When you talk to people who go to the gym talk about their workouts, they will usually say they work out for an hour or two to get the workout that they need. Many people believe that you need to workout for prolonged periods of time a day to get any kind of results you want. The plain and simple truth is that a 30 minute workout can be just as effective as a much longer workout.
Many people cannot find the time to spend a couple of hours at the gym. Trying to manage work, family and a social life while finding time to work out can be a struggle. For some, there may only be a 30 minute window to workout during the day. Having only a short amount of time to dedicate to working out will put some people off working out, and they won’t work out at all. Other people will try to split their workouts around the day, getting up early to go before work, and going out on their lunch hour to squeeze in a session before they have to get home.
But it doesn’t have to be like that, in fact trying to do too much can put a strain on both your body and your mental health! What you need to do is to focus more on your workout, and plan ahead, and you can cut your workouts down to just a half hour slot. Here are a few tips on how to cut your workouts down to 30 minutes a day:
Plan Your 30 Minute Workout
Before you even go to the gym, you need to plan your workout to optimise your time there. Make a list of the exercises you want to do for that day, not forgetting to make a note of all the weights and settings of your equipment. You should also write down how many repetitions of each set you will be doing during the workout. Split up working on different body parts on each different day.
You could work on your chest, shoulders and back on a Friday and Wednesday, and work on your abs, legs and arms on a Thursday and Tuesday. Splitting up your routine will cut down your time at the gym significantly, as you are literally halving the body parts you are working on. You should also split up your cardio training, and weight training to be on separate days.
On the days where you are not doing weights, you can spent some time working on your cardio. If you spend your 30 minutes on a treadmill or cross trainer, rather than mixing the two, you will waste less time between workouts. You will also be focussing your training, and spending less time at the gym.
At The Gym
When you arrive at the gym, you need to get ready for your workout. If you set up as many things up in advance as you can, you can avoid having to waste time setting up the equipment when you move from one exercise to the other. Taking this approach allows you to go directly to the next exercise without having to stop and set up (you should take a little break between exercises though!).
Another time waster at the gym is socialising. Sometimes a conversation can last a lot longer than it should do, and getting distracted can end up losing you a lot of time. Having a 10 minute chat before your workout cuts a third of your 30 minute workout! You should explain to people who try to talk with you that you are on limited time and can’t stop for a chat (in a friendly way!). You could also walk in with your headphones on before you start training. People usually get the message.
Summary
Reducing your workout time doesn’t have to reduce the benefits of your workout. If you plan accordingly, and avoid procrastinating, you will see the benefits of your 30 minute workout straight from the word go. Don’t forget – make your plan and stick to it!