5 Training Tips for the Busy Lifter
Got a tight schedule? Use these guidelines to get the most out of your limited time in the gym.
Everyone needs to get stronger. To paraphrase Mark Rippetoe, your physical strength determines the quality and quantity of your life — building strength is the most important thing you can do for your body. Strength training should be a priority, if not the priority.
The process of building physical strength takes time. It requires dedicated hours every single week over the course of years to build lean tissue and reach new levels. The amount of time dedicated to training depends on your goals. An elite powerlifter needs to spend a significant portion of his week in the gym. However, if you’re simply looking to improve the quality of your life and fend off the effects of the aging process, your life doesn’t have to revolve around the gym.
A popular misconception about lifting weights is that you need four to six multiple-hour sessions every week to make progress. We have modern bodybuilding to thank for this. In reality, it only takes two, maybe three, relatively quick training sessions per week to get the job done. I’ve coached dozens of clients with families, demanding jobs, and other obligations made steady progress over the course of years with just two full-body sessions per week. By focusing on big full-body exercises, keeping the rest period short, and making real-time adjustments to the weights when necessary, you can drastically reduce your time in the gym and still make consistent progress. Here are five points to consider when training around a tight schedule:
Two workouts per week. This is a big adjustment if you’re coming from a body part split where you might train 4-5 times per week. An advantage to just two training sessions per week is the recovery time between those sessions. The workouts themselves don’t make you stronger — the recovery between workouts makes you stronger. When dealing with all the stress that comes with a busy life, it’s better to give yourself an extra day or two of recovery before training again rather than going into a workout under-recovered. Along with life stress, recovery comes at an ever greater premium as you age, so it behooves you to reduce your lifting frequency as you get older.
Focus on “best bang for your buck” exercises. Rather than doing a dozen machine exercises, you'll get far more out of just a few big barbell lifts. Doing a few sets of squats will make you stronger and build more muscle than dozens of sets of leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses.
When training twice per week, do some kind of squat, push, and pull each session. All three exercises don’t have to be heavy — for example, you can work up to heavier weights on the barbell squat then hit moderate weights on the bench press and bent over row.
Sticking to a handful of big exercises will make those less frequent sessions more effective because each exercise involves the entire body rather than focusing on individual muscles. As a result, you’ll likely become stronger doing a couple full-body workouts than multiple body-part focused workouts per week.Have a way to auto-regulate your lifts. You’re not always going to perform at your best, so have some built-in methods of adjusting the working weights for when you need it. Doing something is always better than doing nothing, so even a truncated workout is better than no workout at all. Having a “Plan B” or alternative option for those days where you can’t, or maybe shouldn’t, hit those heavier weights allows you to still get something done without hurting yourself or doing more harm than good.
There are many methods at your disposal. The one I use most often is the Rate of Perceived Exertion scale, i.e. a 1-10 scale that measures how difficult a set feels. Jim Wendler’s outstanding 5/3/1 program has its own top set protocol where you have the leeway to push for more reps than prescribed, but if you’re not feeling great or need to cut the workout shorter than usual, you have the option to simply hit the minimum prescribed reps. Lots of options to choose from depending on your goals and preferences.Keep rest periods short. For the big barbell exercises, 2-3 minutes between working sets should give you enough time to catch your breath and prepare for the next set. If it’s an especially heavy day or you’re going for a PR, stretch the rest time to 4-5 minutes. But for the average session, keep an eye on your rest period to keep them short. This helps your conditioning to some extent — pushing through quick rests keeps the heart rate elevated and can be used to increase the difficulty of the workout. But if you’re still sucking wind even after three minutes, you probably need to move more outside of the gym. Regardless, sticking to quick, timed rest periods makes a big difference in reducing the length of your workouts.
Be consistent. Above all, don’t miss training sessions. Something is always better than nothing — you can’t make up those missed workouts. As much as possible, train at the same time on the same days. Life will occasionally require adjusting your training schedule, but it shouldn’t constantly shift around. Training doesn’t have to be the priority, but it needs to be a priority. Your workouts are the most valuable time you devote to yourself, to improving your body and mind, and to guaranteeing you’ll live a better life.
I discussed these topics and more on an X (formerly Twitter) Space a few weeks ago. Every Tuesday at 5pm ET I host an open discussion on all things lifting — follow me on X to join.
I’ve also launched new online coaching options for both one-on-one programming and group programming. More on that here.
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