Frequent, Brief, but Repeatable

I love training.

So I train frequently. Basically daily. 

I'll lift 4-6 days per week and I do some form of easy cardio or movement or High Intensity Interval training every non-lifting day, and often at a different time of day on a lifting day. (At the very least I'm going for a brisk 45 minute walk).

But I don't like training long.

I don't respond well to being in the gym or – more often than not – in my garage, lifting weights for long periods of time. It just takes the fun out of training for me.

Therefore, I train very frequently but briefly.

This isn't sexy and it's definitely not a mainstream approach. Most people say you gotta train for hours 4-6 days per week. On the flip side of the industry, others suggest you train infrequently (like 2-3 days per week or less) but also using very long and draining workouts.

That sucks...for me.

I'm around the gym and fitness all day long due to working as a personal trainer. I stay pretty active at work but I'm also pretty observant. I've learned that long, draining lifting sessions are unsustainable for most people (myself included).

Again – I love lifting weights. It makes me feel amazing. But I know if I do high volume AND high intensity, my frequency is negatively impacted due to recovery demands. That combination takes the fun out of training. 

Instead, I prefer doing high intensity (taking sets within 0-2 reps of failure), high frequency (training 4-6 days per week), but using a lower (daily) volume.

I want my lifting sessions to feel like play. Short, intense, but regular (nearly daily) lifting sessions feel like play. 

It also keeps me in the habit of training. It's like basic hygiene for me.

As for cardio, I try to incorporate some sort of short interval training – either with kettlebell ballistics (swings, snatches, clean & jerks), jump rope, or jog/walk intervals – at least 1-2 days per week.

I go for a 45+ minute minute walk every day. Sometimes I add in a couple shorter walks. Other days I'll do 1 much longer walk.

If I'm away from weights for a few days, I do bodyweight exercises like pushups, air squats, air single leg RDLs, lunges, single leg box squats (to whatever bench, bed, or chair I have available), and even pullups if I can find something sturdy enough to hang from. 

Point is: I incorporate exercise into every single day. Whether that's lifting, ballistic/explosive training (kettlebell swings/snatches or jump rope or bouncing), or some general steady state cardio exercise. It doesn't matter. I make sure I do something every single day.

It keeps me mentally, physically, and emotionally fit.

These short lifting sessions make training so enjoyable, sustainable, and progressive for me. I can't encourage this style enough. Train more frequently but use shorter sessions.

If you're not sure how to do this, follow my blog: 30minutephysique.com where I share tips, sample programs, and my own personal training logs. I'm consistently posting ideas and workouts that take just 15-30 minutes and provide great results. The results are positively compounded when you take this 15-30 minute workout habit and do it 5-7 days per week. 

Training like this can be very simple and effective if planned correctly. 

But, unlike many people that talk about short, minimalist workouts – I don't take a minimalist approach to my training just because my sessions are usually around 30 minutes or less. I hate the minimalist approach. You know it – the minimalist guru idea of only doing the same few exercises (like, literally, 2-3 exercises is the entire program) a few days per week and staying far away from failure during all your sets. Bloody awful.

These minimalist programs leave out several main movement patterns and usually include absolutely zero isolation exercises. Can you imagine doing a program that doesn't directly train your calves, biceps, triceps, and side delts? It's as terrible as it sounds. Trust me. I've tried these programs before. They're boring and horrible for your gains.

Now, minimum effective dose is fine. That's doing the minimum amount it takes to make positive muscle and strength gains. MED is basically doing the least to make actual progress. While everyone's minimum effective dose varies, I think my approach is a bit more work than minimum effective dose for just about everyone. It certainly is more than my minimum effective dose.

Don't be a fool who confuses short, brief training sessions as being minimalist.

I split up my training into multiple sessions so I'm able to hit ALL the main movement patterns (the big 6), plus secondary exercises within those movement patterns (accessories), and I include isolation exercises (because they're definitely important). 

Using multiple different sessions allows some training variety, but, more importantly, it allows me to effectively train every muscle group every week, while keeping my sessions short. It's one reason why I love PPL and Upper/Lower splits so much.

Currently, my general program template looks like this:

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. Prone hip cars (on all 4s) x 5-10 each side

2. glute bridges OR clam shells

3. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

4. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

Pull Day 

Ex 1: pullups (or lat pulldowns)-2-3x5-10

Ex 2: single arm rows-2-3x10-15 (or 6-12. I'm currently liking high reps with lots of control on these)

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls or concentration curls or spider curls (or whatever other curl you like)-2-3x6-12

Ex 4: incline hammer curls or secondary bicep curl or shrugs-2-3x10-15

Push Day

Ex 1: clean & press or military press-2-3x5-10

Ex 2: incline or flat dumbbell bench press-2-3x6-12 or high rep pushups for 3 sets

Ex 3: cable/band pushdowns or cable/band overhead extensions or dumbbell/kettlebell Skull Crushers or tate press (to chest, not shoulders. Use KBs or DBs. Incline, floor, or flat bench)-2-3x10-20

Ex 4: chest supported lateral raise-2-3x10-15

Legs

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats-2-3x8-12/15 (up to 12 or 15 reps. Try both and see what's better for your growth)

Ex 2: single leg/B stance RDL OR hamstring curls-2-3x10-15

Ex 3: single leg box squats or box step ups or kettlebell swings or leg curls or reverse lunges or leg extensions-2-3x10-15

Ex 4: kettlebell swings OR hamstring curl-2-3x10-15

Ex 5: calf raise variation-2-3x10-20

*Where you see multiple options feel free to rotate through the different variations week to week.

Find what works for you. For me, that's frequent, brief, but repeatable lifting sessions (with a focus on building muscle and increasing strength) along with quick and fast conditioning workouts and lots of walking outside. 

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