But first.. I’ll give you a quick scenario that is often too common in a gym environment…

A guy walks into the gym.. Looks around.. It’s universal CHEST day aka MONDAY. Proceeds to do bench press, incline bench, decline bench, DB Bench Press, Chest Flyes, and a couple other exercises..Often adding up to around 25-30 sets for CHEST alone.. Yikes. I hope he’s hitting his back just as hard (probably not though ha!)

Don't be like this Clown!

Now a typical session like this might take you 2 hours or more.. Now how productive do you REALLY think that this session was? More than often, a session lasting over an 75-90 minutes (including a good warm-up) means you’re wasting your time!

Too much talking in between sets, text messaging, reading newspaper, watching tv.. Add all these little distractions up and you get a recipe of big time wasters!

So the question is ==> How can you maximize your time in the gym and still get results?!

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I prefer to split up my training sessions for my athletes and clients into either a.) Full Body Training Sessions or b.) An Upper/Lower split, with each training session usually lasting around 65-75 minutes max. *Trust me, if you’ve ever trained with me these sessions are NOT easy, but they ARE effective! Now, the big kicker here is how to TRULY maximize Training Economy or in other words, get the best “bang for your buck” when you are in the gym. Here a couple rules to follow, and a sample full body training session.

Rule #1- Pick Compound exercises first, ones that involve multiple joints at once. These lifts include squats, deadlifts, bench press variations, overhead presses, lunges, rowing, olympic lift variation, etc.

Rule #2- Have a plan! Know exactly what you will train on a given day, whether it be maximal effort upper body work, some hypertrophy or repetition based lifting, lower body strength, speed work/jumps, etc.

Rule #3- Use alternating sets! This is one of my favorite tips to use. An alternating set involves performing one exercise, resting a given time frame, then performing a different exercise for the opposing muscle group. An example of this would be perform a set of 5 bench press, rest 30 seconds, then perform a set of 10 dumbbell rows, then rest 90 seconds and repeat the process 3 more time. This will keep you moving and give you an added benefit of keeping the heart rate up.

Here is an example FULL BODY training session that might not look like much on paper, but let me know you feel after actually doing it.

1A.) Back Squat 3 sets of 5-8 reps, then 1 heavy set of 12-15 reps. Rest 2 minutes between sets. Make sure you get to at least parallel.

2A.) Bench Press 8,7,6,5

2B.) 1 Arm HEAVY DB Rowing 4 x 15 per arm; Rest 60 seconds between 2A/2B, then 90 seconds after 2B.

3A.) Walking Lunge, LONG steps 3 x 12/leg

3B.) Chin Ups or Pull Ups 3 x max reps; No rest between 3A/3B, 60 seconds after 3B.

4A.) 10 minutes optional “beach” work (any bicep, tricep, shoulder, trap work. Keep all reps in the 8-15 range)

*Conditioning- 30/30 Intervals x 10 minutes: Perform 30 seconds of work at maximal effort intensity and 30 seconds of moderate intensity; repeat the process for 10 minutes. I prefer either sprints on an incline, airdyne exercise bike, or concept 2 rower. You can also use Kettlebells and perform movements such as swings, cleans, snatches, etc. Get creative!

Hope you enjoyed this post! Leave me a comment below and let me know what your tricks and tips are for saving time in the gym, while STILL getting stronger, leaner, faster, etc.

See ya!

John Cortese, YFS

PS- Try this workout on for size and let me know how it went! Drop me a comment!

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