The New Year means new gym members. Everyone who was putting off their exercise goals and buying up hoards of the now extinct Twinkies will now be making the annual gym trek. The atmosphere and motivation will never top this time of year; unfortunately so will the wait for gym equipment. You’re a smart guy so you’re on a great program like “Building Strength: Getting Better at the Big Three” You know exactly what exercises you’re doing and how long you have to rest. The New Year will throw you a curve ball, and standing idly by won’t miraculously yield a solution. Be prepared by using these methods to make the most of rest periods through picking exercise combinations that fight the crowds and staying active.
New Year Tip #1: Map Out the Workout and Double Up using Supersets
The gym during the New Year season is a bit of a battleground and you need to know your terrain. Know exactly where all the equipment is (or at this time of year should be) and what you want to do with it. To minimize the congestion, plan your workout strategically so you can stay on the same piece of equipment and not worry about waiting. Supersets (Doing two different exercises back to back) will make this even easier by allowing you to do more work in less time. People are also much less likely to bother you when you are continuously moving or out of breath. Here are several examples of utilizing the same piece of equipment for supersets:
- Dumbbell Bench: Dumbbell Press and Dumbbell Row; note to stay on the equipment for more sets just change the angle of the bench for the presses and change the grip on the row for a different emphasis (Palm facing toward your body or facing behind you to be more like a barbell row)
- Bulgarian Split Squats and Prone dumbbell rows
- Squat Rack: Military Press and Barbell Calve Raise
- Barbell Lunge and Romanian Deadlift
New Year Tip #2: Heal Aches and Imbalances with Stretching and Foam Rolling
Unfortunately you will inevitably have to wait for equipment or have an extended rest period during your gym session. The gym is your time to make yourself better so instead of people watching, get your body running full throttle. Rest periods are an excellent time to stretch, mobilize or foam roll trouble areas. If you don’t think you’re tight anywhere or don’t have knots just try foam rolling your IT Bands or lats. Just be sure not to stretch or foam roll the muscles you are currently exercising as this can make it more difficult for muscles to contract. Some effective combinations are:
- Squats with chest/shoulder stretching
- Back exercises with shoulder blade mobilizers like wall angels
- Upper body exercises with lower body foam rolling
New Year Tip# 3: Get Heart Healthy with Cardio
Whether you’re looking to avoid wasting time between sets or cut overall time in the gym, doing cardio between sets is an excellent solution. Intra-set cardio will be especially good for conditioning since it has to be done interval style. Intervals will raise your heart rate higher than steady state cardio and burn more calories. It is best to limit it to the last 8-15 sets of the workout to ensure you keep energy levels high for the more intense lifting sets at the beginning of workouts. The cardio can last anywhere from 15-60 seconds depending on your level of conditioning and intensity. Some good exercises to use for this include:
- Jump roping
- Jumping jacks
- Plank variations
- Agility ladder drills
- Shadow boxing
The gym crowds shouldn’t faze your workout routine. Rather than being less active with the crowds, battle the extra traffic with supersets, stretching and foam rolling, and extra cardio. Doing all these things between sets increases how much you’re able to get done within your workout time frame and fits in elements that we often neglect like stretching. Use these tips to bolster your routine and remain productive in the New Year.
This was a guest post from Raphael Konforti. If you are looking to contribute to ConFITdent, please check here.