You can have an effective workout no matter how much time you have available for a workout. Many people think that if they do not have two hours available to workout, then they should not bother because it will not do any good. Wrong.
The problem is that when it comes to working out, duration often comes at the expense of intensity. More isn’t always better. Better is always better. I have noticed that many people find difficulty getting effective workouts in their planned workout time.
For example, you may have one hour to workout given your other responsibilities. With a need to warm up, perform weight training and cardiovascular training, you may feel stressed if you don’t get all parts of your workout in. So, you have two options:
1. Allow your workout to spill over your allotted time.
2. Skip some parts of your workout.
Neither option is preferred. The first option creates a sense of stress at the loss of time while the second option leaves you feeling like you failed at completing your workout.
And a few of you out there never seem to have enough time left for cardio at the end. You know who you are.
I’ve got the solution for all of the above concerns – Retro-Fitting Fitness!
Here’s how it works. Begin with your total workout time in mind. You perform your warm-up and your weight training, and then perform your cardiovascular training for the time remaining until the end of your planned time.
“But what if I only have 10 minutes left? I can’t get a good cardio workout in.”
Yes, you can.
You simply have to adjust the intensity of the cardiovascular training to make sure you feel challenged in the time you have left.
Planned on doing 30 minutes, but you only have 18 minutes left? Then use more resistance, speed, or tempo in your cardio workout to get you tired enough that you have to stop in 18 minutes. Planned on 20 minutes and you have 25 minutes left? You can try to go a little longer (without sacrificing intensity!) than you normally do.
Another benefit to training this way: If you tend to be a little addicted to cardio and you’re worried about doing a long enough cardio session, the pressure of having a finite amount of time left at the end will keep you moving with a little more focus during your weight training. You’ll get through your workout without the distractions of too much rest between sets, letting your mind wander, or the chatty people around you.
The main points: Never get frustrated because you don’t have enough time for an effective workout and never sacrifice quality to do more quantity. Your body changes more significantly in response to intensity than duration.
By keeping your workout time fixed and changing the intensity to ensure that your workout remains beneficial, you can get results without resenting how much time your workout takes or having to make an unplanned sacrifice of time somewhere else in your life. Pretty cool. By using my Retro-Fitting Fitness strategy, you can get fit AND get more time back for your family or employer. Everybody wins!
Jonathan Ross is Co-Author of the forthcoming Family Fit Plan (http://www.familyfitplan.com) and Owner of Washington D.C.-based Aion Fitness. He publishes an insightful, fun-to-read fitness and nutrition e-newsletter that accepts free subscriptions through http://www.AionFitness.com. Jonathan leverages his personal experiences with obesity to fuel his passion for enhancing lives through physical activity – namely that related to his parents who, together, weighed 800 pounds, ultimately resulting in the loss of his father to obesity-related disease. Jonathan was named as the 2005 ACE Personal Trainer of the Year 1st Runner-Up,and earned the distinction of being named among Mens Journal Magazines “Top 100 Trainers in the Country”. He is a sought after expert source who has provided his insight and perspective to top-tier publications, including Womens Health and Fitness, Better Homes & Gardens, Fitness, The Washington Post, and Cooking Light.
