Did you know you could get so much more from your training routine without spending any longer in the gym? I don’t mean you have to absolutely obliterate yourself and go from sprints on the treadmill to flying off the end and landing in the squat rack to then perform a non stop back to back circuit designed so you can actually see your heart beating through your chest.
Here are a few things you can do to upgrade your workout, achieve more in the same amount of time, or even less time, and fast track your results. These are subtle changes I have made to my own training as well as that of my clients with great results.
1. Train more than one muscle group per session
I like full body workouts but I also like body split routines too, however I will always train more than one muscle group. For example, chest, back and biceps or legs, shoulders and triceps. This allows me to get all the major muscle groups targeted in 2 workouts and I will repeat this twice so they all get stimulated twice as opposed to once a week.
2. Superset or triple set everything
I am not a fan of just training one body part in a session, I couldn’t imagine anything more boring. I like to do supersets where I perform 2 exercises back to back before resting or triple sets where I perform 3 exercises back to back before resting. Using the split above, I may do incline dumbbell press straight into barbell rows and then a set on hammer curls for example. Using this format I still allow muscles to recover whilst keeping the volume high because my chest and triceps will be resting on the rows, my back will be resting on the curls and both the back and biceps will be resting on the incline dumbbell press. So perform back to back, rest for 60 seconds and repeat for 3-5 sets (this is of course depending on the rep range you are using as higher rep ranges require less rest and heavier loads for lower reps require more rest. This is based on an 8-12 rep range). I often get a triple set like this done for 4 sets of each so 12 sets in total in the same time someone completes 3 sets of 10 on the bench press.
3. Stay on top of your rest time
We need to rest between sets as it’s vital for recovery and ensuring you can perform the sets to follow to the best of your ability; resting too little can have a disastrous impact on your results. However, I can safely say most rest too long compared to not enough. When you are in the gym, work, put the effort in and stick to your rest periods. Not only will you get more achieved in the same amount of time but you will provide a greater stimulus to the muscles for better results. If you have finished a triple set and are resting for 60 seconds, the moment that timer hits 50 you should be preparing for the next set, ready to go when it hits 60 instead of wasting another 20 seconds making sure you hair looks good and that your arms look swole as you pick the dumbbells up for the next set.
4. Train abs between sets
Personally I find training abs quite boring so I tend to just perform them on my rest periods between my lifts. My muscles are still getting a rest and I am getting my ab work done and dusted, it’s an epic win. For example, I might do a set of squats into a set of dumbbell shoulder presses followed by some hanging leg raises before taking a brief rest and doing it all again.
By using these tips you will achieve so much more in the time you are in the gym. It will of course be tough at first but you will be all over it in no time and probably realise you had been coasting for a bit too long. Although I do want to make it clear that you should not simply just aim to make sessions more and more intense to progress as that soon gets dull. I just want you to be aware of the time and effort you are putting in at the gym. Enjoy guys; I look forward to hearing how you get on.
When it comes to getting great results in the gym it’s often the simple changes that have the biggest impact, and of course, a bit of structure and enjoyment goes a long way. So why not check out our Fitter 365 membership site where you will gain access to training plans, meal plans, recipes, educational webinars & cheat sheets, as well as daily interaction and support from us. We also keep it updated each month with fresh content and it’s all yours for £1 in month 1 and then less than 5 coffees thereafter. Check it out and join the hundreds who are already getting epic results.
Yours in building an awesome bod,
Matt Whitmore
