You walk into the gym, you look around at some machines and try to decide what you are going to do for the day. To start, maybe you naturally decide to do some dumbbell presses or bicep curls. Maybe you hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes and call it good. But isn’t your goal to lose some extra body fat pounds and feel better? Or maybe you want to bust through that bench plateau. Now is the time to make your workouts efficient for your goals. Also, it is time to make your workouts worth every second of your time. Tomorrow or next week isn’t the time for you to get back on the horse. Now is the time to make your workout as efficient as possible. Why? because you deserve it!
- Goal: What is your goal? Are you looking to lose weight, build strength, or run further easier. Your goal should determine what you are going to be doing for each workout. Don’t run if you want to increase your leg strength and don’t do bicep curls to get bigger.
- Time: How much time do you have for your workout? Do you have time for 20 minutes or maybe you have up to 60 minutes? Whatever time you have, you should be able to pick from a few workouts to decide on your workout. That is why I am here.
- Equipment: What do you have available for use? Can you go outside or do you have full access to the gym. Your equipment determines what you are able to do at times. Sometimes, your body and a set of dumbbells is all you need.
- Effort: This could be a bit higher on the list of importance. If you just go through the motions for 60 minutes, you wasted your time. If you take too many or too long of breaks, you once again are not working yourself hard enough. Make sure you use your time wisely.
These four factors are the things that play a role in your workout efficiency. Whether you want to lose weight or increase your strength. Proper planning is a must. Let’s look at some workouts!
You Have 20 Minutes
…and your goal is to burn body fat and get stronger. BOOM, here it is.
Dumbbell Destroyer
a1. Jump Rope OR Jumping Jacks. x 30 seconds
a2. Dumbbell Push Press x 10 – 15 Reps
a3. Dumbbell Cleans x 10 – 15 Reps
a4. Dumbbell Front Squats x 10 – 15 Reps
a5. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts x 10 – 15 Reps
With this workout, you can get in a KILLER workout. Set a timer for 20 minutes and try to complete as many rounds as possible. I guarantee you will feel this one. Look at the equipment you need, one set of dumbbells and a jump rope (if necessary). With this workout, you will burn fat while increasing muscular strength and size.
Oh, Now You Have 30 Minutes
…and you want to increase your overall body strength; while burning fat, say what!?
Prime Yourself
a1. Sprints x 15 seconds
a2. rest x 20 seconds
a3. Squat Jumps x 6 reps
a4. rest x 20 seconds
Perform a1 – a4 for 6 rounds, once you finish all six rounds, prepare your equipment for b1 through b3. That should be plenty of rest. This should take no longer than 15 minutes.
Power Tri-set
b1. Barbell Clean & Press x 3 reps
b2. Barbell Bench Press x 3 reps
b3. Barbell Front Squat x 3 reps
– Complete b1 – b3 for 4 rounds as fast as possible. Select a weight you can do for ALL sets. Don’t get sloppy with the form, keep the form pretty and the loads doable. This should take no longer than 15 minutes.
45 Minutes?
Heck, just do it all.
Pre-Exhaust
a1. Goblet Squat x 30/20/10
a2. Incline Bench Press x 30/20/10
a3. Kettlebell Swings x 30/20/10
a4. Lat Pull-downs x 30/20/10
With a1 through a4, you are going to use a semi-light weight for the first set. The first set should not be a breeze. Then as you progress in the sets, increase the weight. The last set of 10 should be tough. Rest 30 seconds between exercises and at the end of each a4, rest 45 seconds. This group of exercises should take about 15 minutes, depending on the individual.
Strength
b1. Back Squat 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 1 – AMRAP
This exercise is going to be for pure strength. You will work up to a SUB-max effort (not 100% effort). Then you will select a moderate load and perform AMRAP (as many reps as possible). This exercise should take no longer than 10 minutes.
Sweat It Out
c1. High Incline Treadmill Walking x 15 Minutes
Walk at an incline of AT LEAST 6%. The speed should not make you have to hold onto the railings of the treadmill. Do not hold on.
There you have three workouts that fit in a timeframe of 20-45 minutes. However, if you are someone who has 60 minutes or longer, just do one (or two) of these workouts and you will have a full 60-minute workout. You may have noticed that there wasn’t much cardiovascular training in these workouts, that is okay. If you have a proper nutrition intake and do these workouts the way they are designed, you shouldn’t need to run 1 or 2 miles a day. Your muscles and respiratory system will adapt to a much harder effort than a jog for 1 or 2 miles.
So how do you progress from each workout?
When it comes to exercise, you can progress in a variety of ways. First, you can work out longer or harder. Secondly, you can increase the weight of the exercise. With that, you can also increase the sets or repetitions. But what it really comes down to is if you actually progress each workout. Intensity, sets, reps, load, and even the frequency of exercise will help you progress towards your goals. Each time you do a workout for more than your first time, try to improve in at least one way.
Exercise should not have to be a burden on your day. If you want to exercise and you know you need to exercise, search for that motivation to help you get to where you want to be. There are countless ways to motivate yourself, you just have to be willing to accept that motivation internally and / or externally. Ask yourself these two questions; How bad do you want to achieve your goals? & Where do you want to progress from today? Now find out how you can make at least one small progressive step today. From there, you will turn consistency in