How to train effectively in 20 minutes

How to train when we are short of time? Do not expect wonders from small investment although some progress can be made even during 20 minutes. And even a small step forward counts.

'As you sow so shall you reap' 

...also works in exercising. Let‘s take a personal trainer. Usually, he charges about 10 EUR per session. In ten hours he cashes in one hundred, which isn’t bad (here in Slovakia). But there is also an older trainer at the gym who is more experienced, he works with fitness models and has good results. He can afford to charge 15 EUR. For him it is enough to work 6.6 hours to earn the 100. And he can go on to chat up girls. His works carries more added value but it is also more demanding. He must adjust the rest of his time to do it well, it includes proper nutrition, relax and from time to time he must read a book or visit a workshop.

The more time I put in - the more profit I can expect. However, if I learn to do the thing more effectively, I can get the same result in shorter amount of time.

Now I try to apply it into training. There are folks who complain that they have only 20 minutes three times a week to exercise. It gives them one hour total time.  When I compare this hour to the rest of the week; I end up facing ration 1:168! Is one hour strong enough to affect the remaining 168? It can be if I improve the quality of the time spent in the gym - like the personal trainer who makes 100 in almost half the time.

Intensification methods are the key

During a 20-minute training, I must pile up the volume and intensity to the degree that it will make my body recovering from the load even during the time I am out of the gym. It can be achieved by intensification methods. Try cutting the breaks between exercises, combining the exercises into super-sets, even three-sets, include intervals of cardio – rope skipping or burpees – in between the sets and so on. Circuit training and CrossFit use similar principles, to perform a series of exercises/moves in limited amount of time.

Twenty minutes in such intensity is enough to force the organism to start making changes. In a way, one hour can affect the remaining 167 in the week. However, we must spend some time on preparation in order to make the gym hour count. It includes nutrition planning, relax, studying magazines...

Naturally, the above mentioned principles aren’t suitable for newbies in the gym. Young trainer who just finished his degree can’t walk into the gym and charge fortune for a session. This applies to all walks of life. But if I don’t see the desired results even after a few years, there is time to make a change.

The following routine can be the change...

Back conditioning workout

     

Pull ups on the bar improve the grip strength and work your back all the way down. Who wants to get the max effort, try this.

Set 3 minutes on the timer.
Start doing pull ups for maximum reps.
When you cannot do any more, immediately move to the rowing machine and row 250 metres as fast as possible.
Rest till the end of the 3 minute interval and repeat 6 to 8 times.
This gives you a great workout and you also work your aerobic capacity. Not to speak about the accumulated energy deficiency that helps you to burn some fat while doing other things. If you do cannot do pull-ups (learn pull-ups!) do pushups. If you do not have rowing machine, run or do burpees.

I follow similar pattern. When I am not preparing for some competition, I exercise only about 4 hours a week and I am stronger and in better form than at the college when I used to do sport for about 12 – 13 hours a week.