c. For people with very little time in which to train, ultra-abbreviated rou-
tines are perfect. With little training time so much strength and growth
can be stimulated.
d. For people who want to try the epitome of abbreviated training for the
pure sake of it. Do this at least once in your training career, even if you
are never forced to by circumstances. Choose three of your favorite
major exercises and devote at least a few months to gaining as much
as you can in them. en you may find the gains so startling that you
regularly repeat such a tight focus, but not necessarily using the same
exercises each time.. In all four applications, exercise focus is taken to an extreme, and the
demands on the recuperative abilities pared back to a minimum. e time
commitment for training is also greatly reduced relative to regular abbrevi-
ated training (which is already much briefer, more practical, and more effec-
tive than conventional routines). While ultra-abbreviated routines can be
used for maintaining overall strength when training time is very short, they
are wonderful for making terrific gains when time is at a premium. A very
busy life should never preclude good gains in size and strength, so long as
you know what you are doing.. e gains that can be made from specializing on only two or three exercises
does not just benefit those exercises. Get yourself bigger and stronger in two
or three big exercises and you will increase your ability in other exercises.
ere is a crossover effect from one set of exercises to another, though it
may not manifest itself until after a short period of getting to grips with the
grooves of the other exercises.. Here is one example of a super-abbreviated program:
Day one
General warmup
a. Squat
b. Bench press or parallel bar dip
c. Overhead press
Cool down
Day two
General warmup
a. Stiff-legged deadlift