A Better Body in 5 Minutes


When your workout stops working, start here




By: Alwyn Cosgrove, Photographs by: Beth Bischoff & Mark Hanauer













No
matter what kind of workout you do now, I can show you how to make it
better. And all I need from you? An extra 5 minutes. Simply choose one
of the bonus muscle builders that follow, and tack it on to the end of
your current routine. It won't take long, and it'll yield great
dividends, allowing you to customize your training to achieve almost
any goal. Whether you want to build bigger arms, sculpt a rock-solid core, or eliminate back pain, it's just 5 minutes away.




Start today and you'll instantly improve your workout. Your body will soon follow.















Build Sleeve-Busting Arms
You
can accomplish a lot in 5 minutes, and this arm-building routine is
proof. To do this workout, simply pick any two exercises that target
your arms: one for your biceps and another for your triceps. As an
example, you might choose the EZ-curl-bar curl (biceps) and the dip
(triceps). For either, select the heaviest weight that allows you to
complete eight to 10 repetitions, and then alternate between the
exercises, doing sets of five or six repetitions without resting. It's
not uncommon to do four or five sets of each. And this means you'll be
logging a total of eight to 10 sets of challenging arm work in just 5
minutes.















Perfect Your Posture

Sitting
hunched over a keyboard for 10 hours a day trains your muscles and
connective tissues to adapt to that position, adding a hunch to your
posture. But you can unravel your slump with an exercise called the
prone cobra, which helps counteract the damage of your daily grind.




How to do it: Lie facedown on the floor and rest
your arms at your sides, palms down. Contract the muscles in your
glutes and lower back to raise your upper torso and legs off the floor.
At the same time, rotate your arms outward till your thumbs point
toward the ceiling. Hold this position for 60 seconds, rest for 60
seconds, then repeat two more times, for a total of three sets.



















Banish Back Pain

"Lower-back
problems often stem from tight gluteal muscles," says Nate Green, a
personal trainer in Whitefish, Montana. His solution: a foam roll ($23
at performbetter.com).
"Your muscle tissue is like a rubber band. If it has a bunch of knots
in it, you won't be able to stretch it very far," says Green. By using
a foam roll to alleviate these knots, you'll make your muscles more
pliable--and quickly relieve back pain.




How to do it: Sit on a foam roll on the floor, with your feet up and
your hands on the floor for balance. Now slowly roll your butt over it,
stopping on the tenderest spots (these are knots) for 20 to 30 seconds
or until the pain subsides.



















Pump Up Your Pecs

This
workout is designed to trigger a growth spurt by maintaining tension on
your chest muscles for a full 5 minutes. Make sure to use a
timer---you'll need to know when to stop.




How to do it: Set an incline bench to a 30-degree angle and grab a
pair of dumbbells, choosing the heaviest weights that allow you to
complete 10 repetitions of the dumbbell incline fly (described below).
You'll use this weight for both exercises 1 and 2. Do the moves in the
order shown, following the step-by-step instructions for each.















Exercise 1: Dumbbell Incline Fly

Hold
the weights above your chest, with your arms slightly bent. Without
changing the bend in your elbows, lower the weights out to your sides.
Reverse the motion to return to the start.

Do one set of eight reps.

Don't release the weights; hold them straight above your chest, and rest for 15 seconds in that position.

Do as many more repetitions as you can.

Rest for 15 seconds, then move on to exercise 2.



















Exercise 2: Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Hold
the weights above your chest with your arms straight. Bend your elbows
to lower the weights to the sides of your chest. Pause, then push the
weights up.





Do as many repetitions as you can.





Rest for 15 seconds with the weights held above you.





Do as many more repetitions as you can.





Rest for 15 seconds, then set the weights down and move on to exercise 3.

















Exercise 3: Wide-grip Pushup

Get into pushup position, but with your hands placed about twice shoulder-width apart.





Do as many pushups as you can.





Rest for 15 seconds and keep repeating until your 5 minutes are up.

















Bench More, Save Your Shoulders
"One
of the keys to both a bigger bench press and better shoulder health is
the ability to stabilize your shoulder blades," says Bill Hartman,
P.T., C.S.C.S., a physical therapist in Indianapolis. The reason: When
you're able to squeeze your shoulder blades down and together--and hold
them that way while you bench-press--you create a more stable surface
from which to push the bar. This allows you to lift heavier weights
while reducing the stress on your shoulder joints. Do the two exercises
that follow in the order shown. Hold each movement for 10 seconds, rest
for 10 seconds, then repeat until you can't maintain a 10-second hold.
As you improve, increase your hold time.















Hanging Scapular Retraction
How to do it:
Grab a pullup bar with an overhand grip, hands just beyond
shoulder-width apart, and hang at arm's length. Without bending your
elbows, squeeze your shoulder blades down and together. (Your body will
rise slightly.) Hold, then rest by relaxing your muscles without
letting go of the bar.



















Serratus Dip
How to do it:
Grab the bars of a dip station and lift your body until your arms are
completely straight. Without bending your elbows, press your shoulders
down as you push your torso up. Hold, then relax your muscles, which
will cause your torso to lower relative to your shoulders -- as if you
were shrugging them.



















The 5-Minute Six-Pack
If
you do only crunches, you're shortchanging your abs. Why? Because in
addition to flexing your trunk -- as you do in a crunch -- your core
muscles also allow you to flex your hips, rotate your body, and
stabilize your spine. So for the best results, you need to target each
of these functions. To hit them all in about 5 minutes, do one set of
each exercise below in the order shown, with no rest between.















Plank
Assume
a pushup position, but place your forearms on the floor. Brace your abs
as if you were about to be punched in the gut, and hold for 30 seconds.



















Side Plank
Lie
on your left side and prop your upper body up on your left elbow and
forearm. Then raise your hips until your body forms a straight line
from shoulders to ankles. Brace your abs for 30 seconds. Then repeat on
your right side.



















Swiss-Ball Crunch
Lie
on your back on a Swiss ball so that your hips and your lower and upper
back rest on the ball. With your fingers placed behind your ears, raise
your torso as high as you can by crunching your chest toward your hips,
then return to the starting position. Do 15 reps.



















Reverse Crunch
Lie
on your back on the floor, with your knees slightly bent. Raise your
knees to your chest by lifting your hips up and in. Lower your legs to
the starting position. Do 15 repetitions.



















Cable Woodchopper
With
your right side toward the weight stack of a cable station, grab the
rope handle of a high pulley with both hands. Pull the rope down and
across your body until your hands are just outside your left knee.
Reverse the move to return to the start. Do 15 reps, then face the
opposite direction and do 15 more.



















Reverse Cable Woodchopper
Now
attach the rope handle to the low-pulley cable . Bend over and grab the
rope with both hands, your arms nearly straight and just outside your
right knee. Pull the rope up and across your body until your hands are
in line with your left ear. Reverse the movement. Do 15 repetitions,
then face the opposite direction and do 15 more.










































































































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