45 Comments
 

If you've taken a ton of time off from cardio + lifting (this was the situation in my case), I'd really recommend starting with 15-20 min of cardio (walk / jog / walk / jog during it) and then some low weight, high volume reps for bench, squat, biceps, etc. for a month or two. In 30-45 min over time you can make the workout more and more intense and even with just 30 minutes can make progress.

Maybe try to get in 45-60 min on Saturday's + Sunday's and then aim to get in shorter 30min sessions Tuesday + Thursday if you can. Don't go overboard on the intensity in the beginning would be my advice, you might wake up one morning and really regret it...

I guess the best tip/trick is really if you have the time, even if you don't feel like it, just get the lift in otherwise you may be missing your only opportunity for a few days lol

 

If you're really low on time, and you have the space, 10-15 minutes of burpees and pullups in the morning will get you pretty far.

 
"Henri Poincaré" Burpees or the Concept2 rower have to be the most time-efficient exercises.s

yeah

also

Heavy Bag + kickboxing

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
"Lloyd BIankfein" Do a fuck ton of push ups and pull ups

This is correct, actually.

What I would recommend to the OP in general is a lot of body weight exercises. 8 count bodybuilders are a good one as well.

Body weight exercises should help the endocrine system to get stronger and boost T levels, quickening recovery time and enhancing muscle growth. If you focus on some of the larger muscle groups in your body like the quads and back, this is going to be one of the factors that will set your metabolism on fire. If you're burning 4000 cal instead of 2500 cal in a cube, you should have more activity during the day to do your work as well as having the capacity to workout before or after work, with the increased T to help you recover at night and assist with muscle growth.

If one only has the capacity to burn 2500 cal, one must bring up that threshold to much higher. It will increase the amount of capacity you have to do activities during the day (work) and in the workouts at night (or morning). I've gone up to 8000 cal burned in a day this year (recorded)(without cocaine even) and it is a gradual process to get there. Don't overdo it and be consistent.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
"FP_MA" Workout Routine Working 80-90 Hours?

Also though, the capacity to work that much and workout comes down to a lot of things.

First, nutrition needs to be on point. Dark leafy greens, fruits, veggies, you better be eating relatively clean. Hydration is a must. The body recovers faster like this and you need less sleep, giving you more time.

How to gain more time in the week? Eat clean. Chug water. Reduce anxiety. These are the hidden gems that will afford you more time. Any anxiety or unrest in the day will also necessitate the need for more sleep. Resolve any issues mentally before hitting the sack. If you want more time, find ways to enable your body to achieve higher capacity and less sleep. It is possible.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Most Helpful

If you train for strength/hypertrophy, here are 6 big lifts that you need: - Bench Press (horizontal push) - Overhead Press (vertical push) - Barbell Row (horizontal pull) - Pull-Up (vertical pull) - Squat (push, quads dominant) - Deadlift (pull, hamstrings dominant)

These will cover 80%+ of your muscle groups.

Pick any 2-3 exercise as you please for any given day, do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps (hypertrophy) or 3-5 reps (strength). It's that simple. Just make sure that whatever you do, your time spent for push:pull and horizontal:vertical makes sense (note: doing 20 sets of benching per week and 0 sets of rows does not). Investment bankers and people who work in the office in general tend to sit and slouch a lot, so I tend to recommend putting even more time for pulling exercises.

If you feel like some muscle groups are lacking, feel free to throw in 2-3 sets of heavy Barbell Curl, Skullcrushers, Lateral Raise etc. here and there. But in general, keep your workout sessions short (30-45 min each) and effective. Those 6 exercises above should be the bread and butter of your workout, not isolation exercises.

That is all. If you want to do cardio/abs, feel free to throw 10-15 min of treadmill walking/running/abs crunching at the end of your workout. 3x/week, 30-45 min of lifting and 10-15 min of cardio/abs each session is ALL you need.

In summary: pick any 2-3 main lifts + isolation lifts if you need, keep rest time short (1-2 min), 2-3 sets for each exercise. Medium weight, 8-12 reps for hypertrophy, heavy weight, 3-5 reps for strength. Cardio/abs for 10-15 min if you wish.

 

If you don't want to organize it yourself, the Stronglifts 5x5 program follows this template. They have a great app thats free to download.

Definitely recommend checking it out.

Array
 
"financevietnam" If you train for strength/hypertrophy, here are 6 big lifts that you need: - Bench Press (horizontal push) - Overhead Press (vertical push) - Barbell Row (horizontal pull) - Pull-Up (vertical pull) - Squat (push, quads dominant) - Deadlift (pull, hamstrings dominant)

These will cover 80%+ of your muscle groups.

Pick any 2-3 exercise as you please for any given day, do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps (hypertrophy) or 3-5 reps (strength). It's that simple. Just make sure that whatever you do, your time spent for push:pull and horizontal:vertical makes sense (note: doing 20 sets of benching per week and 0 sets of rows does not). Investment bankers and people who work in the office in general tend to sit and slouch a lot, so I tend to recommend putting even more time for pulling exercises.

If you feel like some muscle groups are lacking, feel free to throw in 2-3 sets of heavy Barbell Curl, Skullcrushers, Lateral Raise etc. here and there. But in general, keep your workout sessions short (30-45 min each) and effective. Those 6 exercises above should be the bread and butter of your workout, not isolation exercises.

That is all. If you want to do cardio/abs, feel free to throw 10-15 min of treadmill walking/running/abs crunching at the end of your workout. 3x/week, 30-45 min of lifting and 10-15 min of cardio/abs each session is ALL you need.

In summary: pick any 2-3 main lifts + isolation lifts if you need, keep rest time short (1-2 min), 2-3 sets for each exercise. Medium weight, 8-12 reps for hypertrophy, heavy weight, 3-5 reps for strength. Cardio/abs for 10-15 min if you wish.

I would recommend push/pull splits. You can do push upper/lower & pull upper/lower. This would get you going faster than you realize. You could do 2x a week to start out, which means you can sleep longer 3-5 days a week, and you'll only need caffeine and to feel sluggish just 2 days out of the week.

I increased my bench from ~120 to 225 in 10x weeks this way. If you find yourself liking the split, and you think your body can handle it, you can up the ante to 4x a week, hitting the same split every week, so you get pull day 2x and push day 2x a week.

 

The best thing to do in al honestly is pushups at your desk. Every hour start with a set of 5-10 depending on your current level of fitness. If you do this through out your day not only will it actualy increase your energy levles you will be shocked at how much it actually does to maintain strength. As you progress through time just increase the number per set. Also add in some body weight squats in there. Shouldn't take more than a few min and you will actually not even lose work time because you will be more alert the rest of the hour.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

I spent my first Associate year working, eating and getting fat, and ended up really unhappy with myself, and busting out of my pants (went from 5'11" 180 lbs to 200 lbs). The moment of truth was shopping for pants at Brooks Bros and I was clearly not only not a 32" waist anymore from college, but a 35" without a belt was still tight and warping the pockets outward. Jesus.

Second Associate year, I joined a gym and lifted big (really starting from zero but doing all the major compound lifts and got noob gains), but with zero cardio (talking 12 minute mile here). I also ate a lot better. Was still ~190 lbs but recomped a lot to muscle.

As my toddler began to walk and then run everywhere, I realized I have no cardio and still too fat, so I want to get closer to 175 lbs. I am running a lot and setting race goals to do a half-marathon and marathon in 2019. From never running 2 consecutive miles I'm up to ~8-10 on long runs at the moment and now inside of 185 lbs. I feel a lot better but that's as much eating cleaner as the cardio perhaps.

This time next year I'll re-assess my fitness goals and see if I want to push more cardio or go back to heavier lifting. I don't want to be the dad who huffs and puffs after their kid (FUCK that noise), and I also don't want to be the dad that can't pick up and carry their kid and all the camping gear.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

First thing is, eat right. That'll help you out the most. Second, if I was working 80+ hours/week I'd shoot for 3, 1 hour, full-body workouts per week. Pushups, situps, bodyweight squats, burpees, treadmill/stairmaster/jump rope, compound moves, etc. Basically, bang for your buck exercises that are going to stimulate large muscle groups.

 

If there's no gym on your floor/in your building, find the gym closest to your office so you can get a session at the gym in before you head to the office in the morning.

Focus on compound movements that will work multiple parts of your body at once, you will get a better workout in less time, and sweat more.

For cardio, use something like the stairmaster or jacob's ladder if your gym has one. Focus on short bursts vs. steady state. This is better for your heart and for fat burning.

If possible, go for a 10-15 minute walk during the day, twice if possible - even if this is just inside the office itself.

This way, you can cram in a good 30 min workout and 1 or 2 short walks during the day. Better than nothing.

 

Tips? Lift heavy as fuck.

And still then you really won't have the energy to do it 4 times a week when you are beasting at work unless you're really disciplined.

I try to get two days between Friday and Sunday. Then another day or two as and when I have time during the weekdays.

Just do compounds like 5x5

 

Consistency is key. On average I get to workout 3 times a week, so I do a push/pull/legs split. I try to always go on a Saturday/Sunday plus one additional day during the week. Any additional days are just upside. Supersets and exercise selection is key if you're on a time crunch. Start with 90 seconds rest and eventually you'll get the conditioning to bang through a full workout in an hour with 30-60 seconds of rest in between sets.

I also keep a jump rope and some resistance bands at work so if I really can't leave the desk for an hour and a half then I just do a little exercise to keep the blood flow going/stimulate the muscle. Once you have the muscle, it's not unreasonably difficult to maintain - the real loss of gainz is in your mindset (habits), not your strength/size.

 

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