Expert: Ken Alan - 6/24/2008

Question
What is the best way to do an upper/lower split in 3 days per week, in about 30 minutes per workout, no longer, and one that’ll really build muscle?  I came across this one program by a respected author, but it's taking about 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete a workout.  You cycle between 4 different workouts.  The workout is as follows:

Mon - Upper Body (heavy)
5 exercises, 4sets, 5-7 reps, rest 90 seconds between sets

Wed - Lower Body (heavy)
4 exercises, 4 sets, 5-7 reps, rest 90 seconds between sets

Fri - Upper Body (light)
5 exercises, 3 sets, 8,10,12 rep scheme, rest 90 seconds between sets

Mon - Lower Body (light)
5 exercises, 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps, rest 60-150 seconds between sets

You superset all exercises.  Seems like a good program, but it's taking too long.  Can I modify this program any, and how, to make it last 30 minutes per workout?

Many programs tell you to superset one opposing exercise with another to save time, but how do you do this effectively in a gym, especially when it's crowded?  Say for example your doing bench presses and supersetting with sets of rows.  You just can't leave the bench to go do rows.  Someone else is going to take the bench by the time you get back to do your next set.  Can you still superset in a gym, or are there other methods that will save time too?  Thanks very much for your help.


Answer
I don't know what exercises you are doing, so I can't give you specific recommendations.  For a time-efficient workout, shorten the rest time between sets (tough), or eliminate one or two exercises per workout as described above in your email.  If you select the right exercises, you don't need 5 different ones for upper body or 5 for your lower body.  You can also eliminate 1 set from your heavy days, doing 3 sets rather than 4.  This will shave off some time for you.

Select resistance where you fail somewhere around 5-7 reps, or 8-12 reps per set using slow, controlled movement with good form. Make sure you're eating well.  If you want to pack on even more muscle after a few months, you may have to devote 45 minutes (or more) per workout in order to do more total volume of work, unless you can go from one tough set to the next without resting.

Hope this helps.