‘No Excuses’ Strength Training – Short, Quick and Highly Productive

‘No time for exercise’. Almost all of us are guilty of this statement, aren’t we?

Juggling between meeting household needs and working a full-time job can definitely rob you of your ‘Me-time’, leave alone practicing a dedicated exercise routine.

And for those who manage to make time for an exercise routine, we would like to believe that you are spending 6-8 hours per week as you claim. Especially when you are strength training.

Wondering how you can indulge in productive strength training despite a busy routine?

It is a well-known fact that shorter workout spans can also bring about desired results even in a busy schedule.

But before we explain in detail, let’s talk about the diet that will accompany this energetic routine. Because an exercise routine is complete without the right diet plan.

1) Eat Clean

It is essential to practice a clean diet, which involves eating food in the most natural state possible – fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and super foods.

The mantra here is to ‘cook more and eat out less’. This also includes getting rid of foods prepared with refined sugar, salt, fat and additives, resulting in digestive distress, weight gain and lethargy.

Benefits of this kind of a diet?

By doing so you’ll avoid low blood sugar crashes by eating consistently and eating clean. And this is extremely helpful if you have scheduled your workout routine for after school or work, as your body has got the required fuel and in the right amount.

2) Short Workout Plans

10 minutes! That’s all you’ll need to strength train. Max 20 minutes.

Some 10-20 minute strength training workouts that you can practice:

Try doing full-body movements for 10 minutes rather than working on each muscle set at a time
Practice skipping, brisk walking, running or sprints
Create an exercise set of jumping, pushups and mountain climbers
Practice doing a package of burpees, bodyweight squats and crunches
Perform a set of planks, walking lunges and jump squats
Include a 4-minute Tabata work routine
Exercise with a resistance band by performing quick rows, chest presses, shoulder presses or any other strength training exercise
Shooting hoops
Practice high-intensity interval training (HIIT)

3) Quick Workouts- Speed and Intensity

You can practice doing some quick workouts, which are fast, intense and deliver the desired results in a short time. Got 30 minutes? Get going with a high-intensity routine!

Here are some of the key short workout plans:

1) Circuits or Packages

Circuits are a common go-to and are highly intensive. In a circuit, you enjoy multiple benefits including an increased heart rate. This can be achieved by integrating cardio and weights into a short 30-minute routine.

One package can include a variety of 4-6 exercises, targeting various muscle groups. This can be repeated after a short rest span.

You can practice climbing stairs, jogging or any other cardio exercise. For weights, it is preferable to use lighter weights because of frequent repetition and the high-intensity nature of the workout.

2) High Intensity Training

HIIT is a type of workout that includes periods of high-intensity training, followed by periods of rest. The HIIT routine can be done as a circuit of weightlifting exercises, sprinting or cardio machines. In this routine, the body form is most important and it requires a solid foundation.

3) Supersets

Supersets are designed to progressively overload muscles, burn more calories and yield sure-shot results. A superset is done by performing two different exercises in a successive manner with no rest.

Here are a few types of supersets that you can add to your strength training routine:

Train the same muscle group, unrelated muscle groups or opposite groups.
Follow up this with tri-sets or giant-sets
Practice compound, pre-exhaust and isolation supersets.

Now that we have provided you with a comprehensive brief on strength training, it will be easy for you to make time for your desired fitness schedule even in a breathless daily routine.

Still thinking of an excuse?

A rigorous fitness routine such as strength training needs a smart tracking application to keep a tab on the progress made over the weeks. This way you can keep a track on the number of steps taken, calorie count, heart rate and much more.

Most importantly you can create smart workout plans that help you achieve your tough fitness goals.

Download Fitness App

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