​

Lack of time is a common reason people don't exercise.

But is this true?

Well, most people do have enough leisure time to exercise. We just choose to spend it on other things instead (scrolling our phones on social media for example...).

Whether time is a true 'barrier' to exercise or not, making exercise more efficient has many benefits.

And there are many strategies we can use to achieve this.

So, let’s dive in.

This one’s a 5 minute read.

​

Spending less time on exercise makes it easier to keep showing up. And that’s what matters most.

​

Most people think exercise has to be lengthy to have benefits.

Longer exercise sessions aren't inherently bad. But they can make regular exercise harder to achieve.

This is because longer sessions fit less easily into our schedule. They are also more likely to cause lingering fatigue that makes it harder to show up next time.

Either way, regular exercise soon becomes unsustainable.

So, how can we make exercise simpler and quicker?

​

There are a many possible strategies, including:

• Taking a 'minimalist' approach
• Focusing on multi-joint movements
• Shortening (or removing) the warm-up and cool down
• Using 'supersets'
• Shortening rest periods

​

Let's unpack each one.

​

Taking a 'minimalist' approach

What’s the smallest amount of physical activity that is beneficial?

Turns out it's a lot less than you might think. And it doesn't even have to look like 'exercise' either.

Take some recent insights from "VILPA": Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity.

VILPA is "Brief, vigorous bouts of incidental physical activity lasting 1 or 2 min during activities of daily living, such as carrying shopping bags, carrying children, or walking uphill.”

In other words, VILPA = typical daily activities done a little more 'intensely'.

Just 3 VILPA bouts per day (lasting 1-2 minutes each) have been linked to a 38–40% reduced risk of death from all causes, and a 48–49% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Small efforts for large benefits. And it turns out short-and-sharp resistance training is quite effective as well.

​One study found lifting a heavy load for a single repetition, repeated 5 times with 90 seconds of rest, twice per week had similar strength benefits to much longer sessions (4 sets of 8-12 repetitions with a lighter weight).

The benefits of "snacking" on short bouts of exercise applies to aerobic-type training as well.

Very short (<1 min) practical “exercise snacks”, like intense stair climbing, can improve aerobic fitness and other health markers. Just 3 stair climbing efforts (20 seconds each) on 3 days per week was enough to improve aerobic fitness over 6 weeks.

The evidence is mounting: exercise doesn't have to be lengthy or complex to be effective.

Practical tip: Focusing on short bouts of exercise, or normal daily activities with more intensity, can help build regular exercise into your routine.

​

Focus on multi-joint movements

The exercises we choose in the gym have a big impact on the efficiency of our sessions.

A more 'efficient' session is one that trains more muscle groups with fewer exercises.

Resistance training exercises can involve movement at either a single joint or at multiple joints. These are also known as isolation (single-joint) and compound (multi-joint) exercises.

For example, both the leg press (multi-joint) and leg extension (single-joint) involve the quadriceps muscles to extend the knee. But the leg press also engages the gluteals to extend the hip.

So for the same amount of time, multi-joint exercises train more muscle groups, making them more time-efficient.

Multi-joint exercises also allow heavier loads to be lifted, which is a good thing when it comes to strength.

A 2017 review found single-joint exercises didn't enhance the benefits of resistance training compared with doing multi-joint exercises alone.

So for the extra time, single-joint exercises don't add much benefit for most people.

Practical tip: Prioritise multi-joint exercises to get more 'bang for your buck' during your exercise sessions.

​

Shorten (or skip) the warm-up and cool down

'Warming-up’ before exercise is important, but many overdo it.

It's not uncommon for a large portion of one's training time to be spent warming up.

The truth is, for the vast majority, the warm-up probably doesn't improve performance or reduce injury risk to any great extent.

This is particularly true for 'general' warm-ups that aren't specific to the main activity. A common example is doing 10 minutes of 'cardio' on a bike/treadmill/rower before a resistance training session.

In the gym, a single warm-up set with a lighter load than the main working sets is enough for most people. Warm-up sets are more important for heavier exercises, or when training a muscle group for the first time in the session.

Aside from the warm-up, another culprit that extends exercise sessions is the cool-down.

Again, most people see a cool-down as essential for recovery and reducing the risk of injury.

But there is actually no solid evidence that cool-downs, including things like stretching or active recovery, reduced muscle soreness, stiffness, or injury rates.

Practical tip: Ensure your warm-up is specific to your main session, and reconsider the need to cool-down afterwards, particularly for an extended period of time.

​

‘Superset’ your exercises

A ‘superset’ is a pair of exercises completed alternately with minimal or no rest between.

The means completing a set of the first exercise, having minimal or no rest, then doing a set of the second exercise. The 'superset' is then completed again after a longer rest period.

Using supersets can approximately halve your training time.

The two exercises in each superset typically involve opposing muscle groups (the check and back, for example).

This allows one muscle group to recovers while the other is being trained.

Some examples of supersets include:

• Chest press + seated row
• Incline press + lat pulldown
• Leg press + hamstring curl
• Bicep curl + tricep pushdown

A downside of supersets is they may increase fatigue when alternating between exercises. This means they are less suited for use with more technical exercises (such as squats or deadlifts) or when lifting heavier loads.

Practical tip: Use supersets to save time in your session, particularly if you aren’t lifting heavy loads or using complex exercises.

​

Shorten rest periods

During resistance training, most of the session time is usually spent resting between sets.

These rest periods are important to allow muscles to recover between sets.

But allowing too much rest between sets can add un-necessary time to your session.

As a general rule, longer rest periods (2+ minutes) are best if the goal is to improve strength. But rest periods don't seem to matter as much if the goal is to build muscle.

And even if the goal is to maximise performance, longer rest periods are not always better.

Shortening rest periods from 3 minutes to 2 minutes had no impact on resistance training performance, measured as the number of reps performed over 4 sets. Across a session of 6 exercises performed for 4 sets, this alone would save almost 20 minutes of training time.

Practical tip: Use shorter rest periods between sets to save time, particularly where maximising strength is not the main goal.

​

A lack of time is at least a perceived barrier to exercise for many.

Making exercise simpler and quicker can make it easier to keep turning up.

And that’s what matters over the long run.

​

Thanks for reading!

Until next week,

Jackson

---

​

If you've got a moment, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this edition of The Weekly Exerciser.

Send me a quick message or email - I'll reply to every one!

​

PS: Did someone forward you this email? You can sign up to The Weekly Exerciser here.

​