How to Get a Better Workout in LESS Time at the Gym

Hey there!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and made it alllll the way through Monday successfully :)

I have a funny story to share with you today: something I realized about my personality type, especially when it comes to training and being in the gym.

Mark and I were training with a few of his friends from the fire academy yesterday, and I don't know what it is (well, I do now)... but whenever I'm with people in the gym, I become the most socially awkward human.

So Mark and I were talking about it, trying to figure out why I have constant resting b*tch face in the gym, when we came to the conclusion there are TWO types of people who work out in the gym:

1. The person who looooves to chat, take rest, and thinks the gym is a place for social interaction. *cough* Mark *cough*
2. The person who likes to go to the gym, #GSD, get in, get sweaty, get out ASAP. *me*

Neither is good or bad. And Mark has gotten pretty dang good results by exercising his jaw muscles as much as he does his other muscles. ;)

But the point of this article is to let you know if you're like me and don't like to spend hours in the gym, but still want to see amazing results, there's good news:

You DO NOT have to spend an hour or more in the gym every day to get great results!

In fact, most of my strength training workouts are about 30-45 minutes 5-6 times per week (sometimes longer if I'm squatting, deadlifting, doing something heavy). But if I'm just working out at an apartment gym that only has dumbbells and such, you better believe I'm goin ham, doing a bunch of supersets, getting sweaty, and getting the heck out so I can move on with my day.

Don't get me wrong: I LOOOOVE the gym.

But I love leaving the gym just as much as I like being there ;)

If you're someone who wants to make the most of your workouts and get the most bang for your buck in 30-45 minute sessions, here are some tips for you!

1. Keep the volume high.

Working out for 30-45 minutes doesn't mean you're doing less. It just means you're doing your normal workout routine faster with lest rest. For example: while it might take Person 1 in the example above to complete Workout X in 1 hour; someone who is timing their rest, is focused & in the zone, can typically get the same workout done in 30-45 minutes.

2. Be wise with your rest periods.

I can't stress this enough. Unless you're training for strength (i.e. heavy squats, deadlifts, bench, etc.), there is no need to rest any longer than a minute between your sets - sometimes even 30 seconds does the trick, depending on how heavy you're lifting. Decreasing rest is another way of increasing intensity, which is just what we need to keep challenging our bodies and seeing progress!

3. Utilize supersets and circuit-style training.

What's a superset? Two exercises performed back to back with no rest in between. For example, let's say it's leg day, you could do a superset of: 4 x 10 goblet squats, superset with 4 x 10 RDLs. Rest for 30 seconds to a minute between each superset, then repeat for a total of (4) times.

Or, you could opt for a giant circuit, containing 4 or more exercises. One circuit on leg day could look like this: [Do 10 reps of the following]: goblet squats, RDLs, jump squats, walking lunges -- Repeat 3-4x, then move on to circuit 2.

Both of these options allow you to get MORE done (more volume) in less time than if you were to do all of the exercises separately. #WINNING.

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Those are just a few ways you can get into the gym, #GSD, and see great results in as little as 30 minutes.

We all lead busy lives and while a long gym sesh can be therapeutic, sometimes a girl's gotta get in, pump the booty, and move on with her day.

Can I get an AMEN to that?!

Sending you lots of love this week!

xo

Julie