Building muscle and strength safely and sustainably should be the goal of your regular workouts. But when time is a constraint, it’s harder to follow a particular effective regime to achieve that goal. But don’t worry, CrossFit athlete and functional bodybuilding coach Marcus Filly breaks down the secret of getting the most out of your workouts in 30 minutes or less.
Doing the Prep
It’s natural to be tempted to skip the warm-up routine when time is short. But Filly warns that this habit could lead to injury during workouts, resulting in long-term setbacks. Prep work doesn’t have to be long to be effective. He advises programming similar movement patterns of the main workouts into the prep using just bodyweight, an empty bar, or a resistance band. These help your brain and body settle in and get fueled for the work ahead.
Training for Strength
Classic high-intensity workouts are tempting to do within a shorter time period. You may indeed writhe on the floor in pain, but that comes with a side of gloating self-satisfaction. Wrong! According to Filly, focusing on supersets is better than the complexity of movements within a shorter time to work that intensity for achieving strength. Walking out the door with a massive pump is always better than tending to a sore muscle after workouts.
Ending Workouts on a High Note
As per Filly, high-quality muscle contractions should be the sweet end of your workouts. It can be in the form of either conditioning, strength balance, or both. Filly advises rounding out a push and pull session by including a giant set rotating between three specific movements. Single arm body rows for unilateral strength, an archer pushup focusing on one arm at a time to work off the same thing, and lastly, an extended wall plank for 45-50 seconds to work that upper body and core. Training for time instead of rep count is the key here.