverse the steps to return to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions. Exaggerated Hammer Curls: Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing your body. Bend your elbows as you raise your shoulder slightly to lift a dumbbell. Lower the weight while keeping your back straight at all times. Perform 10 repetitions with each hand. Dips: Stand on two benches. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your shoulder joints are in line with or just above your elbows. Push up by straightening your elbows until they are almost straight but not locked. Do 10 repetitions. Pull-Over to Fly: Lie on a bench holding dumbbells. Lower the dumbbells over and over your head until your upper arms are parallel with your torso. Pull the dumbbells back to the starting position and perform a fly, keeping a slight arch in the elbows. Go back to the beginning. Do 10 repetitions.
The third step is to do cardio routines one after the other without rest. Do a full-body stretch to finish, then relax—you’re done for the day. Treadmill – 3 minutes: Run for 20 seconds at 17 km/h on a 1% grade, then slow to 8.5 km/h for 40 seconds. Repeat this 3 times. Research in the Journal of Applied Psychology shows that interval training like this increases your fat-burning potential by 36% and cardiovascular fitness by 13%, compared to the same amount of moderate but steady exercise. Cross Trainer – 4 minutes: Set the machine to level 8 and keep your speed constant at 13kph. Increase resistance every 30 seconds until you reach level 15. A study conducted by Concordia University, Illinois found that combining upper and lower body movement engages all major muscle groups and focuses your gravity, protecting you from stress injuries. Power – 3 minutes: Set the machine to a resistance of four. Perform sets of 10, 15, 20 power strokes – do this by pulling the handle toward your torso as fast and as hard as you can. Break out power strokes with 10 seconds of easy rowing at about 50% of your total effort. Repeat the cycle until you have rowed for 3 minutes.
Consistently performing these half-hour exercises 3 times a week can increase your cardiovascular level, as well as lose weight effectively.
