We help you save time at the gym
“Find it hard to get the body you want in a
short gym session? Here are my top tips to help you shave 30 minutes off your
routine yet still get the results of a full hour’s workout. The best way to do
this is with interval training, which burns more calories and fat than
conventional workouts. Plus, by ditching single-muscle moves for ones that are
multi-tasking, you hit your muscles in a shorter amount of time. So whether
you’re burning fat to get bikini ready, or focusing on cardio to help you get
super-fit, we’ve got it covered – all while giving you back 30 minutes of your
life.
Don’t
have time to devote hours to separate cardio and strength training routines?
Combine them in a circuit that raise your heartbeat while still pumping up your
muscles
Cardio booster
This interval treadmill workout is great
for producing quick results. Walk for one minute on a six per cent incline,
then run for two minutes on a four per cent incline before taking the incline
right down and sprinting for two minutes. Repeat this sequence four times, and
you’ll get an amazing fat burning session in just 20 minutes.
Halve your toning time
Most fixed weights work just one muscle
group at a time, so skip these machines and give your body more of a challenge
by engaging several muscle groups at once. Using just your body weight, do a
circuit of alternating lunges with lateral raises, a plié squat with an upright
row, press-ups with a leg lift and calf raises with bicep curbs. Do 15 reps of
each move and repeat the whole circuit two to three times. Freestanding
circuits such as these will naturally engage your core.
Double stretches
Lower
Back Stretches: Single & Double Knee to Chest
When stretching out your muscles after your
workout, save time by combining two stretches in one – perfect for improving
balance and agility. Try performing a chest stretch as you stretch your calves
and then, when you swap legs, extend your back by linking your hands, rounding your
back and pulling your arms in front of you. You can also do a lunging hip
flexor stretch while stretching your triceps overhead.
Your hamstrings and quadriceps need to be
well balanced, so it’s good to keep these to isolated stretches. But you can
still get a useful abdominal workout while doing these stretches by keeping
your tummy pulled in tight throughout each move.
Top time-saving tips
·
Always have a $1,55 coin in your gym bag, so you
don’t waste time getting change for the lockers
·
Keep your on water bottle topped up to avoid the
queue at the water fountain
·
Change before you get to the gym, so you can be
out of the locker room in seconds.
·
Look like you mean business. Gyms are a great
place to socialize, and you can spend a lot of time making general chit-chat.
Look like you’re on a mission – headphones are a great deterrent to chatty
gym-goers.
Lucy Wyndham-Read is the author of The LWR
Fast Fat Burning Method, designed to motivate busy women and get results fast.
Lucy produces women’s fitness albums and apps from running workouts to
postnatal plans. Visit lwrfitness.com
Q + A
Is it dangerous to train so hard that
I feel sick?
Don’t
train at maximal effort for more than 40 seconds
Yes! Feeling sick after a workout could
mean you’re working out at your maximum heart rate for too long – the nauseous
feeling í a signal to slow down. While it’s fine to occasionally train at
maximal effort (also known as the anaerobic level, meaning training without
oxygen), you should stay at this level for no more than 40 seconds at a time.
Another cause of nausea while training is
low blood sugar levels. Make sure you have enough fuel for your workout by
eating a carb-rich snack an hour or two before training.
