Have you ever noticed that when you plan go to the gym, for a run, to lift weights, take a cardio class, whatever, that you plan an hour for it? At least?
Why is that?
What’s with this magical hour (or more) and why do we need that chunk of time to initiate a spark of results?
In short: We don’t.
There is no magical hour. It’s a myth.
In fact, taking a whole hour to workout can even be detrimental to our bodies.
The thing is, when we exercise, we stimulate what’s called the sympathetic nervous system.
That’s the control center of our fight our flight mechanism—the whole getting chased by a lion thing that produces adrenaline and cortisol. Those are your stress hormones that tell you to get your butt gear.
We were designed to experience only short bursts of this stress and those hormones. A little is a good thing, a lot is bad.
Think of it like this: Escaping from a lion in 30 seconds = success, endorphins, triumph!
Running from a lion for an hour = fatigue, meltdown, and probably getting eaten by the lion.
Aaand, your body doesn’t know what on earth to do with all those extra stress hormones, so they get turned to fat.
Eeeeeee!!!!!
Or even worse, disease.
Make sense? Okay, so now here’s how to kick ass in less time:
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If you’re going to strength train, here are 3 tips to being more efficient:
1. Lift heavier with shorter rest periods. You can do it. You’re only going to be in the gym for like 20 – 45 minutes, so you can give more. Intensity trumps time. You’ve got this.
2. Don’t be someone who stands around for five minutes in between sets. Who has that kind of time? Also try super-setting an opposing muscle group. For example, perform your squats, then do a core exercise. Rinse and repeat. Get out in 20 – 45 minutes.
3. Perform compound exercises. In other words, work multiple muscles at once. Squat, bicep curl, AND shoulder press. Pushup with a leg extension at the top. Side plank AND rear delt flyes. Does it make sense? Efficiency, baby!
Always keep your midsection tight, hips tucked under, head in line with your spine.
4. Finally, if you’re going for a run, stop the madness at 20 minutes. Remember the whole running from the lion thing? You’ll get eaten if you keep going. So stop it. Stop! ☺
In those 20 minutes or less, I want you to alternate high intensity bursts with periods of recovery. Sprint your heart out for 15 – 60 seconds and then stroll or jog to recover. Recovery can be from 30 seconds to two minutes. It depends on you, your body, where you’re at physically and emotionally for that day.
This is efficiency at it’s finest and a sure fire way to see real changes in your body in less time.
I hope you found this article helpful and will apply it to your workouts!
I love providing you all with whatever free content I can to help you develop your own fitness fetishes. 🙂
So, GET ON IT! Your job today is to have a super fast, awesome workout! Go get her done and leave your feedback in the comments section below.
I guarantee you’ll feel like a million bucks when you’re done.
