>Carolyn, that sounds interesting. I haven't heard of this
>method before. Sounds time efficient too. How long does your
>DH's workout end up being each day? I am going to check out
>the book that Kathryn recommended. Also, if you have a chance
>would you mind sharing the exercises that he does or recommend
>a website or book that he uses to design his workouts?
>
>Karin
Hi Karin-
This is Jason, Carolyn's DH.
I structure my workouts in an ABCD pattern, with the D being a rest day. I divide what I do into major movements, and I only work single joint or "isolation" movements when I'm rehabbing something or as an "assistance" exercise. The focus is always on multiple joint, compound lifts.
The major patterns I use are:
upper body horizontal press (eg pushups, bench press, tricep dip)
upper body vertical press (eg military press)
upper body horizontal pull (rowing variations)
upper body vertical pull (chinup/pullup, pullovers, etc)
Lower body knee dominant exercise (variations of squats)
lower body hip dominant exercise (deadlift variations)
Rotation (this is my only "core" thing - like medicine ball chop/lift)
So an "A" workout would be:
UB horiz press
UB vert pull
knee dominant exercises (1 or 2)
rotation or assistance exercise
A "B" workout would be:
UB horiz pull
UB vert press
hip dominant exercises (1 or 2)
rotation or assistance exercise
A "C" workout is cardio - usually a run for me, no more than 20-30 min
Breaking the body into movement patterns makes sense and is based on a kinesiological movement theory that's about 30 years old - can't remember off the top of my head who thought it up. Many authors and fitness experts use it also, but the concept is pretty old (by fitness standards anyway).
Workout length: I have a thin build, so I need to be careful about having workouts that are too long or doing too much cardio. Workouts A and B are about an hour each.
Does that help?
--Jason