Get in shape fast with these 20-minute corporate workouts

Burn fat and build muscle with these high-intensity interval training sessions from personal trainer Steve Watson. Requiring only 20 minutes (and probably a shower afterwards) three days a week, they are specifically designed for the busy office worker

by Steve Watson

Session One

Deadlift

Your feet – or base – should be around shoulder width apart and your arms grip the bar slightly wider than your knees. The knees should be flexed so you sitting with your torso over the bar and your back should be flat. To generate force; push through the heels of your feet to begin the lift and push your hips forward to extend the back and complete the lift.

Session One

Bench Press

Lay flat on the bench with your feet flat on the floor and tuck in slightly. Pinch your should blades together to raise the chest slightly and keep your elbows fairly tight to the torso as you lift, fully extending to the top of the movement.

Session One

Bicep curls

To avoid gaining unnecessary momentum from other muscles, keep your back and elbows against a flat surface whilst standing and lifting. From here simply flex and extend at the elbow joint to work the bicep.

Session Two

Squat

Stand with your feet an inch outside shoulder width apart, keep the chest up and head facing forwards, bracing your core. Sink down to just below 90 degrees at the knees, ensure you remain flat on your feet and keep the torso up. Push through the sole of your foot to generate force and drive the weight up until fully extended at the hip.

Session Two

Shoulder press

Straight up straight with feet shoulder width apart to form a supportive base. Grab the barbell an inch past shoulder width, keep your back straight and lift the weight towards the ceiling until your arms are fully extended. Control the weight back down to chin level.

Session Two

Skull-crushers

Lay flat on the bench (as you would bench press) and raise both dumbbells into the air so arms are fully extended. Allow the dumbbells to come down towards the face at a controlled speed so the tricep gets a full stretch. Once the elbows are flex just beyond 90 degrees, extend the arms out fully.

Session Three

Leg Press

Sit in the seated leg press ensure your back remains flat against the pad and does not arch. Allow the weight to come down until your knees are flexed at 90 degrees and extend back up to the top of the motion, pushing through the heels of your feet.

Session Three

Barbell row

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, keep the back straight and bend the torso forward 45 degrees. Control the weight so it fully extends down towards the floor, using an underhand grip and then pull the weight in towards the torso, keep the elbows close to the torso.

Session Three

Lateral Raises

The up straight holding the dumbbells down beside your torso. Raise the weights up to your side until they reach should height. Then lower the weight back down to your hips at a controlled speed.

Log your lifts

Tracking your results is essential for weight training. Note down all the weights you lifted in each routine as this will enable you to adjust the weight in preparation for future sessions. In order for a muscle to grow and strengthen, it must be progressively exposed to higher amounts of weight. This can only be achieved if you're able to know your performance from the previous session.

Once you've been able to successfully complete 10 reps and eight sets of an exercise at a certain weight, increase the weight by small increments: 2.5%-5% for that particular lift for the next sessions. This will also help you understand plateaus and determine when you should swap exercises. I'd recommend changing the exercises every two months, still focusing on working the entire body changing the exercise for a like-for-like. For example, try swapping the barbell row for a lat pulldown; bench press for an incline bench press, etc.

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Published: Tuesday 10th January 2017

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The workout

The training regime is initially split into three days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This allows the body a day’s rest to recover the muscles after the training session, which can initially be quite taxing. Each of these sessions are put together to form a well-rounded training programme, which hits the entire body through a means of compound lifting (multi-joint) and isolation exercises. The body is provided with both a solid strength foundation and the ability to fill a T-shirt in the right places.

Monday – Deadlift, Bench Press, and Bicep Curls
Wednesday – Squat, Shoulder Press, and Skull Crushers
Friday - Leg Press, Barbell Rows, and Lateral Raises

For a breakdown of each session, see the gallery above.

In order to reach the necessary intensity, you must complete 10 repetitions of each exercise. Then immediately move onto the next exercise, followed by the third exercise. Once all three are done, take a one minute rest and go again. Repeat for eight sets.

Use around 55% of your maximum lift for each exercise. For example, if you can lift 100kg on the bench press for one rep, begin by using around 55kg for all eight sets in this routine.

For more training tips or to contact Steve, visit stewatsonfitness.co.uk. Follow Steve on Instagram: instagram.com/ste_watson_fitness/

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