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15-20 minute workout to make me superhero strong

post #1 of 32
6/2/08 at 3:27am
Thread Starter 
ok, well not superherostrong.....but stronger than now anyhow. As it stands, I am in the gym 3-4 times a week either boxing or doing BJJ, but don't really want to up my time commitment all that much, but would like to increase my strength somewhat. I hate lifting, so the less time I am there, the better. So then can anyone recommend a few major muscle group exercises, and suggest ways to spread them across the week. I am planning on doing some lifting after boxing or after BJJ, so this means I will already be warmed up and stretched out, and no need to add in extra cardio component. Current weekly calendar looks like this.... Mon night - BJJ Tues night - boxing class Wed - boxing personal trainer (but I have to come back to the office after that, so not a lot of free time there) Thurs night - boxing class Sat - BJJ It is safe to say I will miss one class a week when work or social life or some combination of those intervenes, but I can probably make that up somewhere else...I go swimming there on Sundays, can catch up if need be. Suggestions? Matt
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post #2 of 32
6/2/08 at 3:40am
power lifts - clean and jerk, squat, one armed snatches, etc. You can do them every day because the rep load is low enough. There's a reason most professional fighters train powerlifts.
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post #3 of 32
6/2/08 at 3:43am
since I can reply, time zone wise - I will give you your first answer, maybe not the best one, but the first. this is a good start


1. incline barbell bench press
2. squat
3. deadlift
4. lat pulldown/pullup
5. jerk and press

doing 8 reps of 3 sets of the above, with very little or no rest in between, can be a very good strength workout in very little time. to some extent, the trick is to have the set up so that you don't have to set up each exersize before you work - if you have access to enough equipment to set up each exersize and keep circulating, then you can do this pretty quickly.
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post #4 of 32
6/2/08 at 5:28am
Stick to compound movements. A decent 3 day split would look like this:

Day 1: Bench and dips
Day 2: Power clean and pull ups
Day 3: Two variations - Squats and Romanian deadlifts or Deadlifts and some sort of unilateral leg exercise (e.g. lunges, reverse lunges, Bulgarian split squat).

Go hard and heavy, something like 5x5 for each exercise. If you keep your rests between 60-90 seconds between sets, you should be out of there in under 20 minutes.
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post #5 of 32
6/2/08 at 3:12pm
I definitely agree with all the above posts. Olympic lifts such as the clean and jerk and the deadlifts are you best bet to increasing your size and overall strength. If you'd like to better your boxing strength perhaps, I think that putting an emphasis on strengthening and conditioning your back and legs would be an enormous advantage.
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post #6 of 32
6/2/08 at 3:28pm
Kettlebells will make you tow-truck strong with the stripped-down looks of a racer.
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post #7 of 32
6/2/08 at 3:38pm
Google up the squats and milk routine. It's an entire routine base around a single set of 20 rep squats with one or two additional lifts. Haven't tried it myself, but I was planning on giving it a whirl this weekend. Squats are the best thing you can do imo.
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post #8 of 32
6/2/08 at 3:54pm
If you practice boxing and BJJ, I think you want to improve your anaerobic conditioning rather than getting big. I read somewhere that Royce Gracie does circuit training sets in which he will do a certain lift for 10-12 reps, followed immediately by a different lift for 10-12 reps, followed immediately by a third lift for 10-12 reps, followed by rest.
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post #9 of 32
6/2/08 at 4:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser View Post
If you practice boxing and BJJ, I think you want to improve your anaerobic conditioning rather than getting big. I read somewhere that Royce Gracie does circuit training sets in which he will do a certain lift for 10-12 reps, followed immediately by a different lift for 10-12 reps, followed immediately by a third lift for 10-12 reps, followed by rest.
I've been boxing recreationally for several years now but I also spar against very serious amateur boxers, some of whom have gone on to Regionals/Nationals in both Golden Gloves and USA boxing. Here's my experience: I found I received plenty of anaerobic conditioning from heavy bag work. What helped me out a lot was working on increasing my explosiveness through compound/olympic lifts and working on maximal strength with low reps. Doing high volume lifts would induce hypertrophy which for many boxers (though not me since I was a super heavyweight), would begin to become problematic if they moved too far out of their weight class. The Gracie routine you described sounds a lot like Complexes, which is great for conditioning and weight loss but not so much for maximum strength gain.
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post #10 of 32
6/2/08 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser View Post
If you practice boxing and BJJ, I think you want to improve your anaerobic conditioning rather than getting big. I read somewhere that Royce Gracie does circuit training sets in which he will do a certain lift for 10-12 reps, followed immediately by a different lift for 10-12 reps, followed immediately by a third lift for 10-12 reps, followed by rest.

Yeah but Royce is pretty much garbage on a world standard, not to mention he's on Nandrolone.

edit: not to say that the circuit approach isn't good, it's very valuable for fighters, I'm just saying that whether Royce Gracie does something or not is a very bad reason to do or not do it.
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post #11 of 32
6/2/08 at 10:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by m@T View Post
I hate lifting, so the less time I am there, the better.

So then can anyone recommend a few major muscle group exercises, and suggest ways to spread them across the week.

I am planning on doing some lifting after boxing or after BJJ, so this means I will already be warmed up and stretched out, and no need to add in extra cardio component.

Matt, would you have access to free weights and power racks at or nearby the facilities where you train BJJ and boxing? Moving around in SG, especially during rush hours, is a bitch, so you need to take that into consideration as well.


I agree with other posters that at this point you probably should focus strictly on powerlifts and compound work. Good technique is vital for these exercises, so if you can, get a professional trainer who can walk you through the progression is most recommended (here I assume you haven't had much experience doing cleans, deadlifts etc.). Finding one good enough there, however, might be a little difficult - back around Christmas when I did cleans and snatches at a small gym in HN people thought I was crazy.

If that's the case, look around, see if there are bigger dudes in your gym who are into compound stuff and ask for a few pointers. Do a few sets of each just to get a feel, then go online and read up on proper forms.

Some good resources off the top of my head:

(Free stuff)

Dan John's e-book "From the Ground Up" - the best IMO
http://danjohn.org/book.html (first link)

A comprehensive exercise guide
http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html (see "Power Training Exercises" on the left column, "Powerlifting Programs" and "Olympic Weightlifting on the right)

(The not so free)

Mark Rippetoe's's books:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...ark%20Rippetoe

If I have to choose, I'd probably get "Starting Strength".
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post #12 of 32
6/2/08 at 11:11pm
here's a suggestion-make the time.

you're committed to getting bigger and stronger, but only 15-20 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week stronger/committed?

i don't get it. i run a business and have a wife and 3 kids and i get to the gym at least 5 times a week, 40 mins to an hour plus, no matter what. what's more important than your overall health and fitness?
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post #13 of 32
6/2/08 at 11:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whacked View Post
Matt, would you have access to free weights and power racks at or nearby the facilities where you train BJJ and boxing? Moving around in SG, especially during rush hours, is a bitch, so you need to take that into consideration as well.

I agree with other posters that at this point you probably should focus strictly on powerlifts and compound work. Good technique is vital for these exercises

Thanks Son - the gym I box and do BJJ at is probably the best equipped place in the country - well...with the exception of California Wow I guess, but that place is kinda sickening. My gym (Star) has everything and is run by an American guy called Steve who will be more than able to help with technique. I'll bail him up next time I am in there and go through some of the suggestions in this thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thekunk07 View Post
here's a suggestion-make the time.

you're committed to getting bigger and stronger, but only 15-20 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week stronger/committed?

i don't get it. i run a business and have a wife and 3 kids and i get to the gym at least 5 times a week, 40 mins to an hour plus, no matter what. what's more important than your overall health and fitness?

I am also in the gym 4-5 times a week for over an hour boxing and doing BJJ, just looking for some add ons.

BTW - always seems to me that the people in the gym for an 'hour plus' do more standin' n chattin' than liftin'. YMMV.

Anyhow, not looking to become a finely sculpted manmachine, just - as most of the people upthread spotted - working a few major muscle groups for general strength improvements...mostly to help with the boxing and BJJ.
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post #14 of 32
6/3/08 at 1:20am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by globetrotter View Post
since I can reply, time zone wise - I will give you your first answer, maybe not the best one, but the first. this is a good start


1. incline barbell bench press
2. squat
3. deadlift
4. lat pulldown/pullup
5. jerk and press

doing 8 reps of 3 sets of the above, with very little or no rest in between, can be a very good strength workout in very little time. to some extent, the trick is to have the set up so that you don't have to set up each exersize before you work - if you have access to enough equipment to set up each exersize and keep circulating, then you can do this pretty quickly.
hmm - just reading over the thread again, I think this plus some ab work would be a decent way to go.

Thinking of doing the presses and pulldowns on BJJ days, and the squats/deadlifts and ab work on boxing days (since boxing harder on the upper body, and BJJ harder on the core)

2-3 exercises per session, in 8x3 sets, would that seem to make sense?
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post #15 of 32
6/3/08 at 1:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by m@T View Post
2-3 exercises per session, in 8x3 sets, would that seem to make sense?

Not really. 6-12 reps each set at 80% 1RM is about the optimum range for hypertrophy (size) gains. Something like 5 sets, 5 reps each (5x5) at 90-95% 1RM would be best for strength gain.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wiggy1.htm
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