The Best Way to Workout and Progress as an Adult

Become obsessed with optimizing your fitness with just 20-30 minute workouts.

Your energy will improve.

Your consistency will improve.

Your intensity during training will improve.

And lo-and-behold, after all that, it's easy to see how you're results will improve.

Structure training so you get the most out of a shorter training window and I guarantee you'll have more fun training and will achieve greater long term results – not just greater muscle results – but greater general fitness results, more muscle, more strength, along with the mental and daily benefits that come as a byproduct of frequent exercise.

Here's a few of my favorite general templates for "optimal 20-30 minute workouts."

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Template 1. Full Body 

Alternate between the 2 following routines.

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Session A

Horizontal push x 2 sets

Horizontal pull x 2 sets

Squat/lunge pattern x 2 sets

Tricep isolation x 2 sets

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Session B

Vertical push x 2 sets

Vertical pull x 2 sets

Hinge x 2 sets

Bicep isolation x 2 sets

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Warm up before each session with 1 set of calf raise OR jump rope, glute bridge OR clam shells, abs

Alternate between A/B sessions as many days per week as you like/can recover from.

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Template 2. Upper/Lower

Upper A

Vertical push x 2 sets

Vertical pull x 2 sets

Biceps x 2 sets

Triceps x 2 sets

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Lower 

Squat/lunge x 2 sets

Hinge x 2 sets

Secondary squat/lunge x 2 sets

Calves x 2 sets

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Upper B

Horizontal push x 2 sets

Horizontal pull x 2 sets

Biceps x 2 sets

Triceps x 2 sets 

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Alternate between upper/lower sessions as many days per week as you like/can recover from.

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Template 3. PPL

Push

Vertical push x 2 sets

Horizontal push x 2 sets

Tricep isolation x 2 sets

Lateral raise or upright row x 2 sets

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Pull

Vertical pull x 2 sets

Horizontal pull x 2 sets

Bicep isolation x 2 sets

Abs/core x 2 sets

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Legs

Squat variation x 2 sets

Hinge x 2 sets

Secondary squat/lunge x 2 sets

Calves x 2 sets

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Do less per workout, but do more workouts. Too many people try to train 3-5 days per week for 1-2 hours per session. 

That's a goofy, losing battle. Most people's energy and effort decrease greatly after the first 30 minutes, not to mention the typical adult distractions in the back of your head that creep up. 

Quit fighting nature!

Do 4-6 workouts per week but only 20-30 minutes at a time. If you struggle to recover on that, drop to training every other day – leaving just 1 day of rest after each workout (this will give you an alternating 3-4 day per week lifting schedule which works well).

These shorter, more frequent workouts decrease friction and limit obstacles that stand between you and getting incredibly fit. It goes against the grain of the mainstream fitness industry, but that industry changes direction more frequently then a drunk sparrow. And the industry profits off your confusion and wheel spinning, and the "leaders of the fitness industry," are college aged influencers that have absolutely nothing in common with you and me. 

There's a better way. This 20-30 minute way makes it easy to establish and maintain the fitness habit. It will make you feel good, look good, and your health will dramatically improve. Not only that, you'll have a realistic training structure that you can maintain for the rest of your life, without fear of burning out or beating your body up too badly. 

I switched to this style of training back in 2018 after the traditional way of training left me with the hips of a WW2 airborne jumper when I was just 27 years old. Since then, I've been able to improve function, decrease pain, and – wouldn't you believe it – improve my body composition – more muscle, less fat, better aesthetic shape, and I'm a more well rounded athlete than I was during the 1-2 hour marathon gym sessions.

I'm passionate about this stuff because I see so many people fall off the wagon – or fail to even hop on the wagon – because it seems unrealistic, painful, and not worth it for those of you that have jobs, kids, homes to take care of, and other hobbies to practice. I'm passionate because it fixed my body and shifted my mindset surrounding training, and it's literally allowed me to improve every area of my life. 

I've done the mainstream traditional way. It was beating me up and sucking up all my time and energy for very little return on my investment. I was frustrated, achy, and quite frankly, probably boring. I'm so grateful for my injuries and that it forced me to take a year to experiment and reinvent the way I approach exercise. Nearly 8 years later and things keep getting better and better with this approach.

I don't want to make this about me, so I'll wrap it up. But please, give this style of training a shot. If you're not sure what exercises to do, well, stick around for another week because I'm rolling out a 30 Day New Year Kick Start (you can, of course, do it MUCH longer, but we must start with the first month, mustn't we?) which will include a specific full body, 4 day per week program following the first template, with specific recommended exercises and rep ranges. And don't worry, it'll be free.

Thanks a bunch for reading this long!

Talk soon.