We used to call ‘em fitness tips but now the latest trend is to call
them fitness hacks, and I desire to
be a trend follower. I suppose there is
something more to a hack: If something is going to be a labeled a hack then it had better be some
sort of game-changing, time-saving short cut.
So significant in fact that it should almost feel like you’re
cheating. Well, I can’t promise you
anything quite that mind-blowing here, but I have compiled a pretty worthy list
of my favorite fitness hacks, which will definitely save you time and get you
results. While those who know me, know I
am an advocate of making fitness part of a holistic lifestyle, and that I am
not into trendy, fad diets or one-size-fits all approaches, there is nothing
wrong with optimizing or streamlining your training in order to maximize exercise value. Training smarter and not just harder, should
always be a welcome strategy. Of course
there really are no shortcuts or miracles, but there are some hacks. Some of them so simple they should be common
sense, while others hopefully are new ideas to you. In no particular order:
1. Train
using full-body, functional movements.
Skip the isolation exercises unless you’re rehabbing an injury or
bringing up a weak body part. Isolation
exercises should be left to Bodybuilders, Physique athletes, and Fitness models,
who are paid to look perfect and symmetrical.
While you no doubt want to look good, your primary goals should be mobility, health, longevity and
perhaps athletic performance. Full-body,
functional exercises that synergistically involve multiple muscle groups
accomplish all these goals in the shortest amount of time. Exercises like burpees, pull-ups, push-ups,
squats, lunges, planks and box-jumps.
It’s amazing what a nice physique these movements will produce
inherently.
2. Train at
high intensity most of the time.
High intensity training, maximizes your exercise value, giving
you the most bang for your buck, in the least amount of time. It also triggers a lot of post-exercise,
metabolism-boosting, pro-hormone affects, lasting hours afterwards. You can increase your intensity level by:
reducing your rest duration between sets, using circuit-training principles
where you alternate antagonistic muscle groups, increase load, increase reps,
or any combination of the aforementioned.
If you desire to reach failure levels, then you must follow with a brief
resting interval, usually performed using a 1:3 working-to-resting interval
ratio, also known as high intensity
interval training, (HIIT).
