We’re busier than ever these days, and when we’re busy, our fitness habits are sacrificed quite frequently. But, maintaining high levels of physical activity is essential for daily productivity, mental well-being, cardiovascular fitness, and lifelong health.
Here are 5 ways to in effective workouts with busy lives:
5 Ways to Get In Effective Workouts with Busy Lives
#1 Use Efficient Workouts
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to live in the gym to build muscle, burn fat, and have a lean, toned, and fit physique. You can achieve incredible results with as little as three 45-minutes workouts per week.
The trick is that when you’re in the gym, you really have to bring it!
No more sitting around endlessly scrolling on your phone between sets. No more half-hearted bouts of cardio or going through the motions with your resistance training. You have to push yourself and go for it, each and every rep of each and every set.
One of the best time-efficient workout strategies is agonist-antagonist superset training. Classic examples of these muscle-building, fat burning supersets are chest and back, biceps & triceps, quads and hamstrings.
The beauty of superset training is that you can get in a lot of volume while saving time. For instance, a typical straight set workout has you perform a set of bench press, rest 2-3 minutes, perform another set of bench press, rest 2-3 minutes, and perform a third and final set of bench press. You then rest 2-3 minutes and move onto the next exercise.
Agonist-antagonist supersets work opposing muscle groups, so after you finish your first exercise, you move onto another exercise for a completely different group of muscles. While you’re training this other muscle group, the first muscle group you trained gets a rest. You’re able to cut rest times down dramatically without sacrificing performance. You’ll also get a nice cardiovascular workout at the same time due to performing more volume in a shorter amount of time. This makes superset training the ultimate workout for building muscle, boosting cardio, and burning body fat!
For superset workouts, make sure to stack two different muscle groups. Using the classic chest & back workout example, here’s how your workout could look:
- Low-incline dumbbell bench press
- Rest 60 seconds
- Chest-supported dumbbell row
- Rest 60 seconds
- Low-incline dumbbell bench press
- Rest 60 seconds
- Chest-supported dumbbell row
- Rest 60 seconds
- Low-incline dumbbell bench press
- Rest 60 seconds
- Chest-supported dumbbell row
You can then move onto your next superset pairing.
#2 Work Out First Thing in the Morning
This is going to be a challenge for some of you, but if you’re really serious about staying fit with a busy life, you may need to consider early morning workouts.
As the day goes on, things inevitably pop up -- after work drinks, phone calls, dinner invites, rush hour traffic, flat tires, drop-in visits from neighbors. Each of these things can and does happen more often than we realize, and usually ends with skipping workouts.
Training first thing in the morning helps you avoid all of these issues. The tradeoff is that you need to make sure you get to bed early enough so that when the alarm goes off, you’re ready to get up and workout.
In addition to supporting your fitness and physique goals, working out first thing in the morning has one other big benefit -- a fulfilling and motivational sense of accomplishment so that even if everything else in the day goes to hell in a handbasket, you know that you’ve done one of the most important things for your mental and physical well-being and longevity!
#3 Lunchtime Workouts
That 30- or 45-minute lunch break may not seem long, but it’s the perfect amount of time for a high-intensity cardio workout or full body circuit. Search out nearby gyms that you can pop into for a quick sweat session, or use the company’s gym (many corporations now recognize the benefits of physical fitness and reward employees for being physically active).
What about eating lunch?
We understand that it can be tough to fit in everything during the day, especially if you’re trying to squeeze in a workout during your lunch break. Having a quick, low stress meal option on hand can be tremendously helpful. Pack a scoop or two of protein powder in your shaker along with a serving of Tri-Carb (or an apple or banana), and you have a healthy, filling post workout lunch to support muscle recovery and fuel your body during the afternoon work period.
Need other snack options?
Nuts, fruit, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, and protein bars offer convenient and filling options to keep you fueled while you're on the go during the day. For additional meal prep suggestions for busy lifestyles, check out our top meal prep tips!
#4 Get the Family Involved
As temperatures rise this summer, make sure to stay well hydrated if taking your physical activities outdoors. Water is essential for maintaining proper hydration, but don’t forget about the importance electrolytes play in helping balance fluid levels in the body and helping prevent muscle cramps. We suggest mixing up a serving of 1UP Hydration Plus and taking it with you, whether you’re hiking, working out at an outdoor playground gym, or taking a leisurely stroll through the neighborhood. Each serving of 1UP Hydration Plus contains essential electrolytes alongside other valuable hydration agents, including L-Taurine and Coconut Water Powder, and vitamins.
#5 Invest in Your Home Gym
When you have a family and demanding job, you can’t really afford to waste time driving to a commercial gym. Sure, they have all the equipment you could dream of, along with a pool, sauna, and smoothie bar, but when you get down to the root of things, you don’t need all those things to get in a great workout, build muscle, or burn fat.
A home gym is one of the best investments you can make when you’re balancing fitness with a busy lifestyle. By building out your home gym, you’ll save time and money on fuel costs and gym memberships. Those savings alone are significant enough to pay for home gym equipment.
The really good news is that you can build a great home gym for relatively cheap. For the “bare essentials”, you’ll want to get a doorway pull up bar and a suspension trainer. You’ll spend less than $100 on those two pieces of equipment and you can literally train your whole body with just those two things and get phenomenal results.
Over time, if you want to add more variety to your home gym, you can purchase an adjustable bench along with adjustable dumbbells or adjustable competition-style kettlebells. Lastly, for those that want to get into really heavy lifting, you can purchase a barbell, power cage, and olympic plates.
You don’t have to purchase all of this equipment at one time. Take it one step at a time and add pieces as you gain experience, save more money, and want to expand your home gym environment.
Takeaway
While the demands on your time may not be able to be reduced, you don’t have to sacrifice your fitness. By reducing unnecessary drains on our time, making fitness a priority each day, and using the tips discussed above, you, too, can maintain your fitness with a busy life.
If you have questions or are looking for additional suggestions to balance fitness with a busy life, we’re here for you! When you download the 1UP Fitness App and sign up for our 8-week transformation challenge, you’ll gain access to our exclusive Facebook group where you can get advice from experienced coaches and other dedicated fitness enthusiasts who are finding creative ways to stay physically fit while working full-time.
