How to Workout More Efficiently

Your workouts don’t always, or ever, have to take an hour and a half to two hours to get done if you don’t want them to. Whether you are short on time and need to consolidate your workout or just want to get it over with faster, it can be very helpful to keep some workout-shortening tactics in mind. In the following, I’ll share some with you that myself and others have found helpful so you get the most out of your time working out.

Superset Opposite Movements

One of the most time-consuming portions of a workout is often times your rest time in between sets. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as if you are doing chest press as an exercise your chest will need a decent amount of time in between sets to be ready for the next set and get the most out of it. However, say you are doing an all upper body day at the gym which includes chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. If this is the case, then doing supersets of muscle groups that perform opposite motions can be a big help. Let’s take a look at an example.

If you are doing an all upper body day, let’s imagine that two of the workouts you want to do are a dumbbell bench press and a bent over dumbbell row. If you were to superset these movements, you could realistically only rest 30-45 seconds in between sets and still crank out the same level of performance. If you start with the bench press, after doing a set your chest will be tired, fatigued, and need a little rest before doing another set of bench press; however, your back is readier to go and has not been fatigued. By the time you finish your set of rows and wait another 30-45 seconds, your chest will be ready for another set of bench press. In doing this, the 30-45 second rest really serves to allow you to catch your breath before jumping into more work.

Some popular ways to do this would be to superset chest and back, shoulders and back, biceps and triceps, quadriceps and hamstrings, etc. This can also be done if the two movements you want to superset aren’t totally opposite but don’t have a lot to do with each other. For example, a dumbbell bench press will put a good amount of volume into the front deltoid of your shoulder, but not the medial (side) deltoid. Therefore, if you were to superset dumbbell lateral raises with bench press, you should be able to yield similar results. Another example I do this often with is a superset of calf raises and core work, simply because I normally do both at the end of my workouts and find that convenient.

The only nuance to this would be if you want to superset movements that primarily work opposite muscles but have similar assistance muscles. For example, many people I see who want to utilize this method will superset a squat with a stiff-leg deadlift. Now the general idea is to superset the quadriceps and hamstrings- which are in fact opposite muscle groups. However, the glutes and lower back also contribute a great deal, so these muscles will likely get much more fatigued than your quadriceps or hamstrings. A better option would be to superset a stiff-leg deadlift with a leg extension or superset lunges with leg curls.

Utilize Drop Sets

A drop set is where you do an exercise at a certain weight for as many repetitions as you can complete with good form, then drop the weight and continue with that lowered weight. Realistically, you can do as many drops in a drop set as you’d like. The main benefit of a drop set is that it is a fast way to add a bunch more volume to your workout. There not necessarily superior to doing normal sets, assuming the overall work and volume done is the same; however, the volume you complete can be done a lot faster using drop sets. This can be most conveniently done using a machine with a weight stack, such as a cable apparatus, machine leg press, machine chest press, machine row, leg extension, leg curl, etc.

Try to Schedule Your Workouts Tactically

There’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to use a machine or bench that is taken, forcing you to stand around and wait. This is much more likely to happen if you walk into the gym and see that it is packed. Many people will go to the gym right after work for the time convenience but end up being there longer than they need to be due to wait times. As a general rule of thumb, avoid going to the gym between 5pm to 7pm. For the vast majority of gyms, this is going to be the busiest time of day. Truthfully, if you go any time before that or any time after that, you will not only finish sooner but also enjoy the workout much more.

Choose a Workout Plan that Fits Your Schedule

If the overall volume you put into your body is the same at the end of the week, then it really does not matter too much how you divide up your training throughout the week. Whether it is 3 long sessions or 6 half-length sessions, your results will be virtually identical. For some inspiration on how to split up your workouts, check out our other article: How to Split Up Your Workouts.