Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Back in the 1950's, Peary Rader wrote an
article in IronMan titled "Workouts for the
Working Man."
The article covered effective training for
men who work demanding physical jobs --
such as "blue collar" jobs or manual labor
jobs.
If I recall correctly, Peary was answering a
question from a man who worked 10 or 12
hour days as a painter, going up and down
ladders, and performing thousands of reps
with a heavy paintbrush.
After a day like that, there wasn't much gas
in the tank for a 2 or 3 hour split routine
workout or 12 x 12 on all of his exercises.
So Peary suggested what we would now call
an abbreviated program -- with low reps,
because low reps help to conserve energy.
It was good advice.
I was remeinded of this because I received
an email this week from a man who works
10 or 12 hours a day on a construction job.
After 10 or 12 hours a day of carrying bricks,
concrete blocks and other construction
materials, and operating a jack hammer,
he doesn't have time or energy for a long
workout.
But he still wants to build some serious
strength and muscle.
So what does he do?
My answer is similar to Peary Rader's
answer.
He should follow a short, simple program
with a minimum number of exercises.
He should train one or two times during
the work week for 15 to 30 minutes per
workout -- and take a longer (45 minute)
workout on Sat or Sun.
He should do multiple sets of low reps in
each exercise. 5 x 5 would be perfect for
squats and deadlifts -- and it should be
four progressively heavier sets and one
set with his top weight for the day.
On upper body exercises he can do 3 x 5
or 3 x 6 -- two progressively heavier sets
and one set with his top weight for the day.
He should use perfect form in all of his
exercises. This will target the proper muscle
groups and make his training more productive
and more efficient. And it will be less tiring --
and a lot less wear and tear on his already
tired body.
Thus, his workout schedule might look
like this:
Tues
1. Standing press 3 x 5-6
2. Barbell curl 3 x 5-6
Thurs
1. Deadlift or Trap Bar deadlift 5 x 5
2. One-arm DB row 3 x 5-6
Sat
1. Squats 5 x 5
2. Bench press (barbell or dumbbell) 3 x 5-6
3. Gut work -- 1 set
If that's still too much work, he should cut
back even more -- and perhaps train once
a week on Sat or Sun -- doing his choice of
squats OR deadlifts, one upper body pressing
exercise and one upper body pulling exercise,
plus one set of gut work.
For other workouts that would work very
well for this man -- or for any Dinosaur who
works a demanding job or who doesn't have
much time or energy for training -- see my
new course, Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html
Also, we cover this sort of program in the
March 2015 issue of The Dinosaur Files
quarterly -- with not one, but two real
world workouts from real life Dinos
who share how they get it done even
though they have almost no time for
training.
One of them gets great results from just
one workout a week -- and it only takes
30 to 45 minutes.
I like to share this kind of story because
it helps remind us that less is better --
and that you really CAN make great gains
with abbreviated and ultra-abbreviated
workouts.
You can find the March 2105 issue of the
Dinosaur Files quarterly right here -- along
with the December 2014 issue. If you missed
the December Dinosaur Files quarterly, go
ahead and grab them both -- they're very
good and very motivating:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html
In any case, I hope that helps our reader --
and anyone else who is crunched for time
but wants to train!
As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a good
one.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Abbreviated training is very important for
older trainees. See Gray hair and Black Iron for
effective workouts and training programs for
older Dinos:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Where there's a
will -- and some weights -- there's a way."
-- Brooks Kubik
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