We’ve provided you with plenty of options when it comes to fast-paced, sub-30-minute workouts for full-body conditioning. But when it comes to building maximum strength, we still all get the lingering feeling that we need at least 60 minutes to get a productive session in.

By the time we’ve factored in warm-ups, work-up sets, cool-downs and a bit of additional volume – especially if we’re trying to hit multiple body parts or muscle groups on the same day – it might feel like even that hour isn’t enough.

This is a problem we’re attempting to fix with this ‘backyard strength marathon’ workout.

The idea is simple: with nothing but one barbell and a stack of weights, you’re going to go from zero – i.e., an empty barbell – to maxed out on three upper-body movements, all in under 30 minutes.

As well as working up to a heavy three-rep effort on the overhead press, hang power clean and Pendlay row, you’ll accrue a ton of volume along the way. And because you’re beginning with an empty bar and adding weight gradually, those early rounds double up as your movement-specific warm-up.

Every minute on the minute, adding 5kg each round:

A2. Hang Power Clean x 3 reps

Begin with an empty barbell and add 2.5kg to each side at the end of every minute. When you can no longer complete three reps of a movement, remove it from the workout and continue with the remaining exercises.

The workout ends when you can no longer complete three reps of your final – and strongest – movement.

For efficiency, set up your weight plates on either side of your barbell, ready to load. You’ll ideally need:

• 2 x 2.5kg plates
• 2 x 5kg plates
• 2 x 10kg plates
• 2-4 x 20kg plates, depending on just how jacked you are

After a quick general loosening up, start a running clock. At 0:00, using an empty barbell, perform three overhead presses, followed by three hang power cleans and three Pendlay rows. That’s nine reps in total.

Rest for the rest of the minute, but use this time to pop a 2.5kg plate on each side of the bar.

When minute one rolls around, perform another three overhead presses, three hang power cleans and three Pendlay rows. Remove the 2.5kg plates, whack the 5kg plates on and rest for the remainder of the minute.

Continue in this fashion, performing three reps of all three movements every minute on the minute and adding 5kg – 2.5kg per side – in each round.

Once you can no longer hit three reps of any given exercise (chances are the overhead press will go first), stop performing that lift. Continue adding weight each minute and perform only the two movements that remain.

Eventually, you’ll be left performing only your strongest movement. Continue increasing the weight until you can’t hit three reps of that exercise either.

Workout over. You’ve worked up to a heavy three-rep effort on all three movements in no time at all, thoroughly warming yourself up by moving through the lighter weights while also accruing a considerable amount of volume.

1. Overhead Press

• Clean your barbell into the front-rack position, resting it across the front of your shoulders. Take a breath and brace your core, squeezing your glutes to keep your torso rigid.
• Dip your chin backwards and press the bar overhead, locking out your arms.
• Lower the bar under control to your shoulders and repeat.

Once you can no longer complete all three reps without assistance from your legs, remove the overhead press from the workout.

2. Hang Power Clean

• Stand tall with the barbell at hip height. Push your hips backwards and allow the bar to travel down your thighs, keeping it close to your body.
• Once the bar reaches just above your knees, stand up explosively, extending through your hips and knees.
• Use the momentum you’ve created to pull the bar upwards before quickly dropping underneath it and catching it across the front of your shoulders.
• Stand tall, lower the bar and repeat.

3. Pendlay Row

• With the barbell on the floor, hinge at your hips until your torso is close to parallel with the ground. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width.
• Keeping your back flat and your torso rigid, explosively row the bar towards the bottom of your chest.
• Lower it under control until the plates return completely to the floor. Reset your position before beginning the next rep.

This almost certainly won’t produce a true three-rep max, as you’re resting minimally and accruing fatigue throughout the workout.

If you’re approaching the end of the protocol and feel as though you’re creeping towards personal-record territory, rest for two or three minutes before attempting your next set. This will give you a better chance of actually lifting the weight and recording a more accurate three-rep max.

Otherwise, just enjoy the marathon.

Record your finishing weight for each movement and aim to beat it every time you repeat the protocol.

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.