Tag Archives: how to workout for busy people

How to workout for busy people – Muscle mass focus

On this 4th part of the how to workout for busy people (part 1, part 2, part 3) I’ll focus on building muscle mass. It’s not easy, and don’t expect to Arnold-out in a couple of months.

What makes gaining mass hard

Barring pharmaceutical help, gaining mass is a complex science/art. There’s several types of hypertrophy which take in

Photo by Brian Auer

Photo by Brian Auer

account different volumes, rep ranges and intensities. More over, building lean muscle mass takes a lot more than just training. The simple formula would be

Eating at a surplus + plenty of rest + working out = more lean muscle mass

And that’s without factoring in hormonal profiles, etc. Of course, this is as simple as I can make it. Focusing on the working out part, the main variable here will be volume (meaning, how much you put up in total). Of course, given that we’re busy people, we’ll focus on density. Density will be taken in acount as volume/time. (BTW, I was introduced to density as a variable through Pavel’s Enter the Kettlebell, so I’m going to pretty much use that definition).

Building muscle for busy people

This whole idea was introduced by Charles Staley (although it’s probably much much older, as most things in the physical training department… Even bro culture), so, full props to him for being a genius.

For this type of workouts you’ll need, at least, a stopwatch, a piece of paper and something to write.

  1. You’ll pair two antagonist exercises (like Deadlifts and Bench Presses or Squats and Pull-ups).
  2. You’ll set the timer for 15-20 minutes for compound exercises.
  3. Set a weight with which you can do 7-10 solid, correct reps and start doing sets of 5.
  4. Go back and forth between both exercises resting as little as needed. As you fatigue start reducing the reps per set and resting more.
  5. Take note of how many reps in total you’ve done for each exercise. Strive for at least +1 rep every workout.
  6. Once you’ve done 30% more reps than the first session with a given weight, add more weight (2,5-5kg/5-10lbs. no more).
  7. If you still have time after your first 20 minutes (and energy), and insist on adding more exercises. For isolation moves do no more than 10 minutes (pairing curls with tricep extensions, calf raises with wrist exercises… take your pick).
  8. Curse at me. But curse at Charles Staley more, he made EDT (Escalating Density Training… as it’s called) famous. It really is his fault, not mine.

Unfortunately, this type of training works best with a barbell. There’s no way around it. You can use other implements, but truth be told, they won’t be as effective as.

Squat, a complete exercise busy people should never ignore

Any variety of this beautiful exercise should always be in your program. No matter what your goal is.
Photo by US Naval Force Central Command

Share this with busy people you know! With many changes in their lives, their fitness may go to the back burner!

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How to workout for busy people – Conditioning focus

This is part 3 of the How to workout for busy people series (click here for Part 1 and Part 2), in which we’ll focus on conditioning.

Different types of Conditioning

Yes, there are different types. But, for practical purposes let’s focus on long sessions and short sessions. To build an all

Long distance running, conditioning, endurance. Not the best for busy people, but necessary

Steady state for long sessions will get you the desired results. Be them bodycomposition, endurance or recuperating ability

around conditioned body, you’ll have to do BOTH. Since time is an issue in this series, we’ll try to be as efficient as possible.

Training in long sessions will be focused on steady state cardio. I know, I must be from a different day and age if I believe this to be necessary (and you’re busy people, how dare I?). But if you think that it’s ineffective as conditioning (we’re not talking fatloss) then you have a different thing coming. Doing over 90 minutes in a row will not only improve your conditioning and endurance, but will also vastly improve your mental toughness and body composition (there, I said it).

Short duration training is where HIIT will work best. There are literally thousands of routines scattered all over the web. It’s effective, efficient and to the point, which is what busy people are all about. It will be simple, not easy.

Frequency

This one you should be playing by ear, I’d love to say you’ll have to do X amount a week, but truth be told, this workouts should leave you gassed. But I still advocate for higher frequency. So, if you plan on doing 15 minutes per session, think about going 5 times a week with short duration workouts, and once a week for long sessions. I recommend doing 30 minutes of HIIT and 90 minutes of steady state workouts.

The recommended prescription is 3 HIITs + 1 steady state workouts per week.

The Busy People Workouts

I’ll put 3 protocols for you to follow. Even though most modalities can be adapted to them, I’ll put what I found to be the best to apply it.

On the top of every minute

Choose 1 or 2 exercises (that complement each other), and set a timer to announce the start of every minute. You’ll be doing a fixed set and rest what remains of the minute.

Progress: Every time you hit the amount of reps, add 1 to every set. Once you start getting only 20 seconds of rest, choose a harder variation or add weight.

Recommended: Kettlebell swings, snatches, bodyweight squats.

As Many Rounds As Possible

This popularized by Crossfit method is as effective and brutal as they come.

Pick a sequence of exercises that will cover your bases (a push, a pull, a hip hinge, a squat, a core). Set a timer for the allotted time and do between 3 and 5 reps per exercise. You’ll keep going through the circuit until the time finishes.

Progress: Take note of how many circuits you finished. Next time you’ll have to do more.

Recommended: Bodyweight exercises and Kettlebells will probably go a longer way. Pick variations/weights you can do 10 reps with and do 5 per set.

Sprint ladders

Effective as hell but they will beat you. Choose 3 different distances (30m, 60m, 100m (that’s meters)). You’ll sprint the first distance, return jogging to the start line; run the second distance, jog back to the beginning; sprint the third, walk back to the beginning and start over. Do this 5 times. You’ll feel amazing after it (well, maybe not directly after it, it may take some recovery).

Progress: just add ladders, or go by rungs. Ideally you’ll always go balls out and progress will be slow.

You may switch this for kb snatches or swings.

Kettlebell swing, conditioning, full body. Great for busy people

Kettlebell swings are probably one of the best conditioning exercises out there.

Long sessions.

Feel free to keep this as optional, and if needed do it on the weekend. Do 90 minutes of whatever you enjoy the most. Keep it light and keep it constant. Don’t stop before the 90 minutes are up.

What? No tabatas?

No. Hell no. What most people know as Tabatas are a watered down, bullshit ridden imitation of the protocol. There’s four reasons why I don’t put them here:

  1. The tabata protocol calls for 20 seconds of intense, balls to the wall, execution, and 10 seconds of active rest with lighter movement (like jogging is to sprints). Please tell me how you’re managing that with squats. I thought so.
  2. Chances are that, with the exception of sprinting, kettlebells (and I doubt most people can manage it) and a fixed bicycle, you won’t be able to go all out for twenty seconds.
  3. If you seriously can go more than one full out tabata workout, congratulations, you’re better off than probably 90% of the planet. But, doing “tabata pushups”, “tabata pull-ups”, “tabata squats” and “tabata crunches”(I did puke  little bit there), you should be an all star athlete. Seriously.
  4. Most people can’t really handle it. If you can do the tabata protocol (realistic ones, sprint or bikes) then go for it. Chances are you can’t.

No go beat yourself up!

Next one I’ll be discussing on how to get both strong and conditioned for busy people. But chances are you already know how!

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How to workout for busy people – strength focus

On this second post of the How to workout for busy people series I want to focus on developing strength on a “time-budget”. Part one here

Strength = skill = practice

Why is strength so effective to develop when tight in time? Because strength is a skill. It’s the skill of building tension in the muscles, and every skill gets better the more we practice (of course, practice correct form, cues, etc.). If we tone it down, if you want to press more you’ll have to press more. If you practice more while well rested you’ll get a lot better a lot quicker.

Minimal approach works best

If you’re short on time you don’t want (or can’t) be in the gym, or your garage for long periods of time. So pick 2 to 4 exercises total. And practice them, really nail them down. Take this forced focus to get the most out of these exercises.

So, what’s the recepie for busy people anyway?

You’ll go to a HFT type of work. High frequency and intensity, with low volume (remember, a little every day goes a long way). Pick 2-4 exercises and practice them 3-5 times a week, and do 2-3 sets of 3-6 reps. The more you practice them, the better the results we’ll be at the end.

So, here are a couple of suggestions:

Barbell

Over head press (strict): 2 x 5 with a load you can manage 7 reps solidly. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets. Add weight after every second session that you nail the 2×5.

Deadlift: Same. 2×5 with a load you can manage 7 reps solidly. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets, adding weight after every second session that you nail the 2×5.

Squats: Follow the same protocol. Squats should be alternated with deadlifts (one session each) if you’re going to do them.

You can never go wrong working on the deadlift. Probably THE most complete excercise and importante exercise for busy people

You can never go wrong working on the deadlift. Probably THE most complete excercise and importante exercise for busy people. Photo by Amber Karnes

Kettlebells

A1) TGU: 2 x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 reps. Start with 2 x 1, 2, 3 and add one rung to the ladder every second session you manage the alloted number of rungs.

A2) Goblet Squat: 2 x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 reps. Start with 2 x 1, 2, 3 and add one rung to the ladder every second session you manage the alloted nmber of reps.

Go back and forth between this two resting as needed.

B1) Kettlebel Swings: 50-100 reps total. Keep it easy and don’t exhaust yourself with this. It’s just to finish up!

Bodyweight

Push up variant or Dip: 2 x 5

Pull-up or Row: 2 x 5

Squat: 2 x 10

Leg Raises: 1 x 10

Do this in a circuit fashion. Rest 2 minutes between circuits. And do these exercises like you mean it. Once you feel they’re two easy try a new, hard variant.

Now, that you’re not busy enough, what’s your excuse?

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How to workout for busy people

One thing I regret not doing in the last couple of years is not recording the excuses friends and family have been giving me to not workout. Of course “I don’t have time” is the most common excuse (and “I don’t want to” often the rarest). Most of us know this isn’t true. But what happens when our schedule isn’t going in our favor? Most of us are, after all, busy people.

What happens when time derails?

Usually (and I’m sure you can relate), I’ve got time to work, workout, write this blog, meet with friends, … and even read a

No time to workout

Some aspects of life will get in the way! Photo by Giuseppe Savo

book before bed, getting around 7-8 hours of sleep and feeling happy. But, as I’m sure it has happened to you, sometimes things just won’t fall in place, social life demands more time, work demands more time, and of course, we sacrifice those things that aren’t really a priority, we’re after all, busy people. In most cases (most certainly mine), fitness goes out the window. And this has happened to me during finals, heavier working periods, etc.

Of course, during those moments I didn’t know what I now know. And, being mindful of these things I do have a couple of back-up plans that respond to my goals for such times. I’ve decided I would always have time to practice, so, I’ll practice even in the event of having little time.

In this post, I wanted to share with you these “principles” I keep in mind to build short time effective workouts.

5 Rules for busy people!

Keep your goals in mind!

This is very important, since you’ll have to make decisions based on this.

Cut the fat

Pareto’s principle states that 20% of the efforts deliver 80% of the results. Lean your routine, simplify. What doesn’tbuild to your goals needs to go (this will be temporal after all).

A little every day goes a long way

There’s no reason why you can’t divide your workouts to “a little every day”. Grab your training journal and estimate

Pistol squats: great for busy people looking for a complete leg workout in an exercise

Working out in your apartment is a great time saver for busy people. And the pistol squat are great for a complete leg workout in an exercise

your total weekly volume of those key exercises that lead to achieving your goals. Divide this by 5 or 6, you’ll have a daily goal of sets that you can probably manage better, and in shorter time!

This also works for conditioning

Remember to enjoy it!

Most excuses come in the form of “I don’t have time for that”, when they really mean “I couldn’t give two tugs of a (for the rest, read Metropolitan (awesome comic))”. You’re workout won’t always be fun and you won’t always be motivated. But, if it’s a chore it will be a lot harder to pull off.

Keep it temporal

This is a great strategy to employ in moments of little time. But they can get boring. So, unless you fall in love with this type of training (as I have, and miss it), keep it only for moments that you have to rush it (like finals, life with kids, etc.).

What are the weirdest excuses you’ve heard? Post them in the comment section so we can all have a laugh!

Next post will be featuring a couple of workouts with this in mind, so if you have any particular time restriction, be sure to let me know so I can feature something factoring it!

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No time to workout? Try one of these 4 short time workout strategies! (#3’s my personal favorite)

These 4 strategies will get you seriously strong and conditioned if you work at them seriously! But first, a little back story.

Not so long ago, before graduating, I had to juggle between a job and school. As you may imagine, I had less than little time

workout. Before needing a job, I was able to put hours on the gym (I wasn’t always so focused, so a lot of time-wasting happened), and that was ok, I didn’t really need to worry about optimizing my workouts time-wise.

But, then real responsibilities came along and, quite frankly, I didn’t really have (nor want) the time to go for well over an hour in

the gym. There was a lot to do, namely enjoying the benefits of said work. This has been so for over 5 years now, and I wouldn’t go back to marathonic workout sessions. What did I do? Here’s a couple of strategies to do the same (or more) in less time.

1. Get more bang for you buck: Prioritize

Kettlebell work for circuits

Kettlebell work is almost made for circuit training. Photo by Lorant Dankahazi

This is as simple as it gets and implies cutting off extra work, and it works great for the development of strength. There’s several ways to go about it

  • An exercise a day, plus some accessory work. Choose a big compound exercise such as the bench press, military press, squats or deadlifts and focus on it. Your accessory work should focus on something that builds towards it.
  • Focus only on two big compound exercises and work exclusively on them. This is my favorite of both approaches. Pavel’s Power to the People protocol works amazing for this, and in 20 minutes a day (or a total of 1:40 hours a week) tops you’ll be getting a lot stronger.

2. Try circuit training

Working circuits is simple. You just grab a bunch of exercises and perform them one after the other. Your rest between exercises and circuits should reflect your. The magic of this is that your rest periods will be shortened anyway, since you’ll be somewhat recovering from one exercise while performing the rest.

Usually, when I do circuits they go something like this:

  • A push
  • A pull
  • A knee bend (squat)
  • A hip hinge (kettlebell ballistics or bridge)
  • A core exercise

After every circuit I give myself two minutes of rest (or one, If I’m realllly feeling it) and start over. After 5 circuits I’m usually done for the day. Doing this 3-4 times a week will guarantee your success.

Reps and rest will depend on your conditioning level and your focus. If you’re going for a strength based practice you’ll do best with low reps and higher rests, invert it for conditioning. Or check out my post on defining your workout where I get better into it.

3. Density Training: Set a time and go!

This is by far my favorite of the 3 (Crossfitters may now it as AMRAP). Density in training is calculated as volume/time. Why is this a great type of training when you’re on a tight schedule? Because the progress in it is either in doing more in the same amount of time, or doing the same faster.

What has worked best for me Is to use a stop watch between 15-40 minutes and get my favorite circuit and go for it. Make sure to take note of your workout: how much did you do this practice? Great, now try to beat it by at least one rep or exercise completed on your next practice (always remember to practice safely though, the numbers will come).

Once you’ve added two rounds, change to harder exercises (usually best to change one at a time).

4. Extreme conditioning on the minute

Kettlebell Swing

Expect a healthy sweat! Photo by John Calnan

This is my favourite for finishers, but it’s a great conditioning tactic if you don’t have time. You’ll need a stopwatch or a timer. The idea is for you to do a set, rest for what’s left of the minute, and start over on the new minute. Kettlebell swings/snatches, burpees and bw squats work great here.

Wrap up

Any of these strategies will work wonders once you apply them, and will let you enjoy the rest of your life as well. They have been proven not only by me but by (at least) thousands who’ve used them successfully for their fitness goals. Just remember to fit them into your goals and you’ll be golden!

So, now that time’s no longer an excuse, what will you say when you won’t do it?

Also, If you’ve got any friends or family that complains for their lack of time, share this post with them, it may help them a lot!

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