With the glutinous holiday season in full effect and a billion Christmas parties to attend, it isn’t always easy to find time for the gym. So for those of us who can only dedicate two or three days per week to working out, I (Samantha Shorkey) recommend breaking up those workouts into upper body and lower body splits. That means you’re doing a (perhaps) longer, more intense session of just upper body exercises and only lower body stuff the next gym day. If you can fit more than two workouts per week into your busy schedule, add a day of cardio or repeat this split if you can manage four workouts per week.

Here ’tis!

Do 3 sets of 15 reps for EVERY exercise and go heavy!

Day 1 – Upper Body

Lat Pulldown
One-Arm Dumbbell Row
Seated Cable Row
Push-ups
Incline Dumbbell Press
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curls
Tricep Rope Pressdown
Ball Crunches (abs)

Day 2 – Lower Body

Leg Extension
Stationary Dumbbell Lunges
Lying Leg Curl
Bench Step Ups
Single Leg Press
Adductor (inner thigh) Machine
Back (Hyper) Extensions
Seated Calf Raises
Roman Chair Raises (abs)

I know these seem like long workouts but try to get through ‘em as fast as possible. The faster you go, the more you sweat! Keep that heart rate up, turning these weight sessions into a cardio workout at the same time. 

Happy, HEALTHY holidays y’all! For my diet plan whilst training to compete, be sure to check out my “Jacked on the Beanstalk” eBook!