Work Smarter, Not Longer

By: Jeff

Enjoy the family and the holiday season without
your workouts suffering.

The holidays are a busy time of the year for everyone. Little children rabidly anticipate the holiday season, and parents typically follow suit. Nonetheless, often times the question of exercise is posed during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

The answer to the questions of, "How do I find time?" and "My workouts seem dull and tired." have an easy solution.

Workout smarter, not longer.

For many, the answer to the questions above are longer workouts, more strenuous exercises and trying to squeeze workouts in whenever you can. Wrong, wrong and wrong.

The simple answer referenced earlier speaks to the modern style of training vs. the old-school style. The ancient proverb of exercise states a minimum of 1 hour must be spent in the gym with multiple days of cardiovascular training mixed in with weight training

The opposite can be said about the modern style of training. Workout smarter by shortening your workouts with a mixture of high intensity training methods that will train both the muscular and cardiovascular systems simultaneously.

Everyone has their 'go-to' workouts and habits when it comes to exercise, but making just a small adjustment to your workout can pay huge dividends in many aspects of your life. Here are 5 simple rules to follow to bullet-proof your workouts heading into the holidays:

5 Rules to Follow:

1.) Workouts shouldn't last longer than an hour - Any work put in after the hour mark has passed typically is a waste of time and energy. Forget about the muscle heads at the gym and understand what you are doing will benefit you more than what they are doing.

2.) Train the entire body every workout - Ditch the 'Mondays are chest, Tuesdays are back, etc. workouts for a more synergistic approach that will lead to more calories burned, less time taken and a healthier you as your muscles are never overloaded to the point of exhaustion.

3.) Work quickly, but not fast - Super-sets, tri-sets and other combinations are key to this exercise program. Depending on the overall goal of the workout, you can attack multiple muscle groups in a matter of seconds. If you are focusing on a body weight workout, you could do 20 push-ups, get up and do 10 pull ups, followed by walking lunges. Those three exercises not only work nearly every major muscle in the human body, but can be accomplished in minutes, not hours. Do 4 sets of that workout without any breaks, and you will certainly feel the cardiovascular benefits as well as the muscular benefits.

4.) Plan ahead - When the holidays approach, schedules get jumbled. Recitals, meetings, visits with the in-laws. You get the idea, but if you look at your week ahead and see where there is a time for you to put in 30 minutes of work, it leaves you without the excuse of, "I just got too busy".

5.) Stick with the plan - It is easy to fall back into the workout rut you were previously in by simply doing the 'same old same old' whenever you grace your local fitness establishment. However, in partner with Rule #4, if you write out your workout the day before your scheduled workout, you will already have your plan of attack armed and ready before stepping foot in the gym.

People often over think exercise. Stick to multiple joint movements (more pull ups and less biceps curls), work at an efficient pace (no need to drink a gallon of water during a session with 5 minute conversations in between sets) and don't stress about how your individual gains (people get too wrapped up in how much weight they benched that particular day). You will have peaks and valleys, just listen to your body, but if you follow these 5 simple rules, you will be able to spend more time with your family, enjoy the holidays and not feel horrible about not exercising during the busiest time of the calendar year.