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8 Tips for Time Efficient Workouts

8 Tips for Time Efficient Workouts
April 20, 2018 Dan Raimondi

If your workouts are beginning to take too long, here are a few tips to move through the gym a little more efficiently.

1- Begin warming up your next exercise near the end of your first. If your workout calls for 3×5 reps on the squat and overhead press, after the 1st or 2nd set of squats begin warming up for the press. You don’t need to do all of your warm-ups during the rest period, but getting through a few can make the transition from squats to presses much smoother.(Note: this can be tough in a commercial gym when you can’t monopolize multiple pieces of equipment at once).

2- Don’t sit. Instead of sitting between sets, stay standing and set up for the next set or movement. If you know your next set is going to require a pair of 2.5lb plates, go get them so that when the time comes you’re ready.

3-Don’t rest for the exact time. I’ve written about timing your rest intervals to try and stay around the 3-5 minute mark( depending on what you’re doing). What I prefer to do to keep myself honest is rest for 30 seconds less than the goal. The idea is simple. If my goal is to rest about 4 minutes between sets, waiting for the clock to hit 4:00 means I still need to put my belt/ wrist wraps on and get focused for the set. This might take me about 30 seconds to do. Instead of going at the 4-minute mark, I’ll begin the process at 3:30 to give myself time to prepare.

4-Don’t take too long between warm-up sets. If your goal for squats is to do 3 sets of 5 reps with 315lbs, your warm-up might look like this:
Empty barbell x 5 reps x 5-6 sets
135lbs x 5
185lbs x 5
225lbs x 3
275lbsx1-2
315lbsx5x3

I generally prefer to rest only as long as it takes me to change the plates for the next set. This means that pretty much from the empty barbell through 275lbs I keep myself moving. I might take an extra 2-3 minutes before 315, to ensure I’m fresh for the first work set, but I like to keep the pace high.

5-During higher volumes of training, bring the intensity down a bit and train with a shorter rest period. If you’ve always rested for 6+ minutes between sets, the first time you try and rest for less with the same weight you’ll likely struggle to complete all of your reps. If you are in a phase of lower intensity /higher volume training, try bringing your rest periods down to 4-5 minutes to adapt and improve your work capacity.

6-Listen to fast-paced music. This is probably more personal, but I find myself slowing down when listening to slower music and pushing the pace faster when listening to faster-paced music. You might be different, but see if it helps.

7-Be present: avoid the trap of going onto social media, checking email, etc.. during your session. It’ll distract you, possible stress you out, and could mess with your total time in the gym if you take too long between sets. Focus on the task at hand, get in, and get out.

8-If these tips don’t work and you’re still struggling for time, give yourself a max. Get a timer, and from the moment you begin the first warm-up set, set a strict limit for the lift (i.e. “I have 1 hour to complete this.”) It may sound silly but seeing a running clock creep closer to the mark will motivate you to move a little faster through the lift. If you find you consistently can’t get all the work done in a given time frame, rethink how your training is structured. It might be a good idea to spread the movements out over an extra day of the week, or simply reduce the overall workload to allow for the limited time.