In the world of working 60 hour weeks, it feels impossible to get your time in the gym. You either have to get up insanely early, or do it insanely late! If you’re not giving yourself adequate recovery time, you aren’t doing your body any benefit at all!
You may have heard them being talked about if you scour the forums, but here are two methods that you can try to keep gym time to a minimum while reaping the maximum benefits!
HIIT
High-Intensity Interval Training is very common now. It is touted as an alternative to cardio, hitting all the areas you need in a 20-minute session as opposed to a long 5-mile run. It is a great approach to exercise for the business-minded person. If you are looking to burn calories, the effects are so intense that your body will continue to burn energy after the exercise has finished.
It is going as fast as you can for a short period, followed by brief and moderate rest. This continues until either time is up or you can’t continue anymore. Believe me, if you don’t feel sick, you aren’t doing it right!
For those that need an example of a typical HIIT layout, it’s as follows.
- Run (flat out, and as fast as you can): 40 seconds
- Walk (at an average or moderate pace): 20 seconds
- Run (again, as fast as you can go): 40 seconds.
- Walk (moderately): 20 seconds
Continue like this for 20 minutes or until you aren’t able to do anymore. And it is intense! Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You can try different methods, maybe using weights. But if you are doing this, don’t try to run before you can crawl. Have the adequate strength behind you first; bodybuilders buy legal steroids to build up their strength so it could be an approach to have if you need to bulk up quickly.
The “Body By Science” Exercise Routine
This is a method originating from biochemistry. As a way to save time, it is the quickest process around. It essentially is the most intense bit of your typical gym session, but for 20 minutes! The goal is to break down the muscle fibers at the quickest and most intense way possible. This is achieved by lifting the weight incredibly slowly. And I mean slowly! Due to the likelihood of injury, it is done on weight machines instead of free weights. You lift the weight on the upward move slowly, for around 25 to 35 seconds. Then you hold the weight for 10 seconds or slightly longer (but not resting “bone on bone”). You then lower the weight for another 25 to 35 seconds. The core exercises are as follows:
- A Seated Row (Upper Body Pull)
- A Chest Press (Upper Body Push)
- Pulldown
- Overhead Press
- Leg Press
The exercises have to be in quick succession to keep up the intensity. You also need a spotter, but this is mainly for motivation, as you will want to give up very quickly! After the session, you will feel like you have been fighting a bear!
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