In a world where everything seems rushed, finding a quick and effective exercise program is necessary to meet the demands of home life, work responsibilities, and -most importantly- personal health and wellbeing. Life seems to be moving faster every day and what “free time” we have dwindles year after year. Taking the time to take care of yourself, though, will improve your ability to take care of everything else.
There is a reason airlines say to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then help those around you. If you are failing to survive -let alone thrive- there is no way you can help those around you to thrive.
“What can I do to keep my health up, but workout time down?”
Step 1: Prioritize. Pick compound movements.
The more you need to move or stabilize during an exercise, the better it is in this situation. A bridge and a kettlebell deadlift will both work the same target muscles if done correctly, but think of everything else you need to use to perform a GOOD deadlift. Your core muscles need to keep your trunk rigid, your arms must connect the kettlebell to the rest of the body, and the neck needs to be stabilized to not poke forward and up. Both exercises have a place, but prioritize the compound movements.
Step 2: Superset Opposing Muscle Groups or Movements
For those who don’t know, supersets are when you alternate doing sets of two – or more – exercises; e.g. do 10 bicep curls followed by 10 tricep presses and repeat for 3 sets each. Supersetting exercises makes good use of time that would have otherwise been spent resting. Keeping with Step 1 above, stick to compound exercises, but make sure they are antagonist groups, or groups that perform opposite movements. Front squats pair very well with the kettlebell deadlifts we talked about above. The front squats will target the front of the legs (quadriceps) while the deadlifts will work the back of the legs (hamstrings, glutes). You can do this with the upper body performing rows for the back and push ups for the chest.
Supersets can also be based around movements rather than muscle groups. A split I love is pairing planks, an anti-rotational exercise, with a rotation exercise like a half kneeling chop. The change in muscle contraction type helps to improve both stability and mobility compared to using the body in the same way consistently.
Step 3: Make Sure the Program is Well Rounded
For people looking for general fitness or sport performance, working the whole body is more important than using a bodybuilding split like working the chest one day and the back the next. For the sake of time, choosing diverse exercises will lead to the best results for fitness and performance. There are 5 categories that I think every “whole-body” routine should have.
1. Push Exercise
2. Pull Exercise
3. Squat Exercise
4. Hinge Exercise
5. Rotation or Anti-Rotation Exercise
Following that model, with good form, will use just about all of the major muscle groups in the body.
Step 4: Don’t Skip the Warm Up and Cool Down
Even though we’re talking about saving time on workouts, these two are essential for optimal performance. Failure to warm up properly can increase your risk of injury while exercising. Not performing a cool down can result in increased muscle tightness and soreness over the next few days. The 10 minutes you’ll spend between the Warm Up and the Cool Down are just as important as the 20-40 minutes in between.
Step 5: Now Go Work Out!
Write yourself a program following these steps working toward your goals for fitness and sports performance. Tailor that day’s selection to what equipment and timeframe you have, then get it done. A 30 minute workout is better than not doing anything.
If you aren’t sure what to work on, reach out to me. Creating an exercise plan when just starting out or changing goals can be confusing. We can meet to create a customized plan based on your needs, goals, and unique situation. No gym equipment? No problem. Limited time? No problem. Let’s get started TODAY.