Get Stronger . . . Faster?
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Want to get strong but need to spend less time at the gym? This article is for you.
Let it be said - there’s nothing wrong with spending a lot of time at the gym. If you don’t need to save time, then this article probably isn’t for you, but a lot of people need to get through their workouts in a reasonable amount of time - they need to get in, get done, and get out - so if this describes your situation, let’s improve things with two quick tips.
Tip #1: Go Through Your Warm-ups Quickly
Warm-ups are where you save time. Don’t rest between your warm-up sets. For example, in the squat, do your empty bar squats, then immediately grab your next warm-up weight, put it on the bar, and perform that set. Again, immediately grab the next warm-up weight and then do that set, and so forth and so on.
Sure, after your last set, wait several minutes before your first work set - you want to be rested for your work sets, after all - and definitely rest between your work sets, but again, your warm-ups are where you save time. If you keep moving, you can get to your first work set of squats within 10 minutes of squatting the empty bar.
If you need an additional reminder to keep moving, set a timer (I use one regularly when training) or even tell yourself to get a little out of breath during your warm-ups. It’s okay if this happens during the warm-up process - the warm-up weights are light, so it’s not going to be a problem, and remember, you’re going to rest appropriately before your first work set anyway, so you won’t be out of breath anymore at that point.
Tip #2: Warm Up Your Next Lift Between Your Work Sets
Using the squat and press as examples, after you’ve done your first work set of squats, start warming up your press (you’ll need a second barbell to utilize this tip). Do a couple empty bar sets, then have a seat for several minutes, and then perform your second work set of squats.
As always, make sure you’re well rested before starting a work set, but you can certainly perform most, if not all, of the next lift’s warm-ups by the time you finish the current lift’s work sets. Not surprisingly, this works best if the two lifts are relatively unrelated, like the squat and press example used here (e.g., warming up the deadlift between squat work sets isn’t a great idea).
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
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