Have you struggled to find time for exercise while you work from home? Don’t worry! Many people are facing the same challenge as they’ve also had to adjust to the new work environment while supervising their children’s virtual learning. For most people these days, 24 hours simply does not seem like enough time to tackle the daily to-do list. Simply put, the age-old method of setting aside an uninterrupted 60-90 minutes a day to work out just doesn’t cut it. This article will give you tips on how to efficiently fit in work from home workouts into your busy schedule.
How to Fit Workouts into Your Full Schedule
Well, the name of the game is micro workouts. These are shorter, more focused workouts that can be done multiple times throughout the day.
How to Adapt a Conventional Strength/Conditioning Routine to the Micro Workout Paradigm
Let’s start by using an example of a beginner who is new to the game of strength/resistance training. We will break down the variables of frequency, exercise selection, intensity, and session structure.
Frequency: If you’re a beginner, three full-body resistance training sessions per week is a great place to start. Pick something along the lines of three days a week when you do two micro workouts a day or six days a week when you do one micro workout a day. You can choose something between these schedules such as a combination of one or two micro workouts per day throughout the week.
Exercise Selection: Having less time to train also means you’ll need to be a bit more selective with your exercise choices. The foundational movement patterns of the squat, hinge, push, pull, and lunge are a fantastic place to begin. To ensure you are hitting each muscle group, I recommend picking one upper and lower body movement that work opposite sides of the body. For example, try doing a squat and a row. Unfortunately, ancillary work may have to be skipped due to time constraints, but keeping up with these foundational patterns will yield improvements in body composition, strength, and daily life function.
How to Structure Your Work from Home Workouts
Let’s start by using an example of a beginner who is new to the game of strength/resistance training. We will break down the variables of frequency, exercise selection, intensity, and session structure.
Having a MAP for each micro workout will ensure you are able to perform your best without risking injury. MAP stands for:
- Mobilize - dynamic stretches to prepare your body for movement
- Activate - a warm-up exercise that engages the small stabilizer muscles which ensure you maintain proper alignment during the movement
- Perform - working through the main movements of the session AFTER warming up to your working weight for each exercise
For example, if your session calls for a squat and a row, your MAP would look like this:
- Mobilize - squat to hamstring stretch
- Activate - mini band side steps
- Perform - squat and row
How to Structure Intensity
Set up a predesignated rest time in between sets. For example, rest for 60-90 seconds before starting your next set.
To save time, superset your exercises. This means performing one set of an exercise and then immediately performing one set of a different exercise while resting 60-90 seconds in between supersets. This is a great way to increase intensity of the overall session.
Each set should be taken to roughly 1-3 repetitions shy of technical failure. Technical failure occurs when you need to augment your body position/range of motion or recruit other muscles that aren’t usually the main drivers of the movement to complete the rep. Stopping shy of technical failure ensures that all your reps are high-quality exercises which decreases the risk of injury.
For more information on how to set up a workout plan tailored to your daily/weekly routines, book a free consultation with a LEVO trainer today!
