Since starting my journey as a Personal Trainer, I have had a number of individuals come to me asking for a workout plan. I want to help them with their goals but there’s a catch; they only have 10-15 minutes a day to get the workout in. This begs the question: How can I effectively create a workout plan that fits within their time constraints?
I first figure out what their goals are, these tend to be long lists of building muscle, don’t become bulky, don’t feel tired, getting toned, losing weight, etc. Now reaching these large goals with this short of a time constraint can be very difficult. They likely do not have access to a gym or much equipment so, that is what I find out next, what kind of equipment they have. Once I figure that out, along with basic consultation questions, it comes time to plan.
With this short amount of time to consider, there are three things I tend to do.
1. Choose minimal exercises with a higher weight and lower reps.
Choosing minimal exercises with a higher weight and lower reps is a great option because it is not complicated. If you focus on two muscle groups for example, you can choose four exercises to do. Adding a higher weight to them will strengthen the muscle and less reps keeps you from overworking the muscle. Try doing 4 sets of each exercise with the repetitions staying the same. Because you do not have to focus on large movements or a lot of exercises to remember, this can get you a better quality workout for the time you have available.
2. Focus on stability and functional core movements.
Stability and a functional core are vital to our overall strength. Instead of doing an ab burnout workout, try doing a workout composed of single leg stances, and off-balance exercises. Add functional core movements into the workout to help keep you stable.
3. Emphasize isolated movements with more time under tension.
Isolated movements with time under tension are so effective for strengthening muscles. Isolating a muscle takes away the movement of other areas of the body to focus on that one muscle. As you do the movement, you can keep the muscle in an isolated contraction (contracted but not moving) for a longer period of time, this will fatigue the muscle as well as get used to any weight that is added.
These three ideas will help to get in an effective workout if you only have a short period of time in the day, however, keeping your body moving throughout the day in addition to a short workout will prove to be much better!
