Are you the kind of person who feels that if they can’t do a full workout, they might as well not do any workout at all? Or, conversely, are you someone who would be willing to do a short workout on the regular if they just knew what exercises would be worth the effort? Whichever version you are, there are ways to make short workouts effective and valuable. The key is to seek out the things that can be done very quickly but that also clearly contribute to the end goal.
Despite the usual buzz to the contrary, there are no magical ways to condense the benefits of longer workouts into super short ones. Yes, interval training like HIIT or tabata can up the intensity and thereby deliver a good workout in a short time, but they have their limitations. Getting in shape requires an investment of time, period. That doesn’t mean though that you shouldn’t have some short workouts up your sleeve for those crazy days. It just means that you want to have a short workout that makes every minute count. To get that, it helps to think about where you want to end up and then find the things that will contribute most to that goal while stripping away anything else.
For example, maybe your goal is to run a road race—anything from a short fun run to a full on marathon. Getting prepared will obviously involve lots of running, but that’s not the only thing that matters. Runners need to to do a fair amount of maintenance on their bodies in order to minimize the risk of injuries, especially in the lower body, which are very common.1 These maintenance activities are perfect fodder for short workouts.
For instance, runners benefit greatly from leg and core strength which can both be targeted quite effectively with compound movements like bridges, kettlebell deadlifts, or squats. If you’ve only got twenty minutes you could easily do three sets of ten bridges followed by three sets of six goblet squats and then call it a day. If you’ve only got ten, just do the bridges! Or, if strength training isn’t a great option for the day, you might also find benefit in spending the same ten or twenty minutes doing a little targeted stretching and/or foam rolling. Neither of these options are a full workout but they both contribute to the overall goal, which means that they will move you forward on a day in which you would otherwise have stood still.
Another great but often overlooked approach to short workouts is by thinking about any nagging aches or pains, such as a bum shoulder. If you are one of the many who have something bugging you regularly, like your back, or your knee, or your neck, there are a lot of things you can do to help it in a short workout. Some targeted mobility work or strengthening can be done in twenty minutes or less, setting you up for a much more effective full workout the next time you have the chance. Check in with your doctor to see if you’ll need a physical therapist to help design your short workout, or if you might be able to get by with the help of a qualified personal trainer. Then get to it.