Efficient Gym Workout - In and Out in 34 minutes

With the beginning of Quarter Two and temperatures rising, the professional business world is picking up the pace just as fast. My business world is no different, but I know that one powerful way to stay effective and creative is to keep exercising regularly at least 4 times per week.

I made a commitment to myself that I will be in the gym 5-6 times per week. I am already witnessing a boost in my daily productivity and overall well-being.

But as most busy people agree, going to the gym is a big time commitment: travel time, changing, warm-up, exercise session, stretching, shower, dressing up, travel again – we’re looking at 1.5 hours or more.

The Clock is ticking

I am very fortunate to work and live about 3 minutes walking distance from my gym. The changing, dressing, showers, and protein shake to go take me about 9 minutes. That’s a total of 15 minutes for travel and “administration.”

I do my 3-minute warm-up in the steam room or sauna, already dressed in the workout clothes. While the heat is warming up my muscles and increasing oxygen flow, I breathe deep and do a few gentle static stretches (leg stretch, toe touch, arms in front and behind), or even push-ups!

Depending on the day, I either spin on the Elliptical machine for 20 minutes, punch and kick a punching bag for 8 and do some body weight exercises (push-ups, jumping jacks, wide-grip pull-ups, leg throws, lunges, planks) for 12, or do weights and machines for 20 minutes.

I usually do supersets of 2-3 exercises with 5-15 seconds rest between each, and 3 sets and 12 reps for each exercise – all with medium-heavy weights. After each superset I rest for 2-3 minutes.

It is critical to isolate major muscles groups per exercise in the superset and add variety over time (not repeating precisely the same exercise more than 4 times per periodization period: 1-3 months).

For example, first exercise can be squats or lunges (fwd or rev) with a loaded barbell or holding dumbbells in both hands and squatting on a bosu. Then I would move to a bench press (chest or shoulders) – again either with barbell or with dumbbells (straight up or flies), or back exercises (rows or lats). Final exercise can be push-ups, abs (sit ups, leg throws, plank), back extension, bicep or tricep curl, or leg adduction/abduction machine.

With 6 seconds per rep and 12 reps per exercise, 12 second rest before the next exercise, total of 3 exercises, 2.5 minute break, and then 2 more supersets just like that, the total time for 1 giant superset is about 20 minutes [((6 x 12 + 12) x 3 + 150 ) x 3 = 1206 seconds or 20 minutes].

I finish the workout with 2 minutes of stretching of the muscles worked in this session, and I am out to the change room after 25 minutes total workout time. Total gym time: 34 minutes + 6 minutes of travel time = only 40 minutes a day!

Side Note: The most effective duration of an exercise session for many physiological reasons is around 40-50 minutes (source: fitness industry experts). That effectiveness starts at a 20 minute mark and ends at 60 minutes. In other words, EXCLUDING warm-up, the exercise session should be bare minimum 20 minutes, but no more than 1 hour.

Extra Help

I supplement this short gym time with fitness promoting daily activities by taking stairs everywhere (2 steps at a time), walking as much as possible, eating lean and green, and sleeping 8 hours a day.

I bring the Fit Protein Powder in a zip-lock bag and mix it with water in a cup which I bring. This saves me time and money, and I know for sure that I am getting only the top of the line protein.

I satisfy my essential diet requirements with the Bioactive Beverage and Naturborn Vitamins. They boost my energy and mental clarity, make me feel at ease and positive (eg. supplement brain chemistry), and shorten the muscle healing and recovery time – all this so I can do this superset business everyday!

GOOD LUCK and KICK BUTT!