Don’t have much time to train? These 4 tips can give you a more effective session in a smaller amount of time, it just takes a little focus, planning, and hard work!
By Roger Lockridge
Whether it’s the Holiday season, you’re on vacation, or traveling for work. If you follow a fitness lifestyle or have recently started to, then you still want to make the most of your time and get a great workout in. Unfortunately you might not have an hour to commit. Perhaps you can only commit 45 minutes or even a half-hour.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a productive session and maintain your gains. As a matter of fact, it’s very much possible that you can have a great one. You might not be able to use the same weight but these tips can help you make the most out of the time you have so the result is a great workout.
Plan Accordingly to Maintain Your Gains
If you have a plan of action in place, it’s easier to execute than if you were to train on the fly with no idea of what you can and will do. Most gyms have free weights, so planning on doing barbell and dumbbell movements are a good option. You can also benefit from working a bodyweight movement or two into your plan. You can also include cable exercises in most plans. Just don’t try to plan an exercise that isn’t standard in most gyms, because if you can’t do it then you have to waste time finding an alternative.
Rest Less, Work More
You might be used to resting for a minute between sets but if time isn’t on your side then you might want to cut this down. As a matter of fact, you can benefit from doing half of that. 30 seconds of rest is minimal time to recover but it will result in less total time in the gym and it will also keep your heart rate up so you can even get a cardiovascular benefit out of your weight training session.
Pair Up Supersets
Supersets call for you to perform two exercises back to back without any rest in between. This is another way to keep your overall volume up even if you’re against the clock. You can use two exercises to train one muscle group or if you want to train two muscles (like chest and back), then you can do one exercise for the first group and superset it with one for the opposite.
The key to making the most out of this is performing two exercises that you don’t have to take much time transitioning to. It doesn’t benefit you if you have to go from one end of the gym to the other. If you can stay in the same space, use the same equipment, or move a small distance, both exercises will be beneficial.
Train Alone
Having a partner is great but if you need to be in and out of the gym, then you might just want to take the training on solo. Having a partner means you have to wait your turn, depend on someone else, and might get caught up in conversation which sometimes can make that second hand move faster than you think. You get to small talking and next thing you know, 10 minutes has passed. Save the partner plan until you can commit more of your time to training.
While the holidays definitely test our scheduling abilities, it can never hurt you to spend a little time training. Whether it’s a half hour or 45 minutes, something is better than nothing when you want to maintain your gains!