The perfect workout doesn’t exist.
Sorry if we’re bursting a big bubble for you here. But we had to say it.
Sure, there are workouts that are better or worse for your particular goals, your particular preferences and your particular body – read: injury history. But generally speaking, the ‘best’ workout is the one that does the most with the time you have, pushes the most dials forwards and actually gets done – not just planned, then forgotten.
Will Simpson – former rugby player turned military officer and founder of performance nutrition brand Real Meal – knows this all too well. A busy dad juggling business, the military and family life, he summarises his approach to fitness as ‘flexible, process-led endurance training built around real life’.
This full-body workout – designed to fit into whatever timeframe you’ve got while still delivering massive bang for your buck – is a testament to that.
Big movements, basic kit and a dose of physicality that will build real-world strength across your entire body, add muscle and boost your conditioning.
What to read next
Simpson trains in the sparse confines of his garage gym, but you can sub out any of the kit in the workout for whatever you have to hand. Basically: do whatever it takes to get the work done.
The Workout
You can use a sandbag or kettlebells for any of the movements if you have a variety of kit, or just use the same dumbbell(s) throughout.
Set a countdown timer for as long as you’ve got to spare – whether that’s 15 minutes or 40 – and work your way through as many high-quality rounds as possible of the following circuit.
Make a note of how many rounds you complete, or the total number of calories/metres you manage. Aim to beat this ‘score’ on your next attempt, or complete the same amount of work in less time.
5 x Man Maker
10 x Sandbag Ground-to-Shoulder (or Dumbbell Cleans)
15 x Goblet Squat
20 x Walking Lunge
30 secs x Ski / Bike / Row (moderate-effort conditioning)
If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.
Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.
With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.
