Many of us have come to believe that for our workouts to mean something, we have to spend an hour or more sweating up a storm at the gym. However, this idea is completely false. When it comes to workouts it’s not all about the quantity; sometimes it simply boils down to the quality. When you’re busy, sometimes you may have to cut your workout in half. And on those extremely stressful days, you might only have fifteen minutes. Learn how to work out effectively with the time you have, and feel great.
Get specific and target your muscles. There is no need to try and exercise every single muscle in your body when you go to the gym. Instead of doing full body workouts, just zone in on one area of the body. An example of this is choosing a specific day to target your leg, or bicep muscles. When you use this strategy, you can keep your workouts quick and simple. You can do circuits targeting whatever muscles you have chosen that are short, but still highly effective.
Increase the intensity of your workout. This can depend on what type of workout you are doing, but can be applied to all different types. If you normally plan on running for about 40 minutes of cardio, but are short on time, increase your intensity. Insead, try sprinting for 20 minutes with short recovery paces throughout.
This will still work your body to the limit, while letting you cut your time in half. For strength training, instead of passively resting in between sets, do mountain climbers or jumping jacks. Even if you spend less time working out, the extra exercises will make you work harder.
Keep your workouts simple. Doing exercises like squats, push-ups, and planks are simple and require very minimal equipment. You spend less time waiting for machines, or setting them up for your preferences, and more time actually exercising. Depending on the time you have you can easily decided what to spend the most time doing, and how interactive you want to be with equipment to aid you.
Bring the gym home to you. Sometimes, when it’s all said and done, actually getting to the gym requires a large amount of time that you don’t have. If actually making it to the gym is starting to hinder your workout schedule, then consider exercising at home. Think about buying the equipment you use the most, and having it at home for your convenience. From dumbbells and medicine balls to workout videos with your favorite classes like Zumba or Pilates, bring the gym to you.
Neighbors Emergency Center supports your start to a healthier lifestyle. We have even more locations opening up this year including including a Tyler location! Read the beat and check NEC Facebook to learn more. With a 24 Hour Emergency Rooms throughout the Houston metro area, we can treat you quickly and effectively so you can get back to doing what you love.