Are you focused on your workouts, but your schedule is still very busy? Many people look for a short, effective workout… and yes, it’s possible.
Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, or improve your fitness, this option lets you burn more energy and get more work done in less time.
Working out less and still getting good results is a great motivation to stay on track with your daily routine. Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain lean muscle… or both!
You need a workout for when you have little time. And in this article, we’ll talk about how to train better when you have little time available!
Train with a clear goal
We have two foundations that serve as starting points when designing a periodized training program: volume and intensity. These two are inversely proportional. If you increase one, the other is invariably reduced.
But various studies have shown that more intense workouts, when applied, bring us much greater benefits than high-volume workouts.
The problem is that a myth has taken hold that you need to spend at least two hours working out at the gym, at least 6 times a week. That’s a complete waste of time and HEALTH!
Focus on range of motion and tempo
I always talk about range of motion and tempo here on the blog. Using these techniques will greatly enhance your results!
The tempo of a movement is more important than simply increasing the “weight,” because indiscriminately increasing the load can affect your range of motion and compromise proper exercise form, and in extreme cases can cause unwanted injuries.
Exercise tempo can be prescribed as 1010, 2020, 3010, etc. For example: 4020—the number 4 indicates the seconds for the eccentric phase, the number 0 indicates the transition between these phases, and the number 2 indicates the seconds in the concentric phase. The fourth number also represents a transition phase before the first number.
Didn’t get it? It is a bit confusing…
Let me explain in plain language… with a tempo of 3030 on the leg press, for example, you take 3 seconds to push the platform up… and without pausing at all, you bring it back down, taking another three seconds to lower the platform toward your body… and without stopping, you start the process again until you complete the prescribed reps.
If you don’t have any joint limitations, you can and SHOULD use your full range of motion!! And what is range of motion??? It’s the maximum movement performed by a joint within its anatomical limits, without creating a RISK OF INJURY! And why use a FULL range of motion?
Because this increases motor unit recruitment and allows you to use your muscles more efficiently… not to mention that this increases workout intensity and, as we know, intense workouts produce better hypertrophy responses!
Choose compound exercises
Basically, for a workout when you have little time, we can divide strength training exercises into two groups: compound and isolation exercises.
🎯COMPOUND exercises are multi-joint movements that work several muscles at the same time. Examples: barbell squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, etc.
They’re recommended for people who want to build muscle and need to develop a solid foundation of muscle to do so.
In addition, they increase natural testosterone production, which plays a major role in building muscle and helps burn more body fat. The more muscle mass is stimulated during a workout, the more testosterone is released.
ISOLATION exercises, on the other hand, work just one joint and muscle group. One example is a concentration curl for the biceps on a preacher bench.
Generally, isolation exercises are useful when it’s necessary to correct certain areas of the body for symmetry. They let you focus on small muscle groups without working others.
Doing only isolation exercises is not recommended for those who want to make significant muscle gains. You’ll have to use much less weight than you normally do with compound exercises, which means your progression won’t be as consistent, limiting your results.
There is no “best” option, only what’s right for each stage and training goal. I believe compound and isolation exercises should be combined. If your main goal is to gain muscle, compound exercises are ideal. However, at other times, you may want to work exclusively on a particular area of your body… In that case, isolation exercises will be very useful.
Conclusion
There is no magic amount of time to work out, but generally, 40 to 50 minutes, including some cardio, is more than enough to get good results from your hypertrophy training.
And depending on how YOUR WORKOUT IS DESIGNED, at times we can have workouts that last 20 to 25 minutes, without any loss in quality or results.
Except in specific cases where periodization calls for higher-volume workouts, you can train much faster and more intensely, giving you more free time.
Finally, what did you think of this content about workouts for people with little time? Are you planning to put together a workout plan for when you have little time at the gym? Leave a comment with your opinion and #VEMPROTREINO.
