“When it comes to strength training, the truth is that less is more,” says Annie Culotta, fitness manager and personal trainer at 24 Hour Fitness in Hermosa Beach, California.
In Culotta’s view, instead of bolting on an ever-more-complex array of new exercises and fancy fitness trends onto your training program in the quest for better results, you can instead make a huge difference by simply going back to basics: That is, smart exercise selection performed in the most effective, efficient order possible.
“The following is an upper-body workout consisting of six of the most effective movements you’ll find in a gym, in order from the hardest to the easiest exercises targeting the chest, back, delts, triceps and biceps,” she explains. “You start with barbells, then go to dumbbells, and finish with machine exercises.”
By doing compound barbell exercises first — which involve several muscle groups versus isolation moves — you can hit the weights while you’re fresh and your muscles aren’t already fatigued. “That means you can perform these harder exercises more effectively and without a higher risk of injury,” Culotta adds.
Less complications, less risk, less time in the gym, all with the potential to add up to more results? That’s a “less is more” approach we can all appreciate.
The Results in 1-2-3 Upper-Body Workout
Use a light weight for the first set of the incline press as a warm-up, then add enough weight to the bar to reach muscle fatigue within eight to 10 reps for subsequent sets. Rest one to two minutes between your sets of incline bench presses and bent-over rows, 60 to 90 seconds between sets for each of the dumbbell exercises, and 30 to 60 seconds between sets of the machine moves.
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