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Saving Time In The Gym
Posted by: Jon
Ah, yes. This is a topic that hits newsstands constantly. Usually I don't agree with the author's ideas of how or when it is necessary to save time in the gym. So I want to give you my own thoughts on the subject. Yes, there are days when you have little time to get in a workout. But let's face it, if it happens to you every week (or even every other week, depending on your situation), I think you need to reassess yourself. This could be good or bad.
-Good: Am I overtraining? This could lead to less desire/motivation. Do I really like what I am doing? Maybe I enjoy weightlifting, but am I training for what I really want (bodybuilding, powerlifting, overall fitness)?
-Bad: Would I rather be home eating potato chips? Maybe I am only doing this to tell my friends "I lift weights!" or to try to meet women. Suggestion: Figure it out and get out of mine own way before thou 45 lb. plate smacketh thy head. Hey, I try to be honest, if someone doesn't like lifting weights, I don't believe they should.
There are reasons to miss or have quick workouts. If your body is seriously drained of energy, there's no point in making it do more causing the recovery process to slow. But be serious here, I'm talking about being sick or having excessive physical work on top of what is your norm. I am not talking about being lazy and making excuses that you're tired because you were up playing Playstation2 all night.
The best way to make quick workouts is the use of supersets and/or drop sets. These will drop you in record time. Supersets are done by picking two or three exercises. Then do them in succession with no rest between. For example, pick bench press and lat pull downs. Do a set of bench press, when done move immediately to lat pull downs. Then rest 30-60 seconds and repeat. These are very handy when you need to work two or three muscle groups quickly.
Drop sets (sometimes called giant sets or running the rack) are just as fun. However these are performed on the same exercise. My favorite example would be dumbbell shoulder presses. Pick three different weights of dumbbells, I will use 90, 70 and 50 lbs. Start at the heaviest weight and go to failure. Set them down and immediately use the next lightest dumbbells and go to failure. Set them down and immediately use the lightest dumbbells to failure. The use of drop sets will generally allow you to work a muscle group in less sets, thus saving time.
Okay, but what if you really have limited time? Pick a compound exercise and do as many sets as time allows. Here is a list of what I would do:
Back = Deadlifts
Chest = Bench Press (Incline to include more shoulder work)
Shoulders = Cleans & Presses
Legs = Squats
So, if when you have a REAL reason to shorten your workout it's easy to do. You don't even have to sacrifice effort. Hint: These ideas also work great for when you hit a plateau in your training. Do all supersets and drop sets for a week, then return to normal training.
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