7 Ways To Make Your Workouts More Effective

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Let’s face it – you’re busy.  

Ever have one of those days that you feel like you’ve got more going on than there are hours in the entire day?! Between family responsibilities, work requirements, recreation, socializing, religion, and whatever else you may be involved with your entire day is on a pretty tight schedule. It’s easy to see how some things have to be cut down if not eliminated altogether; unfortunately all-too-often exercise time gets cut long before some of these other obligations. But let’s say you manage to preserve 15-30 minutes for a quick workout? How can you make sure that you’re getting the most out of your time? How do you ensure that every precious minute spent working out is maximizing your outcomes and helping you to fulfill your potential? 
 
Well you’re in luck! Today I’m sharing 7 of my favorite tips that are guaranteed to make your workouts more effective. Even if you don’t have a ton of time to dedicate to fitness, make every second count by remembering the following: 

1. Focus, focus, focus! With regards to working out, it is vital to prepare mentally as well as physically. I have found that the best time for me to do this is during my warm-up. During your next 2-3-minute warm-up session I want you to close your eyes and answer the following questions: “Why am I here today? What specific areas of my body have I been particularly concerned about lately? And finally: What am I going to do about it today?” Spend the remainder of your warm-up mapping out your plan of attack. What exercises are you going to do? What order you going to do them in? Planning your next 15, 30, or 60 minutes goes along way in maximizing your productivity with whatever time you’re allotting to yourself. You spend less time wandering and wondering; more time toning and tightening!


2. Did I mention focus? Maximize every exercise by concentrating on the specific muscle you’re trying working on. Research has shown that keeping focus on the muscle you’re training actually results in increased muscle contraction and enhanced results. While performing squats, focus on your butt and quads. While performing biceps curls, focus on your biceps. Letting your mind wander to work, cleaning, daily errands, etc. can wait. This is your time and there are gains to be made!

3. Pump up the jam. Research shows that training with music actually helps you be more productive and get more out of your workout during a given period of time. Train with music and change it often! Keeping fresh, high tempo, upbeat music on your music player ensures less boredom and increased productivity. Who doesn’t get stoked when their “jam” comes on?! Does your playlist need a facelift? Follow along with some of my favorite workout playlists by clicking on these links: Best Workout Songs of the 2000’s; Top 50 Running Songs; 2016 Running Mix

4. Grab a buddy. Find a friend to workout with. I don’t care where they come from – a colleague at work, a member of your book-club, or even the person on the treadmill right next to you. The benefits of working out with someone are endless: you keep each other focused; you keep each other honest (it’s a lot more difficult to cheat your number of reps when you have someone there counting for you); you have spotter to finish that last rep that otherwise you may not have gotten; you will get to your work out if you know someone is there waiting for you (the snooze button on the alarm has a lot less pull when you know your friend is counting on you to be there); etc. Working out with a partner is an excellent way to maximize your time and potential. Check out my favorite partner workout right here!

5. Intensify with intervals. Interval training is an amazing way to maximize your aerobic efforts. The short explanation is this: don’t just spend 10 minutes on the treadmill at a constant speed – mix it up. Run in 1-2 minute intervals at speeds ranging from comfortable jog to”Jared really expects me to do two minutes this fast??”. These changes in speed and bursts of energy are an excellent way to keep your body guessing and actually enhance your cardio workout – you get your heart rate up higher and burn more calories per given unit of time. Click here for more on interval training including three great workouts you can do right from home!

6. Step out of your comfort zone. The next time you’re working out – be it in the gym, at home, wherever – I challenge you to do an exercise you have never done before. Tired of crunches? Grab a Swiss ball to train your core. Don’t feel like doing lunges? Try some squats on the Bosu. The introduction of new exercises breaks you out of routine and adds vital muscle confusion. New kinds of muscle soreness equals new kinds of results.

7. Grab a fitness tracker: You’ve seen them everywhere these days. Chances are you even have one on right now. Activity trackers are a lot more than just a fad or accessory – they’re real-time feedback as to how hard you’re working. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I was busting it pretty hard but when I checked my heart rate on my monitor I was only experiencing a 10% increase in my heart rate. It’s one of the only convenient, sure-knowledge ways you can objectively track how hard you’re really working. The key is to pick one up with a heart rate monitor on it. My personal favorites are the FitBit Charge HR or the Polar A360 – sleek and stylish and have wrist heart rate monitoring built right into them (no chest strap needed). 

So the next time you’re short on time try these simple solutions to maximize your workout effectiveness and start to realize your potential no matter your circumstance.

Short on time but big on desire to workout? The “30 For 30 Workout Series” ebook is the answer you’re looking for!
30 Complete workouts you can do at home that take 30 minutes or less to complete!
CLICK HERE for more information

Make it happen,

Jared