Staying in shape is not easy. If you’re not as fit as you’d like to be, getting there is even harder. Especially when you’re a busy gentleman trying to make your mark on the world. Below are 5 workout hacks for busy men that can help keep you fit or get you closer to your goals.
- Block off the time on your calendar
- Workout on the weekends
- Keep workouts to 20 minutes
- Stick to basic movement patterns
- Set an ambitious or important goal
Block off the time on your calendar
You can get fit with 3-4 workouts per week if you are efficient with your time and consistent. Consistency is the biggest key. But it’s easy to skip workouts in the middle of a busy week with work, family, dating, and other priorities all creeping in. It seems like sacrificing your workout is the easy choice.
The fix? Block off the time on your calendar at the beginning of the week. It proves to you and others that your personal health is a priority. People are less likely to schedule something during this time. And you are more likely to stick to a concrete commitment on your calendar.
It also makes you more likely to just show up, which is the biggest key. Once you get to the gym, or start your run, or show up to the pickup hoops game, you have overcome the biggest hurdle. It’s easy to complete your workout if you show up.
Workout on the weekends
This hack can change the game for you, but it takes a mindset shift. Most men work hard during the week (which can spill over into the weekend), and they want to use what free time they do have on the weekends to relax.
This free time on the weekends provides you the best opportunity to knock out 2 of the 3-4 minimum workouts you need for the week. That’s at least half! And you actually have the free time to do it on these days, so your excuse of being “too busy” doesn’t fly here.
Wake up at a reasonable time and just knock out your workout on Saturday and Sunday, then relax the rest of the day. Coincidentally, a pre-noon workout is the best way to kick a hangover. Have kids and need to fulfill your fatherly duties on the weekends? Wake up 20 minutes earlier and get it done (try an at home bodyweight workout or go for a quick run), then you can relax and enjoy your family for the rest of the day.
Time is hardly an excuse on the days of the week with the most free time. Especially if you follow the next hack.
Keep workouts to 20 minutes
The problem that keeps many men from even starting a program is the thought that you need an hour to get a good workout. So they don’t even start. This mindset creates a pattern that keeps so many from improving their health, reaching their goals, or optimizing their potential.
A 20 minute workout is better than no workout. And an intense 20 minute workout is better for you than most hour long workouts. The key is intensity. If you are resistance training, you can take each set to positive failure (meaning you couldn’t do one more rep if someone had a gun to your head), not just when it starts to burn, to create a more efficient workout.
Below is an example workout if you take each set to failure. Note: only try this workout if you have some resistance training experience, otherwise you should try something like the beginner workout here that I mentioned earlier.
- Reverse lunge – 10-15 reps to failure (enough weight to reach failure by 15 reps, go heavier next time if you do more than 15)
- DB stiff legged deadlift – 8-12 reps to failure (don’t compromise technique on this exercise, if you can’t do another rep with perfect technique, then you have reached failure)
- Goblet squats – 10-20 reps to failure
- Single-leg calf raises – AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
- Pullups or pulldowns – AMRAP or 10-15 reps to failure
- Dips – AMRAP
- Bodyweight rows, seated rows, or DB rows – AMRAP or 10-15 reps to failure
- Feet elevated pushups or incline DB rows – AMRAP or 10-15 reps to failure
The above workout is 1 set of 8 total exercises, and will take less than 20 minutes if you leave one minute of rest between each set. This is an easy example of how you can get an intense workout in less than 20 minutes that will help most people reach their goals. Beware, this is a deceptively brutal workout if you are not used to taking sets to failure.
Another time efficient workout – run a mile as fast as you can. Here are some other quick workout examples.
Stick to basic movement patterns
As the workout in the previous section suggests, sticking to the basic movement patterns will create the most time efficient workout. These patterns include the squat, hip-hinge (i.e. deadlift), push, pull, and running. You can add core exercises to the list, but these compound movements engage the core, so you don’t necessarily need to focus on this area unless you have extra time or you’d like to target your core specifically.
You can target certain areas with isolation exercises (side raises for shoulders, curls/pushdowns for arms, sit-ups, etc…). I would highly recommend adding an isolation exercise to work on a weak area, but ONLY if you have an extra 5 minutes or so at the end of the workout.
Set an ambitious or important goal
Setting an ambitious or important goal is probably the biggest hack that will make the rest of these much easier to execute. What is your “why”? Do you want to lose weight so you don’t encounter inevitable health problems? Do you want to be able to pick up your kids and play with them without getting winded? Would you like to attract more women?
We can all think of reasons why it’s nice to be in better shape, but how can you make it more important? Can you set an ambitious goal that gets you to show up 3-4 times per week? Do you have an activity you love (basketball, hiking, tennis, biking, etc…) that being in-shape would help you enjoy more?
Really sit down and think of your why, so all of these 5 workout hacks for busy men can fall into place for you. It’s possible, even if you haven’t worked out in a while.