By Greg CrawfordIf you're someone who has evening obligations that keep you away from the gym after work, the lunch-time workout can be the perfect way to stay in shape and squeeze it into your day.More and more people are using their lunch hour to be productive and help reach their fitness goals rather than
sitting at their desk and either working right through lunch, or spending a full hour dining out on high calorie fare at the local restaurant.Since you only do have an hour to get that workout in though and that includes the time spent to get to the gym, get changed, and also shower afterwards, you have to be very planned with what you'll be doing each time you get ready for the workout.By learning a few quick tips and strategies to make the most of your lunch-time workout, you can reap all the benefits that fitness has to offer without putting yourself in a time crunch.Let's have a look at a few things to keep in mind.
Make The Most Of A Lunch-Time Workout
Alternate Weights With Cardio Training
The very first option that you can use to get in both your cardiovascular workout and your strength training is to alternate between one minute of cardio along with one minute of strength work. So for instance you might perform one minute of skipping and then go over and do one minute on the chest press. Then you could do one minute of cycling and follow that up with one minute of shoulder pressing.By alternating back and forth like this you keep your heart rate higher, which means you'll burn more calories throughout the workout session and ensure that you see fantastic cardiovascular benefits from it. Just keep in mind that cardio training alternated with leg training will prove to be much more challenging so when doing a set of legs, you may want to just let yourself rest in between the exercises.
Use Dumbbells Whenever Possible
Second, also aim to use dumbbells whenever you can over machines during your lunch-time workout.Dumbbells will take less time to use since there are no machine adjustments and will also target the core to a much larger extent. Since you may not have ten minutes at the end of a workout to devote strictly to core training, this is an easy way to get the abs working throughout the entire workout session.
Stay Focused
It's also going to be critical that you aim to stay as focused as possible as you move throughout the workout session. If you let yourself become distracted by other gym members and get caught up in conversation you could literally eat up ten minutes of the time you should have spent working out.To hep stay focused, wear a set of earphones and listen to some upbeat music. Most people find that this helps them push harder as well, so you'll get that added benefit while reducing distractions.
Try Tri-Set Training
Finally, the last thing to consider is tri-set training. With this technique you'll take three exercises and perform them all back to back. So you could do a set of bench press, then a set of bicep curls, and then follow that with a set of tricep extensions.Trisets are great for boosting the metabolism and will quickly help you perform more total work in the limited time you have available.So there you have a few simple tips to implement into your lunch time workouts to make sure that you're making the most of them. If you train smartly, it's definitely possible to get in all the necessary work that has to be done to make some great progress.
Try a dance class
Taking a high energy dance class like Zumba will quickly jump your heart rate and having you burn calories fast. It's fun and a great compliment to your workouts. I currently take Zumba in Morristown NJ and love it!There you have it! No more excuses for not having options when fitting in a workout during lunch. Now take these lunch workout options and apply them.