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TIME-SAVING
TRAINING TIPS Provided
by Global Health & Fitness For most people, it seems
like seconds count in their personal and professional lives. Catching a
plane for a sales trip. Critical appointments with clients. Running around
with your kids, making sure they get to school, to practice, to games, or
whatever other hundred things they're involved with each day. But YOU don't have to leave
that philosophy in the locker room when you hit the gym. Although there's
never an excuse for sloppy exercise technique, there are dozens of safe
ways to shave time from your workout routine - and still train like a
champion. Here are some of the most effective time-saving strategies.. 1. Change your foot
placement. Doing something as simple as
this from exercise to exercise can turn a simple leg press into a total
leg workout. Placing your feet a couple of inches apart hits your
quadriceps in the middle. a bit more. Move them further apart, about hip
width, will stress the outer portion of your quads. Place them at the
corners of the leg press platform (with toes pointed at 45 degrees) will
work your inner thighs and butt. 2. Polar opposites. Train opposing muscle groups
during your rest periods. Also called "modified compound sets."
For example, after you get done doing a set of bench press to work your
chest, IMMEDIATELY go to the lat pulldown machine to do a set of pulldowns
for your upper and middle back. 3. Stay focused. You've heard it before: he
who fails to plan plans to fail. Said in fitness jargon, he who walks into
the gym and wanders around wastes massive amounts of time. Plan your
routine before you walk into the gym (or your basement). And STICK WITH
IT. 4. Rev up your fat-burning
furnace. Treadmills are great for
walking, jogging, or running, but doing a little of each be INTERVAL
TRAINING can help kick your body's fat-burning ability into high-gear.
Walk for 5 minutes to start. Then jog for 3 minutes, then run at a higher
level for 2 minutes, alternating back and forth until you've reached
anywhere from 15-30 minutes of total time. If that's too difficult, start
at 30 seconds of jog, 30 seconds of run, and increase gradually by 15
seconds until you can do 2 minutes jog, 2 minutes run. 5. Bring a bottle. Sure, you could go to the
drinking fountain every time you want some water. A better idea is to
carry a water bottle with you as you work out. Not only do you save time,
but you keep your body properly hydrated, resulting in better workout
performance. 6. Avoid peaking. If you want a peak
performance workout, avoid working out during your gym's peak hours -
typically 4 pm - 8 pm. You'll wind up wasting time waiting in line for
workout equipment. And a wasted workout. 7. Early bird gets the worm. Most gyms have fewer members
in the early-morning hours. Plus, you'll often find they're less talkative
- maybe because they're trying to wake up. 8. Grab and hold a bench. A single, adjustable bench
allows you to do a multitude of exercises amongst a gym-ful of chaos. You
can do bench presses, shoulder presses, crunches, curls, triceps
extensions, upright rows, etc. Your workout goes smoothest when you have
all the barbells and dumbbells nearby, so the only time you have to move
is to grab different weights. 9. Warm up intelligently. Just 5 - 10 minutes raises
your body temperature, helps get the blood flowing, and lubricates your
leg joints, enhancing workout performance and decreasing risk of injury. 10. Cross-train aerobically. If your gym enforces a 20
minute rule for occupying an aerobic machine, just switch from treadmill
to bike and get a great 40 minute workout without leaving the area. 11. Quit the B.S.ing. Yes, you look forward to
chatting with your friends at the gym. But when time is on the line and
you have to zip through your workout, TELL THEM. That way you get your
workout in without making them feel ignored. 12. Race against the clock. When you're crunched for
time, try taking 30 second rest periods between sets. Keep a close eye on
the second hand. As soon as it's been 30 seconds, BAM, start your next
set. 13. Train with your partner. Sometimes exercise can seem
like it's stealing time away from your spouse or significant other. Why
not go to the gym together? You don't actually have to work out together -
your workouts will be very different. Better than feeling guilty about not
spending time together. 14. Learn your gym geography. It may take some searching,
but you'll save all kinds of travel time if you can find a gym that is
either on your route to work or on your way home. 15. Get a permanent locker. Here's where you can stash
extra clothes, extra workout clothes, and toiletries to help you out when
you need to train in a pinch. 16. Prepare. Remember when you were a
little kid your parents made you lay out your clothes for the next day
before you went to bed the night before (did that make sense?)? Prepare
for your next exercise between sets will save you time. If you're going to
use dumbbells, for instance, pull them from the rack and place them at the
bench you're going to use. This also alerts others that you are using the
equipment. 17. Rack 'em. Your fellow gym-goers may not
like this, but you can cut training time significantly by spending your
time in front of the dumbbell rack instead of going from one machine to
another. Think of the range of exercises you can do with dumbbells: rows,
bench presses, all kinds of curls, shoulder presses, lunges, etc. This article was provide by
Garrett J. Braunreiter, CSCS, GHF's Success Coach.
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