A sample workout routine for busy people

Running a business is hard, and running 2 businesses is harder.

I have been doing this for a while, and while it is hard, it has been nothing less than a pleasure which keeps me high all the time :)

While the business happens, I make sure that I don’t miss my workouts, either in the form of HIIT at home or in the gym.

I was out of the gym for almost 6 months in 2017, and that got me thinking - "how do busy people stay fit". I started coming up with my own workout routines to make the most of whatever time I was getting.

As the new year of 2018 struck, I started hitting the gym again, at least 3-4 times a week.

This was unusual for me, because before the break I used to go to the gym everyday and worked out for anywhere between 1 to 2 hrs regularly.

But now, as the number of days came down, I was in a desperate need to make the most of it and do something other than my typical body parts based workouts which included things like Chest day, Back day, Leg day and Arms day

Instead of continuing the same routine, I started with full body workouts.

I had done full body workouts in the past as well but I had failed miserably, because I used to do too much without any kind of regulation.

To give a small example, earlier I would do Pull ups, Push ups, squats, deadlifts, military press, bench press, rows, arms isolation work and abd on the same day, everyday. This burnt me out sooner than later.

Now I have a much wiser and smarter approach to full body workouts. I have come to understand the full body workout doesn’t mean working on each and every body part individually, it rather means choosing a set of compound exercises and distributing them throughout the week.

My current full body workout routines look like this -

Day 1

• Pull Ups - 3-4 sets * 8 repetitions
• Pushup - 3-4 sets * 15 repeitions
• Squats 3*5 or 5*5 depending on how much time I have
• Military press or OHP for volume 3*10-12 superset with Barbell Rows 3*10-12
• Some core and HIIT work

• Pull Ups - 3-4 sets * 8 repetitions
• Pushup - 3-4 sets * 15 repeitions
• Power/Hang cleans with front squat - 3*5
• DB Shoulder Press 3*10-12 with any form of Rows 3*10-12
• Some core and HIIT work

• Pull Ups - 3-4 sets * 8 repetitions
• Pushup - 3-4 sets * 15 repeitions
• Push Press - 3*5
• Deadlift - 3*3

Arms isolation once in a while at the end (things like parallel bar dips, chinups, barbell curls and pushdowns) along with some core and HIIT work at the end.

If I have a 4th day to spare, I will mix and match some exercises from the above list or I will do isolation exercises, or try to learn new skills such as snatch, muscle up or athletic movements which involve explosive strength like jump squats, burpees, sprints etc

I do add weights in my pushup and pullups when required.

This workout routine takes me through the week just fine, keeps me energetic and keeps my metabolism up. It also gives me the leverage of eating more food and having fund every not and then.

Try this and let me know how you feel with this routine in the comments.