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Do you often speed off to the gym for a quick workout, only to find yourself queuing for equipment or running short on time before your workout is complete? Make the most of precious gym time with minimum equipment and maximum effort. Here’s how to do it:
Push yourself
Choose quality over quantity. Make your time in the gym count by upping your intensity, replacing long, medium intensity workouts for short bursts of hard training. Getting your heart rate up appropriately means you’ll burn calories after your workout as well.
Push the weights
Us ladies can’t add much to our frames without heavy supplementation, so there is slim chance of the dreaded “bulking.” Building lean muscle takes up far less space than fat, and keeps our metabolism burning much higher. Build and maintain lean muscle by lifting heavy and aiming for failure by the end of your sets.
Make your cardio count
If cardio for you is a steady run or cycle, you need to switch things up. Including your upper body in your workout will boost your overall calorie expenditure, as will upping your intensity. Aerobics classes or rowing and elliptical machines will help you practise full-body cardio workouts. Be sure to include intervals of sprinting and recovery to get you into your fat-burning zone.
Your Workout
Your time-savvy, calorie-crunching workout is going to be based on compound movements. These are exercises that target more than one muscle group at once. They are responsible for greater calorie burns during sessions as well as increasing lean muscle tissue at a greater rate, meaning a faster metabolism overall. This is the best way to burn more calories in a shorter space of time.
– Start your session with a 5-minute cardio warm up.
– Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps of each of the exercises below.
– Take a short break between each set of 20-40 seconds.
– If you have time to spare and want to up the ante, include another 5 or more minutes of intense cardio to conclude your workout.
In just 6 moves you’ll have performed an intense, full body workout.
Lisa Raleigh: TV personality, Author, Lifestyle and Wellness Expert | www.lisaraleigh.co.za | [email protected] | www.facebook.com/LisaRaleighSA – Facebook | @LisaRaleighSA – Twitter | LisaRaleighTV – Youtube
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4 Responses
Thanks Lisa. Great tips. I will definitely try them. What works for me when I don’t have too much of time at gym is to attend a class average of 20 – 60 minutes). The class vibe keeps you motivated and you really push yourself thereby having an intense workout in a limited time.
Great article; looking forward to trying it.
I’m always keen to try out new moves to push my body. It keeps things fun and exciting – all you need is some good music and you’re good to go!
This looks like fun. Will definitely give it a go to avoid that festive season slump.