As a man, you can accomplish many things in just an hour a week, based on my observations as a graduate student in exercise physiology at the University of Oklahoma. Here’s what would not impress me: You watching any reality show with a number in its title. You doing chest bumps with your buddies during a pickup basketball game. You achieving your best score—ever!—on Guitar Hero.

What would impress me is you doing high-intensity intervals as your cardiovascular training. That means alternating between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less-intense activity or even complete rest. In fact, you can achieve more progress in a mere 15 minutes of interval training (done three times a week) than that guy grinding away on the treadmill for an hour. An intelligent man draws maximum benefit from a minimum time investment, and smarts are sexy. So are abs, a benefit of this training style. Researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales found that intervals burn three times as much fat as running twice as long at a moderately hard, steady pace.

But interval training’s benefits don’t end with heart health, fat incineration, or the preservation of that most precious of commodities, your time. Most sports worth playing involve stopping and starting, not running at one pace, so you’ll rule on the court or field. What’s more, your muscles will learn to contract more forcefully. Ultimately you’ll live longer, too, because intervals elevate the good cholesterol that makes your arteries whooshing streams and not plaque-strewn rapids.

How can stopping and starting during cardio do all that? Pretend you’re back (or still) in college, and I’m your hot new teaching assistant. Class is now in session, so pop the lid off your latte and listen up.

Lesson 1: When your muscles contract repeatedly during intense training, they quickly use all available energy. So your body searches for fat. While that’s going on, your body is quickly losing its ability to flush metabolic by-products from muscle. Ever heard of the burn? That’s a buildup of ammonia and other bad stuff. Along with burning, this waste interferes with your body’s ability to contract muscles forcefully. If you don’t learn to manage the burn properly, your workout is doomed.

Lesson 2: When repeated bouts of high-intensity intervals are separated by short rest periods, each bout begins with a lack of available energy, and muscles that are already fatigued. “Interval training stresses energy systems in the body that aren’t accustomed to being used,” says Jeramie Hinojosa, M.S., director of the East Texas Medical Center Olympic Center, in Tyler, Texas. “Blood supply to cells increases, the cells use oxygen more efficiently, and the enzymes that help create energy also increase. This improves fitness.” What’s more, recovery from interval training forces the body to continue burning fat for energy. This all leads to an increase in postworkout calorie burning.

Lesson 3: There are lots of ways to do intervals. Over time you can adjust your ratio between rest and work, change the intensity of your work segment, or alter the length of the entire session. The new interval program that my university colleagues and I have developed produces truly amazing results, and it’s perfect for people who don’t like endurance training. As part of an experiment to test the ability of a dietary supplement to flush metabolic waste products from muscle tissue, we put a group of active college students (36 men and 33 women) through 6 weeks of high-intensity interval training on the stationary bike. Instead of the usual 30-seconds-on, 30-seconds-off approach, we had the students pedal intensively for 2 minutes, rest completely for 1 minute, and then repeat that sequence four more times. That’s only 10 minutes of training! Even with the warmup and rest periods, they were looking at a 20-minute time investment.

[http://menshealth.com/run/all-about-intervals.php]

STANDING QUAD STRETCH

1. Standing with a shoulder width stance and hang onto an object for support. 
2. Bring one foot up behind you and reach behind to grab with your hand.
3. Pull your foot up towards your butt until you feel a stretch on the front of your thigh. 
4. Hold for 60 seconds and repeat with the other leg. 

HIP FLEXOR QUAD STRETCH

1. Step out 1-2 feet with one foot.
2. Slowly push pelvis downward and forward until stretch is felt in front of back thigh.
3. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Switch legs.
4. Remember to keep the low back straight.

DOWNWARD FACING DOG

1. Place the feet hip width apart and toes facing forward. Place the hands shoulder width apart and spread the fingers. Keep the tailbone lifted towards the sky and gently push down through the heels. Open the upper back by rotating the shoulder blades away from one another. 
2. Keep the shoulders away from the ears and press down firmly through all fingers and thumbs. Spread the fingers push down through index and thumbs. Place more weight onto the feet than the hands. 
3. Pull the navel towards the spine and lift the pelvic floor muscles. Drop the ribcage down towards the spine. Lift the kneecaps up and contract the quadricep muscles. 
4. Maintain in this pose for 5 to 10 deep breaths.

WIDE LEG UPWARD DOG

1. Begin by lying on the stomach on the floor. Place the hands behind the shoulders and bring the legs out to the side slightly wider than hip-width. 
2. Relax the buttocks and the legs. Inhale and push evenly down through the hands and lift the chest up towards the sky, gently arching the spine. Roll the shoulders back and down and away from the ears, look up towards the sky. 
3. Do not allow the lower back to collapse down towards the floor. Stay connected to the core musculature by pulling the navel in towards the spine and lifting the pelvic floor muscles. 
4. Keep the fingers and thumbs spread evenly pushing down through all four corners of the palms. Relax the buttocks and the legs. Lift the thighs and chins off the floor pushing down evenly through hands and through the tops of the feet. 
5. Do not allow the lower back to collapse and keep connected to the core. Stay here for 5 to 10 deep breaths.

If you are not very coordinated with a jump rope you can still jump without the rope or do jumping jacks, step ups, star jumps, or any other type of exercise that really revs up your heart rate. If you prefer you can also use any cardio machine and alternate between slow and fast speeds or easy and hard resistance.

Start WALKING

4 min. warm-up at moderate to fast pace

Next JUMP ROPE

Start with the jump rope in each hand.
Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under your feet. 
Continue jumping up and down as you bring the jump rope under your feet.

fat burning cardio tip:
4 minutes of  fat burning intervals – 8 rounds of 20 seconds jumping and 10 seconds recovery

Next RUN 

3 minutes moderte paced running

Next JUMP ROPE (FORWARD STRADDLE) 

Start with the jump rope in each hand. Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under your feet.  Continue jumping up and down as you bring the jump rope under your feet. While you are jumping split the feet so that one foot goes forward and the other foot goes backwards. Keep switching the feet back and forth.

fat burning cardio tip:
4 minutes of  fat burning intervals – 8 rounds of 20 seconds jumping and 10 seconds recovery

Next WALKING

3 min. warm-up at moderate to fast pace

Next JUMP ROPE (HALF TWIST)

Start with the jump rope in each hand. Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under your feet.  Continue jumping up and down as you bring the jump rope under your feet. When you are jumping shift your feet to the left side land and then shift over to the right side.

fat burning cardio tip:
4 minutes of  fat burning intervals – 8 rounds of 20 seconds jumping and 10 seconds recovery

Finally Finish with 8-10 mins of STRETCHING

• Beginners:  Choose 1 to 2 exercises for 1 to 2 sets of 12 to 16 reps, using light weights or none at all.
• Inter/Adv:  Choose an 3-4 exercises for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, resting between sets and using enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps.

Squats

Stand with feet hip- or shoulder-width apart. Hold medium to heavy dumbbells in each hand just outside the thighs or with arms bent above the shoulders. Bend the knees and lower into a squat. Stop when your knees are at 90-degree angles OR before you lose the natural arch of your back. Contract the glutes and legs while stabilizing your body with a strong torso. Slowly stand back up without locking the knees and repeat for 1-3 sets of 10-16 repetitions. Always keep the knees in line with the toes!

Pile Squat

Begin in a wide stance with toes out at a comfortable angle. Your knees will need to stay alined with your toes, so don’t go out too far. To add weight you can hold dumbbells on the upper thighs, a single dumbbell in front or a barbell on the shoulders or behind the head. Bend the knees and lower down into a squat, keeping knees in line with toes, abs contracted and back straight. Only go down as low as you can without compromising your flexibility or your balance. Push back to start without locking the knees.

Hip Extension

On hands and knees, keep the abs tight as you lift one leg up, knee at a 90-degree angle throughout the movement. Keep lifting the leg until the bottom of the foot faces the ceiling and the hip, thigh and knee are all in alignment and parallel to the floor. Don’t arch the back and keep the neck straight. Lower back down and repeat for all reps before switching sides. Add ankle weights for more intensity or, hold a light dumbbell behind the knee.

Static Lunges

Stand in a split stance, with feet about 3 feet apart. You want both knees to be at about 90-degree angles at the bottom of the movement, so adjust accordingly. Hold weights in each hand (or place a barbell behind the neck) for added intensity. Bend the knees and lower the back knee toward the floor, keeping the front heel down and the knee directly over the center of the foot. Keep the torso straight and abs in as you push through the front heel and back to starting position. Don’t lock the knees at the top of the movement.

One-Legged Press

Sit on the ball and slowly roll down the ball, walking your feet forward until you’re sitting at an incline, knees bent. Place a paper plate or glider under your left heel and straighten that leg straight out in front of you, right knee bent. Push through the heel of your right foot to push up on the ball (as in a leg press). As you press up, drag that left heel on the floor, pressing into the paper plate as much as you can.

Deadlift with Dumbbells

Stand with feet about hip-distance apart and hold weights in front of thighs. Keeping the shoulders back, abs in and the back straight, tip from the hips and lower the weights towards the floor. Lower as far as your flexibility allows. You can bend the knees slightly if you need to. Push into the heel to go back to starting position.

Hamstring Rolls

Lie down on the floor and place both heels on the exercise ball. Lift the hips up so that your body is in a straight line from head to toes. Press the heels into the ball to roll the ball in, contracting the hamstrings. Keep the feet flexed. Roll the ball back out, keeping the hips lifted.

• Using manual program, enter workout time as 30 minutes and choose appropriate level
• 6 Minutes: Set ramps (if option) and resistance levels at medium level. PE=5
• 2 Minutes: Set ramps at highest level and increase resistance every 30 seconds. PE=6-8
• 2 Minutes: Lower ramps and resistance to comfortable level. PE=5
• 6 minutes: Set ramps and resistance to medium and go backwards. PE=5-6
• Repeat entire cycle for remaining time
• Calories Burned: 250-300 (based on 140 lb person)

Perceived Exertion Scale

• Level 1: I’m watching TV and eating bon bons
• Level 2: I’m comfortable and could maintain this pace all day long
• Level 3: I’m still comfortable, but am breathing a bit harder
• Level 4: I’m sweating a little, but feel good and can carry on a conversation effortlessly
• Level 5: I’m just above comfortable, am sweating more and can still talk easily
• Level 6: I can still talk, but am slightly breathless
• Level 7: I can still talk, but I don’t really want to. I’m sweating like a pig
• Level 8: I can grunt in response to your questions and can only keep this pace for a short time period
• Level 9: I am probably going to die
• Level 10: I am dead

For this exercise, warm up with 5-10 minutes of light cardio and keep track of your Perceived Exertion (see below) or monitor your heart rate. End with a cool down and stretch. On the Treadmill:

• Start with incline at zero and speed at a comfortable pace (walking or jogging). Perceived Exertion (PE)=Level 5 
• 1 Minute: Raise incline one or more percent every 15 seconds. PE=5-6
• 1 Minute: Reduce the incline one percent every fifteen seconds. PE=6-7
• 3 Minutes: Walk or jog at a steady pace. PE=5
• Repeat entire cycle for 30 or more minutes
• Approximate calories burned: 320(based on 140 lb person)

Perceived Exertion Scale

• Level 1: I’m watching TV and eating bon bons
• Level 2: I’m comfortable and could maintain this pace all day long
• Level 3: I’m still comfortable, but am breathing a bit harder
• Level 4: I’m sweating a little, but feel good and can carry on a conversation effortlessly
• Level 5: I’m just above comfortable, am sweating more and can still talk easily
• Level 6: I can still talk, but am slightly breathless
• Level 7: I can still talk, but I don’t really want to. I’m sweating like a pig
• Level 8: I can grunt in response to your questions and can only keep this pace for a short time period
• Level 9: I am probably going to die
• Level 10: I am dead

Make sure you focus on form and full range of motion. Every work out 2 sets 8-10 reps until form is mastered.

Crunches

Starting Position
Lie on the floor or a mat on your back, with knees bent and hands behind head. Feet should be flat on the ground. Keep a space between your chin and chest (looking diagonal towards the ceiling).
Action
EXHALE: Raise your chest until your shoulder blades lift off the floor.

INHALE: Slowly lower back to floor.
Special Instructions
Don’t use your hands and arms to help lift you up – use abdominals and hips.

Muscles Worked: Abs

Plank
Starting Position
Begin by lying on your stomach with palms on the floor next to your shoulders, feet and legs together, toes down.
Action
Lift your body up so that your arms are straight (palms below shoulders) and weight is balanced evenly between hands and toes, keeping body as straight as possible. Hold for 30 seconds and work up to 1-3 minutes.
Special Instructions
Don’t let your hips drop or rise, and be sure not to shift weight to one arm. Remember to breathe.

Muscles Worked:
Reverse Crunch
Starting Position
Lie on the floor or a mat on your back, with knees bent and hands behind head. Lift legs and bend knees to 90 degrees. Keep a space between your chin and chest (looking diagonal towards the ceiling).
Action
EXHALE: Pull knees in toward chest and hold for 2 seconds.

INHALE: Slowly lower legs back to starting position.
Special Instructions
Don’t use your momentum to swing your legs up. Try to keep the motion controlled by your abs.

Muscles Worked: Abs

Not a lot.

They are both compound exercises that work the upper body. Basically, the difference lies in the grip. A chin up uses a narrow grip with your palms facing towards you. A pull up is typically a wider grip with palms facing away from you. So which is best?

They both have their advantages. They work similar muscle groups, just in slightly different ways. You should use both varieties throughout the year.

If all you want is to do as many repetitions as you can, then by far the strongest grip is neither. The ‘hammer’ or neutral grip is in fact the strongest. This is where the palms are facing each other – usually about 15cm apart.

Do one pull/chin variety until your body starts to adapt, then change. Once you get used to, or sick of, all three then you can start changing other variables: tempo of the lift, angle, width of grip, repetitions, sets, total volume etc.

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