Short on time as you chase your career goals?
Fear not, Brendan Chaplin knows that feeling all too well, and has devised a workout just for you

Fifteen years ago, as a martial arts and gym fanatic, I regularly trained for hours every day and loved every minute of it. My gym sessions would often be a couple of hours and I would be there each and every day grinding out rep after rep.  

Nowadays it’s a little different! With a family at home and running two companies there is more responsibility and less time to spend anywhere, let alone the gym!  

 One of my clients a few years ago said to me that your bank balance and your waistline are directly proportional. The richer you get, the fatter you get. I couldn’t disagree more with this and vowed to not let the pursuit of business growth get in the way of my health and wellness. 

The CEO strength programme is designed for individuals that want to buck the trend and challenge the notion that you can’t achieve great things in business without compromising your health and wellness. Very likely we are time poor, but we have a strong desire to maintain or improve our strength, fitness and health. 

THE WORKOUT 

It’s a simple workout consisting of 4 x 30-minute weekly sessions. Two of these are weights-based, and two are endurance sessions. The results of this programme will be rapid body composition improvements, improved strength and greater endurance, and aerobic health.  

The sessions are no longer than 30 minutes in length,
so you can get in and out of the gym quickly. 

 The weights sessions consist of five exercises done for 30 reps in as few sets as possible. The way to do this is one warm up set, then into your working sets beginning with a weight you can lift for no more than 10 reps in one go.  

 Your rest between sets is no more than 2 minutes. That way you lift heavy and get through the work quickly, which develops strength, size and metabolic conditioning.  

 The endurance sessions are best done on a treadmill. However, you can do them on a rower if you prefer. They are performance-based, which gives you something to chase in the gym just like you’re chasing your profits outside the gym!  

 You will be knackered from these sessions and it will take effort and hard work. But remember, you’re in and out of the gym in no more than 30 minutes. 

DAY 1:

STRENGTH SESSION 1  

Warm-up with barbell squats, lunges and overhead presses for 40 seconds each, then do the following:   

Thrusters  

DB Rows 

Chins

Dumbell Clean and Press 

Rockbacks 

THRUSTERS  

Start with the barbell on your back, descend into a deep squat, drive up and press the bar overhead.  

DB ROWS 

Using a bench for support, flatten your back, pull the dumbbell to your ribs and lower to the start position.  

CHINS

Start from a dead hang and pull yourself up getting your chin up to the height of the bar, and lower.

ROCKBACKS 

Start with your feet on a swiss ball, keeping your arms straight rock back until your nose touches the floor. 

DUMBELL CLEAN AND PRESS 

Start in a slight squat, pull the dumbells up your body, drop and press the dumbells overhead.  

DAY 2:  

ENDURANCE SESSION 1 

Start with a 5-minute run followed by some light stretches, then:  

2.4km run as fast as possible (target under 11 minutes for beginners, under 10 for advanced) 

10 x 30s work: 30s rest done in a pyramid format 

DAY 3: 

STRENGTH SESSION 2:  

Warm up with barbell squats, lunges and overhead presses for 40 seconds each, then: 

Back Squats 

Close grip bench press 

Pullovers 

Curl and press  

Aleknas 

DAY 4:  

ENDURANCE SESSION 2:  

5km run or row. Target sub 25 minutes, run sub 20 minutes row. 

Brendan is a performance coach working in sport and business. He is the founder and CEO of Strength and Conditioning Education, the Youth Strength and Conditioning Association and Strength and Success. Give him a shout on Instagram @brendanchaplin or contact him through https://strengthandsuccess.co.uk. This workout was photographed at David Lloyd, Leeds. “David Lloyd is a great place for me to base myself as a business owner,” says Brendan. “The gym is high quality and has the space to train productively, the spa and pool area is fantastic for recovery and regeneration after a hard week of work and the club room, cafe and business lounge is the perfect environment to get work done whilst having the healthy food options to keep me focused.”