BY STEVEN STIEFEL & STEVE ZIM
WE UNDERSTAND: You’re a busy guy who’s always on the go, but the good news is, every guy can find time to do MaxFit’s 30-minute workout four times a week for 10 weeks. It may not sound like a lot of training time, but we’re willing to bet that you’ll get better results from our program than from your current efforts.
For each half-hour workout, you’ll alternate between two minutes of cardiovascular activity and one minute of weight training. During the course of a workout, you’ll perform 10 sets of resistance training in just 20 minutes. This will keep you in constant motion and elevate your heart rate. You’ll burn body fat while forcing your target muscles to go to their limits during the one-minute weight sets that you’ve selected for each body part. In effect, cardio will make the resistance-training stimulate more muscle growth, while the resistance sets will allow you to burn more calories during the cardio sets. It’s a classic win-win if you ask us!
LEG PRESS
TARGETS Quads
SETUP Sit in a leg press machine, maintaining the natural curve in your lower back throughout the set. Place your feet on the platform, extend the legs (don’t lock out) and release the safety.
ACTION Lower your legs as much as possible without altering your lower-back position (often, this is a fairly small range of motion). Press the weights back to the starting position, but avoid locking your knee joints at the top of the rep.
LEG CURL
TARGETS Hamstrings
SETUP Lie on a leg curl machine with the back of your lower legs, generally in the area of the Achiles, in contact with the roller pads (not shown).
ACTION Pull the weights up toward your glutes, maintaining a natural curve in your lower back and using the power of your hamstrings. To avoid injuring your lower back, do not jerk the weight upward or use momentum. Lower the weights deliberately, feeling the stretch in your hamstrings.
HACK SQUAT
TARGETS Quads
SETUP Position yourself in a hack squat machine with your shoulders in contact with the pads. Place your feet on the foot plate so that your knees won’t drift past the front of your toes when you drop into the bottom position.
ACTION Release the safety catch, then lower your body in a smooth, controlled motion until your thighs and lower legs form an angle of 90-degrees, or slightly more. Press back up, feeling the contraction in your quads.
INCLINE BARBELL PRESS
TARGETS Upper Pecs
SETUP Lie on a bench and hold a barbell with your hands a little wider than shoulder width apart.
ACTION Keeping the upper arms perpendicular to your torso, lower the bar until you reach a point just short of touching your upper pecs. Keeping your shoulders back, press the weight up. Maintain the natural curve in your lower back and keep your head, shoulders and butt in contact with the bench throughout the set.
