Getting Buff: The Full-Body, Time-Efficient Workout That Produces Maximum Results In Less Time.

By Russ Klettke

Do you think spending more time at the gym is going to get you better results? To a point, yes. But past that point you will experience more than the law of diminishing returns (less results per minute). If it leads to a tendency to take longer rest periods between sets, it can actually make the workout less productive.

Scientific study bears this out. Particularly with men, strenuous weight-resistance exercise produces natural hormones that the body uses to build and repair muscles. This leads to both muscle growth and strength increases. Rest-period studies (Rooney 1994; Kraemer 1997; and McCall 1999) show that shorter rest periods, between one and two minutes duration, increase the amount of hormone production (this includes natural testosterone, which aids muscle growth).

But to use your time to even greater efficiency, you might actually use that 60 to 120 second rest period to exercise other parts of your body. For example, on a day when you’re particularly focused on shoulder presses, do one set of eight to 12 repetitions, then jump onto a floor mat to do a set of crunches. Don’t really stop moving through a three-cycle set of these two exercises.

To get even greater results layer on a progression, which is an increase in difficulty in second and third sets, to both exercises. For the shoulder presses, add a few pounds with each set, or slow your repetitions down to increase intensity without adding weight. With the floor crunches, you might put a 5-pound weight in your hands, held around the chest level, then proceed to perform the same number of repetitions.

In some circles, the first exercise is called the “load,” the second the “unload.” Some people actually perform two unloads for every load. In either configuration, always think about completing the unload in about a minute and allow almost no time in between the two exercises.

Here are some combination of load/unload exercises to try in the gym over your next several workouts:

Load – Unload
• Flat bench chest press – calf press
• Incline chest press – Roman chair (secured legs and hips, face down, raise torso and head)
• Tricep press – good morning (core)
• Shoulder press – forearm curls
• Lat pull – side tips (side torso stretch/press)
• Upright rows – Leg abductors
• Chin-ups (biceps) – Walking lunges (no weight)
• Leg extensions (quadriceps) – Side, light DB lifts (all shoulder with locked elbow)
• Leg curls (hamstrings) – Cable chest press (light weight)
• Leg squats – Light chest press