Start Here Program Results Education About Log in
main logo
  • Start Here
  • Program
  • Results
  • Education
  • About
Log in
profile avatar Marc Perry Founder
Articles » Exercise » Workouts » 50 Ways To Cut Down Your Workout Time

50 Ways To Cut Down Your Workout Time

By Marc Perry / September 24, 2020 / Medically Reviewed
September 24, 2020 / Medically Reviewed

cut-down-your-workout-time

We all live busy lives and it can be hard to squeeze in enough time to workout to fit into your busy lifestyle.

If you’re short on time, you can still have great workouts, possibly even better than a longer workout.

We’ve compiled 50 ways that you can decrease the time it takes to finish your workout so that you can keep your busy schedule and have more free time.

50 Ways To Cut Down Your Workout Time

  1. Do combination exercises, which incorporate both upper and lower body movements
  2. Choose structural, compound exercises like squats vs. biceps curls
  3. Incorporate plyometric exercises into your routine
  4. Use strength circuitsTM, where you combine strength exercises into a circuit
  5. Do a metabolic conditioning circuit at the end of the workout, or as the workout
  6. Do Dumbbell Complexes as your workout
  7. Don’t talk in between exercises, or watch the gym TV
  8. Wear a stop watch and set a specific amount of time you can rest between exercises
  9. Use the GymBoss interval timer for interval training
  10. Bring a water bottle so you don’t need to go to the water fountain
  11. Warm up or cool down with cardio instead of setting extra time aside
  12. Do high intensity interval training vs. steady state cardio
  13. Set a specific amount of time for the workout, and don’t go over it (i.e. 30 minutes)
  14. Do tabata training, with 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off
  15. Do core exercises in between normal strength training exercises
  16. Do 2 exercises back to back which work the same muscle group
  17. Use Dropsets for more muscle stimulation in less time
  18. “Run the rack”, which is a dropset technique. For example, start out with 6 reps of 60lb DB Rows, then with no rest do 55lb for 6 reps, then 50lb for 6 reps until you get to 30lb.
  19. Limit your warm up to 5 minutes – 2 minutes foam rolling, 3 minutes dynamic stretching
  20. Wear headphones to avoid interruptions from other gym members
  21. Wear a watch and keep rest time between 30 second to 1 minute
  22. Pre-write your workout plan so there is no extra time spent thinking about what exercises to do
  23. Change before you get to the gym so you don’t need to change in the locker room
  24. Have 1 back-up exercise for each of your planned exercise – that way if someone is using the equipment you can default to your secondary exercise
  25. Pair exercises and supersets together that use the same weights or machines
  26. Perform compound exercises so you can target several muscle groups at once
  27. Superset your exercises: s superset is two exercises “paired” together, often done immediately after the other
  28. Don’t wander to machines you don’t know how to use
  29. Do less abs exercises, especially if you spend 10 or more minutes doing them. They are overemphasized in most programs and routines.
  30. Prepare your workout clothes beforehand
  31. Perform a ladder1 of an exercise in order to burn calories faster
  32. Use non-competing2 exercises in order to maximize time in your lifting session
  33. Warm up with “catch all” movements: Inchworms, walking Spider-Man’s, etc.
  34. Consider dropping some volume. Not every exercise needs to be 3 sets of ten. One intense set may do the trick.
  35. Emphasize compound movements with exercises you already do
  36. Consider working out fewer times each week if you workout 5-6 times a week
  37. Don’t bring your cell phone into the gym
  38. Do hill sprints instead of sprinting on a track, or jogging
  39. Increase the incline of workouts to work harder faster
  40. Alternate between sets of Bench Press & Squat or work overlapping muscle systems like combining Kettle Bell Swings with Good Mornings
  41. Workout for shorter time periods twice a day
  42. Run stairs instead of doing the elliptical
  43. Use the ergometer instead of the elliptical because it burns more calories and is more intense
  44. Select exercises that are close together – while there’s nothing wrong with walking back and forth across the gym between sets, if you’re in a rush it may not be the best use of your time
  45. Complete 5 sets of basic exercises like squats, deadlift, power cleans, and Turkish get-ups
  46. Instead of upping the weights to increase intensity, try cutting down on rest intervals if you’re short on time – it’s an under-appreciated way to boost intensity
  47. Alternatively, try lifting heavier weights with the same rest interval, and cut out a set or two.
  48. Use strength training instead of cardiovascular exercise; with the “afterburn effect” your muscles can continue to burn calories following your workout
  49. Do Squat Press or Step-up with Shoulder Press
  50. Do Density Training: where your sets are timed instead of by the number of reps (trying to get as many reps done within that time frame)

We hope these tips will help you on those days when it just seems like you can’t fit everything into your schedule. If one of these ways to cut down on time works for you, or if you have another way to make time to exercise, we would love to hear from. Just leave a comment.

Show 2 References

  1. Let’s use a push-up in order to demonstrate what a proper “ladder” consists of: For the first set, you’ll do 1 push-up. Next you’ll do 2 in a row. Then you’ll do 3. And so the story goes: all the way up to 10 reps. But we’re not done quite yet – we have to “go back down” the proverbial ladder. Completing one ladder in “one direction” will mean that you performed 54 reps of push-ups, and going back down adds another 54. ↩
  2. Non-competing exercises refers to the order of exercises in which one muscle group is used for the first one, and a second group altogether is used for the second (often supersetted) exercise. This will help burn calories because of the increase in muscles used within a certain time frame ↩
Share
Tweet
Email

6 Comments

  1. profile avatar
    Peter @ MadForFit Apr 30, 2013 - 04:41 #

    This is actually a useful list Marc.

    I’m in the gym – warm up – workout – warm down, and leave within 45-50mins.

    Time keeping and not getting distracted (headphones are great for this) are key for me. That and only doing compound moves.

    1. profile avatar
      Marc Perry, CSCS, CPT Apr 30, 2013 - 08:49 #

      Thanks, Peter. Glad you liked the list.

  2. profile avatar
    Megan Apr 30, 2013 - 20:55 #

    Marc – these are good suggestions. Never heard of tabata (#14), but a quick Google helped me understand the concept. And I’m a big fan of hill sprints (#38) – exhausting but a great way to build endurance and confidence!

    A related question: can you offer suggestions on workouts / strength training for those of us who travel and have limited access to gyms, weights, etc? I’m fortunate that I only travel to a two places, and in one, the hotel has an amazing gym – but the other location has a typical “hotel gym” that has one treadmill, one elliptical, and a tiny set of weights with one bench. Would love suggestions on how to fit in a complete workout in my hotel room, using only body weight exercises like push-ups, dips, squats, lunges, and ab / floor activities. I usually go for a 30 minute run most mornings when I travel, so I’m really only looking for strength / muscle-building.

    As always, thanks for reading and responding to comments – getting this kind of “real time” feedback to questions is really impressive, given how popular your site has become. Kudos to you and your team!

  3. profile avatar
    Linh Gordon Apr 30, 2013 - 22:49 #

    Thanks for the great tips…my workouts can sometimes be long!

  4. profile avatar
    alex May 02, 2013 - 22:47 #

    amazing! great to see some list of “to-dos” first on this website. Also, couple of articles are enough to realize how much this website is helpful. Thanks Marc!

    1. profile avatar
      Marc Perry, CSCS, CPT May 03, 2013 - 12:37 #

      @alex – thanks for spending the time to check out the site and our articles and very glad you find them helpful.

Comments are closed 30 days from the publication date.

You May Like:

7 Reasons NOT To Use A Fitness Model Workout Routine
Top 12 Exercises to Prepare For An Obstacle Course Race
How To Protect Your Shoulders While Lifting Weights
Free Workout Log Template That’s Printable & Easy To Use
10-Minute Core Workout to Build Abs of Steel
Functional Movement Screen (FMS) Review: Top 5 Benefits
footer logo
  • Articles
  • Transformations
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Support
© 2021 BuiltLean LLC | All rights reserved.
* Results may vary. Exercise and proper diet are necessary
to achieve and maintain weight loss and muscle definition.