Looking for a 10 minute weight routine

Triathlon Forum
1

For starters, before Dev and comany jump all over my back, weights, by and large, do not help triathlon performance. heavy quats will not help your IM bike leg.

Having said that, I want to start lifting for general fitness. I used to lift quite a bit - I was a gym rat from about age 12 to 30, then I just stopped. Anyway, I have gotten exceptionaly weak.

1st and foremost, all I want equipment wise is a small bench (no rack) with a set of those easy adjust dumbells.

So I was thinking mainly multigroup stuff, and doing one set to failure on each muscle group.

1 - a squat exercize
2 - a bench press exercize
3 - a rowing exercize
4 - crunches
5 - low back (already covered in squat?)

Think that’s good? Hit an exercize every 2 minutes?

2

Why not go equipment free and do push-ups?

Other than that I am not the person to ask. Seems like a short, sweet, and simple routine though.

3

How about 8 min abs?

Then you’ll have 2 extra minutes to shower :slight_smile:

jaretj

4

Something Simple

Flat dumbbell flies-Chest
Incline bench presses-Chest and Shoulders

Seated Military Presses-Shoulders

Bent over rows-Back
Dumbbell Dead lifts-Back and Hamstrings

Step ups onto bench-Legs and Glutes

Leg Raises and sit-ups-Abs
Supermans-Lower Back

I prefer…

3 sets pushups
3 sets pull ups
3 sets dips
3 sets chin ups
2 sets shoulder presses
2 sets bicep curl
4 sets of some leg exercise(step ups, squats, lunges, side lunges)
3 sets supermans
Legendary Abs Program (AWESOME BOOK)

5

If you give me an effecive 10-minute run routine, or effective 10-minute cycling routine, or effective 10-minute swim routine I think I can come up with an effective 10-minute weight routine. Cheers, Scott

6

Skip crunches and do fly kick when you swim.

Your weight routine is now 8 min.

7

There are a bunch of excercies you can do that will cover most of the body without a bench and without dumbells).
This guy has some cool ideas based on traditional pushup, burpees, etc.:
http://www.youtube.com/user/FizzycalFitness

He is definitively not the only one out there. Just one example.

Fred.

8

For starters, before Dev and comany jump all over my back, weights, by and large, do not help triathlon performance. heavy quats will not help your IM bike leg.

Having said that, I want to start lifting for general fitness. I used to lift quite a bit - I was a gym rat from about age 12 to 30, then I just stopped. Anyway, I have gotten exceptionaly weak.

1st and foremost, all I want equipment wise is a small bench (no rack) with a set of those easy adjust dumbells.

So I was thinking mainly multigroup stuff, and doing one set to failure on each muscle group.

1 - a squat exercize
2 - a bench press exercize
3 - a rowing exercize
4 - crunches
5 - low back (already covered in squat?)

Think that’s good? Hit an exercize every 2 minutes?
1 - Overhead Squat (basically hold the bar over your head in the finishing position of a “clean-and-jerk”, this requires a great deal more balance than a regular squat and engages a lot more muscle groups from top to bottom)
2 - Push Up
3 - Hi-to-Low Cable Crossover with a weight shift

That’s what I’d do if I had 10minutes. I’d probably do three sets of 8 of each exercise, resting up to the 60 second mark after each set, plus a quick move between each should make it doable in exactly 10minutes.

9

I would look into kettlebells, a light set, say 10-15lbs to learn and a heavier set 25-35 for maintenance. You should get proper instruction but you can do a pretty intense overall lifting routine in 30-40 minutes that covers everything you mentioned. You won’t get squat in 10–or maybe all you’ll get is squat in 10 depending on how you see it.

10

For starters, before Dev and comany jump all over my back, weights, by and large, do not help triathlon performance. heavy quats will not help your IM bike leg.

Having said that, I want to start lifting for general fitness. I used to lift quite a bit - I was a gym rat from about age 12 to 30, then I just stopped. Anyway, I have gotten exceptionaly weak.

1st and foremost, all I want equipment wise is a small bench (no rack) with a set of those easy adjust dumbells.

So I was thinking mainly multigroup stuff, and doing one set to failure on each muscle group.

1 - a squat exercize
2 - a bench press exercize
3 - a rowing exercize
4 - crunches
5 - low back (already covered in squat?)

Think that’s good? Hit an exercize every 2 minutes?

1) squats on a ball, hands held out front, add dumbells as you get better (careful here) 
2) dumbell flys, one arm at a time with legs held up and out to engage core 
3) single arm row, other hand on bench with arm straight, legs straight out back (again to use core) 
4)crunches on the ball 
5) dead lifts with dumbell

2x12 or 3x8 do as stations, no rest between, should be about 10min

disclaimer…I have zero qualifications in terms of strength training. you might want to spend a few bucks at the gym with a qualified trainer. i had some good falls learning the on the ball stuff

11

Here’s what I have done in the past (not hardly at all this year however):

1 set of pullups to failure.
1 set of pushups to failure. (bonus points if you put feet up on a chair and make them ‘incline’ pushups. Big bonus points for clapping between reps)
1 set of twisting crunches, followed immediately by
1 set of bicycles (alternating L elbow to R knee, R elbow to L knee, lather rinse repeat), followed immediately by
1 set of straight crunches.

Done.

Usually takes me ~10 mins. You could do a set of planks and/or supermans too for your L back if you wanted.

Only “gear” needed is a chinning bar or similar

Don’t bother lifting for your legs. Running and biking should be plenty.
YMMV.

12

How about 8 min abs?

Then you’ll have 2 extra minutes to shower :slight_smile:

jaretj

“7 min. abs…not 6…7!” : )

13

You have the right idea as far as using compound movements instead of basic isolated ones. Just remember not to double up on anything if you’re looking for a quick workout. I’ve never done a weight routine that’s 10 mins since I’ve never been cramped for time but try this out.

Squats
Bench press
Pull up
Deadlifts
(whatever core work)

You can further simplify this routine by doing deadlift->clean and jerk->squat movement. All in one set. Basically deadlift the weight from the ground, clean and jerk it to your chest, then do a squat.

If you are trying to do this with very minimal equipment then;

One legged squats with medicine ball
Push ups on one of those big balls(or one hand off push ups with medicine ball)
Pull up
Optional: Lunges with medicine ball+deadlift move(basically do a lunge, get both feet together and deadlift)- this would add lower back and hamstrings but would double up on the quads and glutes.

Some might scoff at the second routine but you’d be surprised how many people(men and women) can’t do a whole set. The second routine incorporates quite a bit of core work in the compound movement. You’d most likely see more functional strength with the second routine too. Both routines are the bare minimum but includes everything you need; lower body, upper body, back and core.

My qualifications? NSCA-CPT

14

Pushups

Squats (with a bar if you want, assuming your knees don’t mind)

Crunches

Planks (side and front)

Done.

15

4 words: Core Performance (the Book)

Author: Mark Verstegen. Just do 2 circuits of his strength routine. Alternate the workouts, 2 times per week.

16

For starters, before Dev and comany jump all over my back, weights, by and large, do not help triathlon performance. heavy quats will not help your IM bike leg.

Having said that, I want to start lifting for general fitness. I used to lift quite a bit - I was a gym rat from about age 12 to 30, then I just stopped. Anyway, I have gotten exceptionaly weak.

1st and foremost, all I want equipment wise is a small bench (no rack) with a set of those easy adjust dumbells.

So I was thinking mainly multigroup stuff, and doing one set to failure on each muscle group.

1 - a squat exercize
2 - a bench press exercize
3 - a rowing exercize
4 - crunches
5 - low back (already covered in squat?)

Think that’s good? Hit an exercize every 2 minutes?

Pullups
Dips
Deadlifts

2-3 sets each, cycled with little/no rest. You don’t need anything more complicated than that.

17

I would look into kettlebells, a light set, say 10-15lbs to learn and a heavier set 25-35 for maintenance. You should get proper instruction but you can do a pretty intense overall lifting routine in 30-40 minutes that covers everything you mentioned. You won’t get squat in 10–or maybe all you’ll get is squat in 10 depending on how you see it.
+1 Kettlebells are the shit. Dynamic movements, coordination and strength and you can blow yourself out in 10 minutes if you want to.

The definitive test for a kettlebeller is a 10 minute Snatch test…how many times can you snatch the weight in 10 mins.

18

For starters, before Dev and comany jump all over my back, weights, by and large, do not help triathlon performance. heavy quats will not help your IM bike leg.

Having said that, I want to start lifting for general fitness. I used to lift quite a bit - I was a gym rat from about age 12 to 30, then I just stopped. Anyway, I have gotten exceptionaly weak.

1st and foremost, all I want equipment wise is a small bench (no rack) with a set of those easy adjust dumbells.

So I was thinking mainly multigroup stuff, and doing one set to failure on each muscle group.

1 - a squat exercize
2 - a bench press exercize
3 - a rowing exercize
4 - crunches
5 - low back (already covered in squat?)

Think that’s good? Hit an exercize every 2 minutes?
2 Minutes for each exercise can be too much time. Back when I weightlifted for water polo, we would do circuits with 30 seconds for each exercise.
30s bench, rotate, 30s curls, rotate, 30s squats, etc. No rest, just keep going. 30s is more than enough time to get in a good number of reps.

I would save money on the equipment and do without, though. If you only plan on doing 10 minute workouts, weights and a bench aren’t worth it.
Do 25 push-ups, then 25-50 abs (crunches, leg lifts, windshield wipers, hip raises, etc. Just do something different each time). Keep going back and forth until the 10 minutes are up, with no rest. If you want to mix it up some more, throw in some lunges (side-to-side as well as front-to-back).
There are plenty of exercises you can do to hit the whole body without using weights or equipment. If you must have something, I would go for a pull-up bar.
For something as short as 10 minutes, just minimize your rest as much as possible.

19

If you give me an effecive 10-minute run routine, or effective 10-minute cycling routine, or effective 10-minute swim routine I think I can come up with an effective 10-minute weight routine. Cheers, Scott

Easy. 40 seconds flat out, 20 seconds active recovery (i.e. keep moving but as slowly as you want). Repeat 10 times. Or 1 minute flat out, 1 minute recovery x 5. Or a 10 minute above-tempo session - i.e. at or just above 5k pace for the run, 10k pace for the bike and 1500m pace for the swim.

Of course, I’m cheating slightly as I’m ignoring warm-up/warm-down, but so is Barry. Would you make any of these the standard workout around which you base Ironman training? Absolutely not, but they are a very effective usse of 10 minutes assuming you’re strong enough to do them without injuring yourself.

The single hardest workout I ever did was when I was rowing and the coach set us a session of 3 x 3’ intervals on the ergos, to be done as hard as we could with as much rest as we wanted in between. Whole crew did them at the same time and it got so competitive that after the 2nd interval we pleaded for mercy and the last interval got split into a 2’ and a 1’ . Bad move with hindsight as this just prolonged the agony. After the 4th interval we all went and collapsed on the river bank. Several people threw up. Nobody could speak for about 20 minutes. I had a headache for 2 hours and felt weak for the rest of the day. Not in any way recommending this for Ironman training or saying it’s good for you, just making the point that you can fit an awful lot of training load into 10 minutes…

20

1 - a squat exercize
2 - a bench press exercize
3 - a rowing exercize
4 - crunches
5 - low back (already covered in squat?)

In order

  1. Pull Ups to failure

  2. Push Ups to failure

  3. Dips to failure

  4. Incline Pushup with mountain climber (feet on bench, each time you go down bring a knee towards your elbow)

  5. 1 legged Squats/Lunge alternate (paying attention to your knees tracking a straight line.)

It’s not so much about strength for your legs but teaching your proprioceptors (muscle spindles, golgi tendon organs) the correct pattern to move in. Only go as low as your can without your knees kicking out to either side. Gradually get lower as your proprioceptors “learn” the movement. A nice anecdote to illustrate the benefit of teaching the proprioceptors the correct movement patterns is if you look at chinese divers. They learn the movements of the dive at a young age before they even step onto a diving board. Therefore when they dive their body’s move in the “learned” movement pattern.

No need for specific ab work as all of the above movements engage the core at all times.