Level up your workouts!
How many hours have you wasted trying to exercise?
For real!
You worked out for 40 minutes.
But how many minutes have you actually worked out?
10 minutes?
5?
Listen, if you don’t track you don’t know.
And if you track, you’d be surprised.
In this article, you’ll discover 6 simple tips to level up your workouts and save yourself valuable time.
Next time you work out:
Get in, crush your goals, and get out!
TIP 1: PLAN AHEAD
One major efficiency killer is starting a workout without a clear plan. If you don’t know your training goals, targeted muscle groups, sequence of exercises, rep count, rest time, and loads in advance, you’re setting yourself up for wasted time and poor decisions mid-workout. Plus, without clear intentions, you’re far from pushing your limits and maximizing your training. Planning eliminates decision-making fatigue, gives you clarity, and helps you execute flawlessly to crush your goals.
TIP 2: COMPOUND MOVEMENTS
If you’re short on time to target all muscle groups every week, then compound movements are your best bet. Compound exercises activate multiple muscle groups, boost energy expenditure, and elevate the cardiovascular demands of your workouts.
Deadlifts, pull-ups, push-ups, squats, and snatches are a few prime examples.
TIP 3: SUPERSETS
Another time-saving strategy is using supersets: pairing exercises back-to-back with minimal rest in between. The goal isn’t to shortchange rest for each muscle but to target a different muscle group that allows proper rest time for the first muscle group while training the other with optimal intensity. Pairing a lower-body with an upper-body exercise works best.
Depending on how you structure it, supersets allow you to cut your workout time in half or at least double your output for the same workout time.
TIP 4: USE A TIMER
This ties back to the first tip. Based on your goals, you’d have previously planned a rest time for each muscle group. When lifting heavy, 3 to 4 minutes of rest is usually ideal. For moderate weights and higher rep ranges, 2 to 3 minutes works well. Once you’ve determined the optimal rest time, the key is to use a timer or smartwatch to track and stick to it. As you do, you’ll more accurately track your performance from one workout to the next.
TIP 5: GET IN THE ZONE
Getting in the zone means you’re so immersed in your workout that nothing else crosses your mind. When you’re in that state, your execution improves drastically, making every move more effective. The best way to tap into this flow is by creating a pre-workout routine combined with a playlist you love. These will become triggers that help you get into the zone predictably and fast.
TIP 6: TRACK OUTPUT
On the other side of planning sets and reps, is tracking the output:
- Did you hit your rep count on each set?
- How challenging was your workout?
- Is it time to increase the weight for next time?
Planning, executing, and answering these questions afterward helps you track your training load and identify the ideal time to increase it for continuous improvement. The goal is to fine-tune your next sessions for progressive overload.
CONCLUSION:
Here you have it, 6 tips to level up your workouts!
Plan, use compound movements, and supersets, time your rest, get in the zone, and track your output for accurate progressive overload.
Armed with them, now you have the power to crush it!
But please, don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you’re done.
