When you are juggling parenting, a career, and trying to be healthy there’s one thing that needs to happen above everything: time efficiency. Maybe in your twenties you had all the time in the world to go to the gym, hit the sauna, and leisurely shower. Those days seem like a fairytale to me now. I have a one year old, and I manage my own business so I personally know how important it is to not waste any time when you do get a chance to take care of yourself.
But the biggest question I get from most of my clients trying to juggle family, careers, and health is what is the most effective workout? There are a couple I will highlight below, these types of workouts boost your energy, help reduce stress, and are proven effective in improving your overall health. However, the most important type of workout of all is the type you can be most consistent with.
For example, I’ve been loving these 30-minute Dance Cardio workouts on YouTube. Do I know as a USA Triathlon Coach and an endurance athlete for the last 25 years that going for a 30-minute run would be more effective in increasing my cardiovascular fitness? Yes, yes I do. However, I need to get these workouts in while my son is napping and my husband is at work. So it’s not realistic for me to leave the house. Are the Dance Cardio workouts better than doing zero cardio? Abso-freakin-lutely.
Let’s talk about timing…
What’s the shortest duration of a workout that will still improve your health? According to mata analyses, the ideal duration for workouts are 30-60 minutes. However, it’s also proven that regularly engaging in shorter-duration workouts is more beneficial for your overall health than sporadically doing longer-duration workouts. So bottom line, whatever time you have, consistency is key and something is always better than nothing.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
For this reason, HIIT (high-intensity interval training) became popular in the early 2000s and is still one of the most popular workout types to this day. HIIT workouts can boost your metabolism, and improve your cardiovascular health while also helping increase your strength if you’re also using a strength training program.
But you don’t have to subscribe to Beach Body to get a good HIIT workout. You can simply follow this formula:
- 30 seconds Lower Body bodyweight exercise (squats, lunges, etc)
- 30 seconds Upper Body exercise (push-ups, rows, etc)
- 30 seconds Core exercise (mountain climbers, plank, sit-ups, etc)
- 30 seconds Cardio exercise (jumping jacks, high knee run,s etc)
- Rest for 60 seconds
- Repeat 4-5x
Believe me, this workout will be done in 15-20 minutes and you will be toast.
Strength Training
Another way to get a really time efficient workout in is to do 30 minutes of strength training. Strength training is famously overcomplicated to the point where it scares people off if they “can’t commit to the full workout.” This is the biggest BS in the industry. Lifting weights for overall health is prescribed by the American College of Sports Medicine as two times per week making sure to hit each muscle group. That’s it. Not a 5-day-per-week upper lower split making sure to hit “weak spots” and “accessories.”
So when you’re busy and you need to be efficient take a look at what I personally do and fit these workouts into 30 minutes or less:
Warm Up 3-5 minutes max:
The goal is to get your blood flowing and warm up each joint with low-impact exercises. Examples: Band walks, body weight squats, leg swings, pogo jumps, arm circles, band pulls. You’ll notice that there isn’t a whole lot of “corrective exercise” or foam rolling…this truly isn’t needed so go ahead and throw that out. Sorry, not sorry.
Workout Structure:
- Choose 2 “big” Lifts and do 6-8 repetitions of these exercises with 60 seconds of rest between sets.
- Choose another 2 “big” Lifts and follow the same pattern you did above.
- Choose 2-4 “accessories” and do 10-15 repetitions of these exercises with 30 seconds rest between sets.
You’re done.
Let’s look at an example of what I actually mean by big lifts and accessories.
Big Lifts
Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges, Split Squats, Bench Press, Rows, Lat Pull Downs, Overhead Presses
Accessories
Bicep Curls, Tricep Extensions, Flys, Shoulder Raises, Calf Raises, Leg Curls, Leg Extensions
YouTube Workouts
Another excellent way to get your workouts in is to find a workout you like on YouTube. I’ve been following Yoga and Pilates videos on YouTube regularly and they are so easy when I don’t feel like thinking. And the best part? They can be done in my living room. Again, while my son’s sleeping. If you have older kids, they are also easy enough for them to follow along.
Now that we know what you can do to be effective, let’s discuss strategies for how to incorporate these into your life. But let’s first remember the number one rule. The best workout program is the one you can be the most consistent with. So whatever your strategy is, pick the one with the fewest barriers to entry and the one you can see yourself sticking with in a year from now. For me, that’s workouts during nap time.
Coach Caroline’s Strategies
Top 3 Strategies for squeezing in a workout:
- Wake up 30 minutes earlier and do it before work
- Get a workout in at lunchtime
- Make it a family activity
Top 3 Strategies for Staying Consistent:
- Tell someone you love what your plan is and have them check up on you/report to them when you do a workout.
- Track your progress in a journal or an app. Progress doesn’t have to be your weight, it can be how winded you feel, how many push-ups you can do, how much weight you can lift, etc.
- Share what you’re doing on social media. It sounds silly but this is what I do to stay consistent. I posted my goal of doing 1 thing for myself a day on my social media (IG @cbsmartbody) and now I feel like I didn’t turn my homework in if I don’t post what I did that day.
Let’s look at a sample of a weekly flow with these time efficient workouts in mind:
- Monday: Lunchtime strength session at a gym next to the office
- Tuesday: AM YouTube class at home before the kids wake up
- Wednesday: Lunchtime strength session
- Thursday: AM HIIT at home
- Friday: AM Yoga class on Youtube
- Saturday: Playing outside with the kids
- Sunday: AM HIIT class and find a bike path near you to take the kids in the afternoon
Putting It All Together…
In conclusion, just remember that something is always better than nothing. If you only have 10 minutes to move your body DO IT. Shorter workouts consistently are proven to be more effective than longer-duration workouts done sporadically. So what are you waiting for? Start today and prioritize your health!
Need some more specific advice? Sign up for a free 15-minute consultation with myself and let’s figure out a plan that will work for you and your specific lifestyle, health concerns, and goals.