The Surprising Better
Way
The first thing to do is forget about the programs that require four,
five or six days a week at the gym. They just aren't necessary. It's entirely
possible to train, strengthen and progress in less time than those sorts of
programs demand.
If you’re like most fitness enthusiasts, your workout probably consists of five to six upper or lower body exercises, with
three to five sets of eight to 12 repetitions for each exercise. The typical
rest period between a set can be as much as two to three minutes -- and even
longer if you're talking with friends.
You can increase the intensity
and effectiveness of your training session by making a few changes: Modify the
number of repetitions you perform for each set, decrease the rest period
between sets, and incorporate compound movements or even increase the amount of
weight you lift.
The simplest way to put
these factors into action is to replace your traditional workoutwith full-body,
strength-training circuits. Training both your upper and lower body in the same
workout is the key to cutting your time in the gym in half.
Nick Tumminello, owner of
Performance University in Baltimore, Maryland, agrees. "When time is limited,
go for maximal intensity through some sort of interval training. Or use some
sort of strength complex or circuit."
Create a circuit by
performing six to eight resistance exercises back
to back with minimal to no rest in between. You can perform each exercise for a
certain length of time, typically 30 seconds, or for a specific number of
repetitions, usually eight to 12.
By decreasing the rest period and incorporating
compound movements -- exercises that use several muscle groups -- the workout
intensity increases and so do the training effects. You'll burn calories not
only while you're working out, but also after you've left the gym. A study
published in the March 2002 issue of "European Journal of Applied
Physiology" found that when the training group performed a high-intensity,
short-duration workout with compound exercises, their resting metabolism was
raised for 38 hours after the workout.
As your strength endurance increases, you can go
through the circuit two to four times. If you're a novice lifter, performing
circuits with simple body weight, dumbbell or dynamic mobility exercises is the
best way to build a solid strength foundation.
Make Habits of Lifestyle Changes
Once you start decreasing your time in the
gym, you’ll want to work on assimilating good habits into the rest of your day.
This will help you maintain a healthier lifestyle and free up more time for
your family.
Alwyn Cosgrove, co-owner of Results Fitness in
California, believes habits are easy to create.
"Do a new task every single day for 21 days, and
you've created a habit," he advised, adding that the right habits
"can change your life."
In my case, I started preplanning and packing my meals
the night before. This helped me stick to a good nutrition plan and prevented
me from skipping meals then binging on bad food when I got a moment to eat.
I also focused on getting enough sleep. This meant
turning off the television and the laptop at the same time every night and
getting to bed. Additionally, I took my vitamins and supplements right before
bed with a big glass of water.
To make myself accountable,
I started a time log, writing down all of my activities for the day in
half-hour increments. After keeping the time log for a week, I was able to
identify "time wasters" that I could change or eliminate altogether
from my schedule. I couldn't believe how much time I wasted checking email,
messaging on the phone and doing other unneeded random activities.
Setting Goals and Taking
Action
At this point you've decreased
your time in the gym and
eliminated your daily time wasters. Your next step is to write down where you
are and where you want to go. Determine your personal and professional goals,
but ensure they're attainable and measurable.
This simple action alone gave me focus and direction.
But I also knew it was one thing to write down goals and quite another to take
action.
The reason most people don't take action is that their
goals are either overwhelming or not inspiring. So pick something you really
want to do, and instead of setting your sights only on the long-term goal,
write down the smaller tasks you need to accomplish on the way to the larger
goal.
These days, people have less free time than ever
before. Fitness often becomes an afterthought, pushed aside for more pressing
tasks. But if you make your time both in and out of the gym more efficient, you
can slowly reintroduce fitness back into your daily routine and still have time
for the rest of your life.
0 comments:
Post a Comment