Train Harder and Smarter, Part 3

“No Yakking Sessions!”

One of the most common things we see in gyms is people talking and sitting between sets. Sometimes these “yakking sessions” can last for several minutes, justifying 2-3-hour training sessions. Although extended rest periods may be necessary in some extreme cases such as power training and Olympics lifting, they can kill the effectiveness and efficiency of a workout.

To maximize your time and energy in your workouts, try alternating movement patterns and muscle groups to maintain a higher training intensity. A good example would be to alternate pushing and pulling movements with very little or no rest in-between. Another way would be to alternate upper-body-emphasis exercises with lower-body-emphasis exercises. This allows one muscle system to rest while the other system works.

EX:

1. Push-ups
2. Pull-ups

1. Body squats
2. Standing 2 arm cable row
3. Multi-planar lunges
4. Bent over row

You may also alternate a push-pull-squat exercise with a core-emphasis exercise.

EX:

1. Push-ups
2. Ball cobra or Superman on ball

1. Barbell squat
2. MB rotation or diagonal chop

1. Pull-ups
2. MB slams or one leg balance w/ rotation

(Keep in mind that core-emphasis exercises deal with strength, stability, and mobility in the spine, trunk, and hips.)

This alternating exercise paradigm is like a circuit-style training approach and may not be comfortable to those who are used to those nice two minute rest periods. This system can be adapted to almost any training level, whether you are an active grandparent, a desk jockey, or a college athlete. This system can also help save time and can be done in less than an hour.