I could — and will! — write a whole thing about why we need to redefine what “counts” as a workout (in fact, I was recently interviewed for Time magazine about this very subject), why it can be counterproductive to beat yourself up about not meeting lofty-sounding step counts or time minimums, why a little is better than nothing and a little more is better than a little. But for now, let’s leave it at this: Short workouts are good, actually! Whether you’re just starting (or re-starting) an exercise routine, life is super busy, or you simply cannot muster the interest or energy for a longer workout (very fair), spending 30, or even 20, or even 10, minutes exercising is such a good thing.
It’s enough to get your heart rate up, challenge your muscles, and even see noticeable improvements in your mood, energy, and all the other lovely things fitness can do for us. But sometimes, when time is limited, it isn’t easy knowing how to make the most of it.
Back in January, I wrote a story for The New York Times about this challenge: how to make the most of a short workout. Here it is! (Side note: Does Substack have that cool feature where you can turn a link into a cute little box that contains the headline, deck, and a little image? How do I do that?)
Something I loved about reporting this story was that every single expert — the incredible Jessie Mundell, Joe Holder, and Barb Puzanovova — basically said the same things, and those things were exactly what I had in my own head as a trainer/writer diving into the piece:
Resistance training, especially set up in a circuit, is a great way to go. Because strength movements build muscle and elevate, then decrease, your heart rate, they give you a huge bang for your buck.
Try to hit at least a few of the major movement patterns: squats, hinges, pushing, pulling, and various core exercises. You can find lots more detail about each of these movement patterns in the Times story.
Structure your workout in supersets. The idea here is to combine your movements into groups of two or three exercises — you do two or three sets of the first group, then move on to two or three sets of the second group, and so on. Ideally, you’d go pretty hard while working, then give yourself 15-30 seconds to relax between exercises. (Again, see examples in the story.)
Of course, there are definitely other options (you can do two or three sets of each exercise, one move at a time; or do every movement in order, then repeat the entire thing). But supersets are a nice way to elevate, then decrease, your heart rate in short bursts, which has known cardiovascular and mood benefits. Some research even suggests that working out in this structure is more enjoyable and easier to stick with long-term than other types of exercise.
There are a few things you might be wondering about at this point. Let’s talk about them!
How hard should I be going? Or, how many reps should I be doing? Or, how heavy should the weights be? Oh, there are so many ways to approach this. We’ll talk about it in more detail in the future, for sure. But as a few thought starters: The time you’re spending moving, if you’re up for it, will ideally feel pretty hard. When you get to the end of your set, you should feel like you almost can’t do another rep, or keep holding a static-position exercise. You can get to this level of challenge a few ways: By lifting a heavier weight, by doing more reps, by going faster (or even, sometimes, painfully slower — have you ever tried a bicep curl or squat with a 5-second lift and 5-second lower?), or by increasing your range of motion. Your approach may vary by exercise.
If this is all feeling like too much, let’s say this: Consider aiming for 8–12 reps of each exercise, stopping when you feel you just can’t muster another rep. If you’ve gotten to 12 and you’re not there yet, try a heavier weight for the next round. For a hold exercise (like a plank or a static squat), see how it feels to do 20 or 30 seconds to start, then add on from there until you’re like, OKAYYY, that’s enough!
What if I just want to go for a quick jog? Go for it! Don’t reinvent the wheel, if you have one. If you’re already a fan of short runs, walks, bike rides or hikes, you have a favorite workout app or video program, or you’re a yearslong devotee to a simple at-home routine, you’re doing great. There are certainly benefits to cross-training and mixing things up, but as Jessie Mundell put it in our interview for the Times: The ideal workout is one you can stick with long-term, so don’t overthink it.
What about warming up, or cooling down? If you’re doing a simple resistance-training routine as described above, just between us, you really don’t need to worry toooo much about warming up or cooling down. Certainly a quick warmup — think a few cat-cows, maybe some shoulder and hip circles, some jogging in place — is a great way to prep your body. But, especially this time of year when our bodies are already running pretty warm, you don’t need to spend a ton of time on this. You can also consider taking your first set of exercises with no weight — so, bodyweight lunges, air squats, etc., before you pick up the dumbbells or resistance bands.
As for cooling down, if you have a couple of minutes for a little stretching, that’s awesome. If not? It’s not the best idea to go straight from burpees or sprinting to sitting still at your desk (this can make you feel sick or dizzy, or even pass out, eek), so if you have a moment to let your heart rate settle, walk around a little bit, great. But if your final set of exercises didn’t have your heart pounding and sweat pouring down, it’s probably ok to transition straight into the rest of your day. (A cooldown doesn’t necessarily improve your recovery or prevent injury.)
Now look, if you know your body needs a little extra attention in terms of mobility work, stretching, etc., then of course you should try to make time for that — if not right before or after your workout, then maybe later in the day (or first thing in the morning) for a few minutes. I’m not saying there’s no place for it! Just saying that if trying to squeeze all this stuff into your limited Official Workout Time is driving you nuts, you can give yourself a pass sometimes.
Questions? Ideas? Are you already doing short workouts and have advice to share? Let me know. If you’re a free subscriber, you can simply reply to this email. If you’ve already paid for a subscription (OMG, thank you, I love you), you can leave a comment.
More soon! Let’s keep going.
xo
Anna