Call it a comeback: get back in the gym with this simple, highly effective training plan - The Return Workout

Men's Fitness, Feb, 2002 by Allan Donnelly

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9. LYING LEG CURL (hamstrings) Lie facedown on the leg-curl machine with your knees hanging slightly over the end of the bench. Keeping your head up and your lower back tight and arched, press your hips firmly against the pad (ga). Point your toes away from your knees and curt your legs up as far as possible, pausing to squeeze at the top of the movement (9b). Slowly lower the weight to the starting position. Pause and repeat.

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10. STANDING CALF RAISE (soleus, gastrocnemius) Stand in the calf-raise machine with your shoulders and body directly under the pad, and the balls of your feet resting on the platform (10a). Keeping your knees slightly bent, rise up on your toes as high as you can (10b). Pause and contract your calves at the top of the movement. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

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DAY 3

11. BENCH PRESS (pectorals, triceps, anterior deltoids) Lie on a flat bench, feet on the floor. Grasp the barbell with a grip that's slightly wider than shoulder width (11a). With your back tight and slightly arched, press the barbell off the rack and slowly lower it to midchest (11b). Pause, press the barbell back to the starting position and repeat.

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12. INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS (upper pectorals, anterior deltoids) Lie on an incline bench set at a 15- to 30-degree angle, feet flat on the floor. Hold a pair of dumbbells over your chest with an overhand grip, elbows slightly bent (12a). Slowly lower the dumbbells to the sides of your chest until you feel a slight stretch in your pecs (12b). Pause, then press the weights back to the starting position, keeping a slight bend in your elbows. Squeeze your pecs together, pause and repeat.

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DAY 13

13. REVERSE BARBELL CURL (biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis) Stand holding a barbell at arm's length, using an overhand grip. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and your hands placed shoulder-width apart (13a). Slowly curl the bar to shoulder level (13b). Pause, flex your biceps, then slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

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14. TRICEPS BENCH DIP (triceps brachii) Place a bench behind your back and hold on to the edge of it, hands placed about shoulder-width apart. Put your heels on a second bench (14a). Keeping your back slightly arched and your elbows close to your sides, slowly bend your elbows and lower your body toward the floor as far as possible (14b). Pause, then press back up until your arms are almost in a locked-out position. Pause, then repeat. (Note.' Beginners should ploce feet on the floor.)

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15. ALTERNATING CRUNCHES (abdominals) Lie on your back and place your legs across a bench, touching your hands lightly to the sides of your head (15a). As you curl your torso toward your knees, twist your upper body so your elbow reaches toward the opposite knee (15b). Keep at least a fist's length between your neck and your chest. Return to the starting position and repeat to the other knee.