How To Maximise Your 30-Minute Workout at the Gym

6 Tips For An Efficient 30 Minute Workout

The notion that going to the gym is a tedious and tiring task further creates roadblocks to not make it a regular ritual. "I don't have enough time to work out at the gym to see results" is a popular excuse. But here’s some good news - with effective time management, you can benefit from investing as little as 30 minutes per day on the road to better health. The trick is to ensure that you plan it smartly.
 
With the Dubai 30x30 Challenge around the corner, here are some tips and exercises that will help you utilise those 30 minutes efficiently.

Plan and execute well

Just like planning a business meeting or a vacation to your favourite destination, take a few minutes to plan your workout regimen.

• Pre-plan on what you are going to do in those 30 minutes. You can always write down your ideas or routines in a notebook and take them with you
• Always keep your phone in the locker so that you don’t get distracted by emails or calls

Try out new things

Engaging in the same sets of exercises can be monotonous. Try new things to keep it fresh. It will help "shock" your body a little by working new muscles. A good practice is to alternate between strength training and cardio.

Include curcuit training in your workout regime

Circuit training is a type of workout that conditions the body by involving endurance training, resistance training, high-intensity aerobics, and exercises performed in a circuit, similar to high-intensity interval training.

• Choose from different exercises - you can consider biceps curls, push-ups, sit-ups, poppy jumping, climbing, and jumping - to name a few
• Do them for one minute at a time, rest for 15 seconds in between, and repeat each exercise 3 times

Rule of 10

RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion is a useful tool that helps people manage the intensity of their physical exercise. It sounds confusing, but is just the sophisticated way of asking “How do you feel on a scale of 1-10?” - 1 being extremely easy and 10, the hardest.

• Make sure that the exercises in your circuit do not add up to 10 or more
• Pair a hard exercise with an easy mobility exercise, you can jump back up to a harder exercise for the 3rd or 4th exercise in the circuit

Interval training

Alternate between short bursts of intense exercise and brief periods of rest or less intense activity.

• Walk for 3 minutes, jog for 2 minutes, alternate 6 times, for a total of 30 minutes. - this is an example of interval training
• Gradually increase your speed as your stamina improves
• Reduce the risk of straining your muscles with a good warmup. It also gets the blood flowing

Avoid spending too much time socialising at the gym

Making friends at the gym is a wonderful experience and it can turn into a boon when you need the motivation to work out.
 

• Chat with them while you are warming up
• Let them know you have only 30 minutes and you want to make the most of it
• Wearing headphones and listening to your favourite playlist is also a good way to let others know that you need to focus

60 minute exercises are great, but 30 minutes is all you need to get the results as long as you make the most out of it. Try not to stress about not having done as much as you feel like you should have. Praise yourself for the little things you have achieved at the end of the day. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.