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The Question: If you are working a Monday-Friday job, you may be too tired to go to the gym during the week. Sometimes weekends are your only chance to get in a really good workout. What is the best training program for weekends only? What exercises would you perform? How effective would this program be? If you are a single parent with kids what are your options for watching the kids while you workout at the gym? At home? Assuming diet was in check, how long would it take to see results? Bonus Question: What is the best weekend workout with no training equipment? The Winners:
2nd place - 50 in store credit. 3rd place - 25 in store credit. To use your credit, e-mail Will @ will@bodybuilding.com for more info.
Some people stay in fairly good shape by taking one serious workout a week. A little cardio or sports on Sunday ices the cake. These weekend warriors tend to be naturally fit mesomorphs/ectomorphs and are merely maintaining their fitness. Of course you will catch these show-offs at work taking the stairs and pulling other shenanigans to steal a bit of exercise here and there.
For many, this will not do. They only have the weekend and they want to grow. No big deal. There are all kinds of people, all kinds of reasons for bodybuilding, and all kinds of ways to get it done. Before e-mail one person would type up something funny and photocopy it and pass it around. The authors of these gems were usually anonymous. One such "funny paper" was a memorandum about a new company policy to implement Super High Intensity Training or S.H.I.T. and went on about how employees would be given S.H.I.T. and so on. Bodybuilding.com writer Phano Som has already applied this clever acronym to the sport of bodybuilding. Let's expand on his premise.
For bodybuilding? We have to be talking about some sort of S.H.I.T.! Yep! Super High Intensity Training. Because we will be having long rest periods, we need to take advantage of the recovery time and hammer the muscles in the brief amount of time that we have. Personally, I would have to hire a trainer or have some seasoned workout partners in on this with me. We are talking about throwing some poundage's around to get anything done. The discipline of S.H.I.T. demands that we obliterate our bad selves. On Saturday, we want to take a really good S.H.I.T. workout with some heavy lifting to assassinate the muscle group under consideration. Then we are going to take a rest, perhaps a sauna, shower, whirlpool, and/or post workout shake. Before we leave the gym a moderate cardio workout is in order. Permit me to be bold enough to suggest somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty minutes at an intensity of sixty to eighty percent of your age adjusted maximum heart rate. Remember we only have the weekend. Increasing our capillary capacity and Vo2 max will not hurt us. For most mortals, two cardio workouts per week is a minimum just to maintain health.
Day two would depend on what kind of S.H.I.T. we get into on day one. Cardio would be a given. Now that we have covered basic S.H.I.T., let's move on to the next question and discuss some specific S.H.I.T..
One weekend one, we would do the deadlift on day one and cardio and flexibility only on day two. On the next weekend, we would do squats on day one and bench on day two. On the third weekend we want to do the military press and calf raises on day one and leg press on day two. On the first weekend work up to a 1rm. On the second weekend your workouts around descending sets, working to failure then removing weight and doing another set.
Cycle Your S.H.I.T. Like This: 1. First Three Week Cycle.
2. Second Three Week Cycle.
3. Third Three Week Cycle.
4. Fourth Three Week Cycle.
Since we only have the weekends don't rush through the workout if you can help it. Get a good ninety second to three minute rest after each set.
Compared to watching "Kung-Fu Theatre" with a bag o' chips and dip on Saturday wishing you were ripped? This S.H.I.T. would own! In Think And Grow Rich Napoleon Hill tells us that repetition is the only scientifically known method of inducing faith. We have all heard it before, but you gotta have faith with S.H.I.T.! So let's go over it again. It would be great to have nothing to worry about except getting buffed up. Most of us have lives that preclude this, so we have to do the best we can with what we have!
Like anything else in bodybuilding you have to be creative to blend your imperfect life with your quest for physical perfection. Is there another single parent in the area in the same situation? Can you barter with them, taking turns watching the kids so one or the other parent can get in their workout? Maybe you could form a club at your gym or in your neighborhood. If your kids are in school, is there anyway to get your workout done while they are tied up during the day?
Subjectively, from a "how you feel" standpoint the results would be immediate. From the endorphins of the first S.H.I.T. session the trainee would have benefits from day one. Objectively, from an appearance or strength gained viewpoint, it will of course vary for everybody. For Beginners most people should be drawing compliments from peers on or before the 120 day mark. For an advanced trainee trying to maintain their build, the desired result would be no result, or no changes. S.H.I.T. in this instance would be immediate. The tough case here would be somebody who has been training for more than a year who suddenly has to switch to weekends only. If the trainee has no prior exposure to S.H.I.T., results could come quickly. Your mileage may vary depending on how much S.H.I.T. you have experienced and according to your individual tolerance for S.H.I.T.
No Question, martial arts. The best form would be something that includes grappling. Wrestling is the S.H.I.T. of bodyweight exercises. Judo, Ju-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, NHB, all of these forms are great. Does your local high school wrestling team practice on Saturday? Assistant coaching volunteer? Some of those kids will flat out kick your ass. You will be developing leadership and interpersonal skills while getting buff.
Thanks for reading. If you must drink and drive, drink Myoplex!
Short on time to workout during the week? Is your hectic schedule preventing you from getting to the gym for your workouts? If you answered "yes" to these questions, then listen up and learn how to become a weekend warrior! This routine is rather demanding, and it is mandatory that you are willing to devote time on the weekends to your training. It's not rocket science that intense sessions at the gym require rest to allow for optimum recovery. Therefore, get your priorities straight. That means staying up late with the guys and partying into the wee hours of the morning has got to go.
This program involves cycling "strength weekends" and "hypertrophy weekends" every other weekend. What does this mean? On strength weekends, the repetition range for each exercise will be 2-6 reps, which will allow for an increase in primarily strength levels, but also muscle size. On hypertrophy weekends, the rep range will be 8-12 reps, which will allow for an increase in muscle size and definition, and a slight increase in strength levels. That way, you're getting the best of both worlds. Below is how the general outline of the program looks:
How are you ever going to recover from the brutal strength weekend workouts? That's the brilliant part about this program - you have the entire week to recover from the grueling strength weekend workouts! In turn, this generous amount of recuperative time during the week will allow for some major new added muscle mass! Training with heavy weight and low reps on strength weekends followed by the whole week reserved for recovery will eliminate the possibility of overtraining. Below are the two routines you will use on Saturday and Sunday for strength weekend workouts: Saturday - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Abdomen, Calves
Sunday - Legs, Back, Biceps
  Hypertrophy Weekends:
By training in the 8-12 rep range, more muscle fiber recruitment (AKA hypertrophy) occurs. Below are the two routines you are to use on Saturday and Sunday during hypertrophy weekends: Saturday - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Abdomen, Calves
Sunday - Legs, Back, Biceps
* Always remember to properly warm-up before working out. Begin each workout with a 5-10 minute session of cardio - the treadmill, recumbent bike, etc. After your light cardio session, complete a few light warm-up sets before moving into your first exercise.
The reason this program works so well that it simply prevents overtraining, which can be detrimental to your progress. The strength weekends are followed by 5 days of full recovery, which is extremely helpful in terms of recuperative time; thus, maximizing the body's recovery ability, which in turn leads to unprecedented gains in muscle. The hypertrophy weekends allow for a wider array of muscle fiber recruitment and stimulation, where as strength weekends annihilate the muscle fibers.
If you happen to be a single parent with kids, you have several options in terms of watching your kids while you workout at the gym. Most gyms have nurseries now, which would be your best bet. That way, you can take your kids with you to the gym! Most of the larger gyms have programs geared towards entertaining the kids while mommy or daddy workout. If you don't want to take your kids with you to the gym and leaving them at the gym nursery, then hiring a babysitter would be ideal. If you happen to be a single parent with kids who works out at home, you also have plenty of options. You can keep the kids occupied while you workout by putting on a movie for them to watch. Better yet, workout at home during their nap time.
With any program, results take time. If you assert yourself and really train hard, results will show quickly! There is no set time frame of when results will begin to show because each individual is different. However, I truly believe most trainees will see results within 2-3 weeks on this program due to the fact that this program really emphasizes on recovery and recuperation time, which will conclusively lead to outstanding muscle gains!
The best weekend workout with no training equipment is simply performing bodyweight exercises that work the upper body on Saturday, and bodyweight exercises that work the lower body and core on Sunday. Try doing a circuit with the below exercises in which you go from one exercise to the next with very short rest periods. Do a total of five circuits in each workout. Keep the rep range between 10-20 reps for each exercise.
Best of luck with all of your training goals!
Mike
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