How To Sneak In A Workout

As the warmer months get closer and closer here in Massachusetts, that typically means more time spent with the family on vacations while still managing work responsibilities.

I’ve written about a few strategies to make the time for your fitness in the past, but for many people the time issue becomes sporadic. This leads to inconsistency in your workouts and training, you start to feel more lethargic, less energy, less motivation, potential weight gain… you get the point!

This becomes really important if you have specific goals (outside of body composition goals) or a stimulus you’re trying to achieve that day. For example, you may want to improve your skill on particular exercises (if you do CrossFit ) or you want to improve your posture or you just have a goal of moving X amount of time per week!

Whatever your goals are, you can still work on them even if you only have a few minutes. I’ve outlined what to do and how to approach these short workouts that hopefully resonate with you! All you need is 4-16 minutes of time to get this in and that includes your warm up!

Before starting your workout, you want to identify what type of stimulus you’re trying to achieve , which goes back to the point I made earlier about what your goals are. Here are the most common stimuli that you may be trying to achieve on any given day. I’ll be referring back to these as we go through the post!

Now that we’ve identified the most common stimuli, now, let’s talk about how to accomplish this in a time crunch.

Interval training is one of our favorite methods of working in skill work, conditioning work, accessory work, and strength training into our group programming. There are various formats of interval training, but they all include the elements of work (you moving) and rest (you not moving very much). What has gotten a lot of notoriety over the past 10-20+ years is the HIIT method which a lot of you reading this are probably familiar with. 

The HIIT method involves periods of short, high intense (anaerobic for the most part) exercise followed by less intense rest periods. This is done to exhaustive measures, which provides a tremendous amount of bang for your buck in a short period of time. However, you don’t need to always crush yourself with an interval workout if that isn’t your goal (remember #1, what’s the stimulus!)! Here are 3 interval formats that are our go to’s and that you can do when you’re in a time crunch:

What is it?  

The Tabata method is one of the most popular forms of interval training as it can be used in a variety of ways from cardiovascular endurance, stamina, and finisher work at the end of your training session. The limited rest allows for a short recovery but for the most part, your heart rate should stay relatively consistent throughout.

How to use this method:

If you’re looking to Work Up A sweat , choose 4 movements and complete 6-8 rounds, alternating through the movements. Choose 1-2 global fatiguing movements (like burpees, up-downs, thrusters) that will get your heart rate up, but also some lower impact, less intense movements to help you recover. Remember, your goal is to move, not be crushed!

Here is an example:

:20/:10×6 Rounds (12 minutes total)

Up downs

Low plank

Air Squats

Push-ups

If you’re looking to Feel The Burn, choose 2-4 movements and complete 6-8 rounds, either alternating movements OR working across. Working across means that you would complete all the sets of 1 movement before moving onto the next. When choosing your movements, you want to stick with mostly global fatiguing movements and limit movements that will bring your heart rate back down. 

Here is an example:

:20/:10×8 Rounds (16 minutes total)

Burpees

Kettlebell Swings

Dumbbell Thrusters

Dumbbell Hang Power Cleans

If you’re looking to Move and Mobilize , choose 2-4 movements and complete 4-8 rounds, alternating movements. Here, you want to choose 1 or 2 movements (at the most) that will be your skill focus and the other movements should be “fillers” which can be accessory movements, local fatiguing movements (like push-ups), or mobility/stability exercises. The goal isn’t to be dripping in sweat but gives you the opportunity to get the much-needed work you want to do! And remember, less is more!

Here is an example:

: 20/:10×5 rounds (10 minutes)

Handstand hold (*Skill)

Hollow body rock

Dumbbell Reverse Lunges

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

What is it?  

This form of interval training is what we refer to as a 1:1 work to rest ratio interval. You can see compared to the Tabata method, the work time is 10 seconds higher but the recovery time is 20 seconds higher. This method allows you the flexibility of working slightly harder for longer periods because you have more recovery time.

How to use this method:

If you’re looking to Work Up A Sweat , pick 3-4 movements and complete 4-5 rounds. Similar to the Tabata, choose 1-2 global movements (like burpees, up-downs, thrusters) that will get your heart rate up, but also some lower impact, less intense movements to help you recover.  You want to make sure there is a recovery movement between the global movements if you choose 2 so you don’t get too tired and that you can maintain a consistent pace.

Here is an example:

:30/:30×4 rounds (16 minutes)

Jump Squats

Renegade Rows

Mountain Climbers

Hollow body hold

If you’re looking to Feel The Burn , pick 2-4 movements and complete 4-8 rounds. Again, similar to the Tabata method, you want to have more global fatiguing movements. But since we have more flexibility in our rest time, we can incorporate movements that may take longer to transition from such as rowing or shuttle sprints.

Here is an example:

:30/:30×8 rounds (16 minutes)

Row for Calories

Dumbbell Power Snatches

If you’re looking to Move and Mobilize , choose 3-4 and complete 3-5 rounds. Similar to the Tabata method, you want to choose 1 or 2 movements (at the most) that will be your skill focus and the other movements should be “fillers”. The big difference is the longer work time and rest time, so you don’t want to be doing things that will elevate your heart rate too high during the:30 seconds, so you can’t recover and properly focus on your skills. I like to put the skill movement in first, so when you start you’re starting from a place of high recovery.

Here is an example:

:30/:30×4 rounds (12 minutes)

Double Unders (*Skill)

Side Plank Right

Strict Chin ups

Side Plank Left

What is it?

This form of interval training is what we refer to as Variable Interval Work (VIW) . Unlike the tabata method or the:30/:30 method, the work is not set by time but it is set by a number of reps you need to complete within a given minute. CrossFit has coined the term EMOM (every minute on the minute) and has brought this method of interval training to light. The target for an EMOM regardless of the stimulus,  the time it takes you to complete the work should be consistent.

How to use this method:

If you’re looking to Work Up A Sweat, choose 3-5 movements and complete 3-5 rounds. Keep the global movements to 1-2, similar to the Tabata and :30/:30 method, but when choosing your reps you don’t necessarily need to work in absolutes. What I mean by this is to give yourself a rep range so your time is consistent to complete each movement. If you add or subtract reps, that’s fine but keep in mind that if you push too hard, you may end up in a puddle of sweat afterward which wasn’t your intent! Also, the more exercises you choose, the more recovery you will have between those movements.

Here is an example:

15 Minute EMOM; 3 cycles (15 minutes)

Min 1: 8-12 burpees

Min 2: 12-20 Air Squats

Min 3: 10-15 Plank Push Ups

Min 4: 10-15 Dumbbell Push press

Min 5: 5-10 Strict Pull ups

If you’re looking to Feel The Burn , choose 2-3 movements and complete 5-8 rounds. Again, similar to the Tabata and:30/:30 method, you want to have more global fatiguing movements. The fewer movements you have, the less rest/recovery you will have between those exercises. You can also utilize this method by adding reps per round until you cannot complete them (Ex: “Death By Burpees”). I wouldn’t advise doing this if you think it will take you longer than the allotted time you have, so keep the time set.

Here is an example:

12 min EMOM; 6 cycles (12 minutes)

Min 1: 12 DB Thrusters

Min 2: 12 DB up downs

If you’re looking to Move and Mobilize and not really work up a sweat, I wouldn’t recommend using this format as it’s designed to have a set rep scheme. You can, however, have certain exercises that have a set rep scheme and others that have a time component. What I would recommend is if you are looking to test your skills with a slightly elevated heart rate, to use this format. If that’s the case, pick 2-3 movements with 1 being the skill-focused movement. You will want to have a conservative rep scheme on the skill side and/or give yourself a range. If you are going to include a time component, you can build in more static/isolated movements into this format.

Here are two examples:

10 min EMOM; 5 cycles (10 minutes; skill + elevated heart rate)

Min 1: 3-6 Handstand Push ups

Min 2: 15-30 Air Squats

12 min EMOM; 4 cycles (12 minutes; skill + time component)

Min 1: 3-6 Handstand Push ups

Min 2: :30 Hollow body rocks

Min 3: 15-25 Kettlebell swings

Min 4: :30 Child’s pose

With all the information that I shared above, it’s understandable that this can seem overwhelming at times. Here are my tips for being successful with utilizing this strategy of sneaking in a workout in a short amount of time:

Remember, the goal here is to MOVE. If you’re really struggling with consistency or you know you will struggle as it gets warmer, give this a shot! If you need more help, the coaches here at Prototype are here to guide you! Just let us know and book a Free Goal Review Session if you’re a member here at Prototype OR Book a Free No Sweat Intro Session if you’re not a member here at Prototype!

Enjoy!

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