If I was short on time, here's exactly I would do each week.

What’re the main reasons people don’t adhere to a program?
Generally, it’s either
- They haven’t aligned their true goals to what they actually desire. Their “why” or “why not” isn’t strong enough
- They don’t have time (or don’t prioritise their time appropriately)
- The friction point of getting ready, training for an hour and then showering is too much to handle, so they just avoid it.
Sound familiar?
We get it. We don’t expect everyone to LOVE training like we do, so here’s what I would do if I was short on time.
It’s a simple program that incorporates the most important, fundamental & compound movements so that you get bang for your buck in regards to effectiveness & efficiency.
Basic-compound lifts are the most effective and efficient due to the fact that they are:
- Basic: meaning there’s less complexity and can therefore be “loaded up” to achieve a high relative intensity (where the magic happens).
Too often we see people trying to “confuse” their muscles with highly skilled movements, resulting in nothing more than confusing your brain and leaving you result-less. - Compound: meaning large or multi-joint, requiring a lot of processes to work and therefore becomes metabolically expensive (which is a good thing if you’re trying to burn fat). Compound movements are generally (should be) performed through a large range of motion so that you can get the benefits of the structural change in the soft tissue (muscles and tendons)
Whilst it sounds like a bad thing, we need the destruction of soft tissue in order to create any long term changes within our bodies.
If all we are doing is “getting a pump or burn”, it might feel good, but acute hormonal changes do diddly-squat for our long term results.
Here’s what to do.
- Pick compound movements across the major planes of motion (squat, press, pull, hinge)
- Pick 2 rep schemes that will promote separate adaptions from opposite ends of the strength and conditioning continuum so you get broad results.
(i.e sets of 3 and sets of 10+) to ensure you’re getting strength and muscular endurance.
[too many people only spend time in the muscular endurance end of the spectrum and lack CNS drive]
- For the 3 reps, complete 3 reps every minute on the minute (EMOM) x 5 rounds (15 total reps in 5 minutes)
- For the 10 reps, complete 10 reps every 90 seconds x 5 rounds (50 reps in 7:30)
- I.e. the 3 rep day will = 4 x 5 min blocks (20 mins) + rest time between sets / movements
The 10 rep day will = 4 x 7:30 blocks (30 minutes) + rest time between sets / movements - Use a few warm-up sets at lower intensities before starting each movement to find your weight for the 5 working sets (i.e. use 3-4 warm-up sets to find your starting weight)
- Ensure you can complete all 5 sets at that weight (ie. no changing weights during the sets)
- The weight you choose for that day should be challenging after the 5 sets.
I.e. after the 5th set of 3 reps, you should feel like a 7-9/ 10 in regards to RPE. - Each time you complete that day again, add a small bit of weight (progressive overload)
- Make sure you’re prioritising range of motion and controlling each rep with tempo (you may need to use regressions to make this happen)

If for any reason you can’t complete that number of reps, regress to a movement or intensity you can.
E.g. for pull ups you could complete 10 ring rows E90sec or you could use a band or you could just do what you can every 90 seconds and that is fine as well.
If you want to get creative, you can definitely play around with variations of that movement
E.g. Day 1 + 2 = back squats and day 3+4 = front squats
Bench press + strict press
RDL + conventional
Pull Up + Row
Try this for 6 weeks and watch your numbers sky rocket and your fat burn off.
Have you ever wanted to learn how to train the way we train, but didn’t know where to start? We have a 2 x brand new online programs that bridge the gap and teach you the skills to start your functional fitness journey, safely.
We have
1. The beginner’s Benchmark program: for pure beginners who no or limited experience in weights training. We provide tutorials and benchmarks for your to hit before moving onto the next level.
2. The functional fitness bridging program: for those with strength and conditioning experience, but want to learn the finer skills of functional fitness (Olympic lifting and gymnastics)
In other exciting news, we are opening a new location in Bondi Junction. Click here to sign up to our VIP list and get more information when we get closer to opening.
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Brandon Hasick
Director and Head Coach
Body By Brando
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