In This Series
The benefits
Do this workout for four weeks and you’ll have a muscular body that works as a strong, self-supporting unit rather than a mess of competing individuals. Your new body will be injury-proofed and ready for the next step in our 12-week plan, which will define and sculpt the muscle mass that you’ve gained.
The science
To add lean muscle mass to your body, this workout plan targets different planes of movement, fatiguing your muscles with real-world movements to make you stronger and fitter whatever you’re doing. Workouts 1 and 2 are arranged around horizontal push/pull and vertical push/pull movements, while workout 3 introduces diagonal and rotational movements to complete the picture.
The timing
Do workouts A, B and C once a week each, leaving at least a day's rest between them. To get the full effect of these workouts you should spend at least 40 seconds on each set, taking two seconds to lift the weight, pausing for one second at the top and then lowering it for another two to three seconds. Rest for one minute between sets and two to three minutes between each exercise.
Quick tips
Warm up withfive to ten minutes of cardio and a light set of the first two exercises.
Bend your knees slightly for the standing exercises to give you stability.
Use a smooth, continuous movement to complete the exercises.
If you find yourself doing the sets in less than 40 seconds, increase the weight.
Cool down with ten minutes of gentle cardio to process the lactic acid in your muscles.
