Maximizing Your Weight-Lifting Time at the Gym

This guide is not just for the people who loathe the gym, going because they feel they have to, but also the regulars who can condense their workouts while getting the same, if not better, results. Getting up and actually going to the gym is usually the biggest hurdle. A close second can be getting in, doing your workout at a high level and getting out of there. More than 99 percent of the population has no interest in becoming a body-building competitor, so why spend hours at the gym?

This article is meant to enhance the productivity of your weight-lifting routine. If you don't lift weights, you should start. Even if you are overweight and going to the gym for tons of cardio, make space for some weights and use these techniques. For the remainder of the article we will assume that you are doing somewhere between 2-5 sets of each exercise, generally covering your muscle groups.

Time-Saving Tip #1 - Weight-lifting is about stressing your muscles enough so they need recovery. You can do all the weight-lifting you need to gain strength, tone and size in 40 minutes. In that amount of time, you should feel weak the next day and not be ready to lift again even the second day.

Time-Saving Tip #2 - Lift Weights only when you are fully recovered from the previous weight-lifting session. Sometimes that will be after 2 days rest, sometimes 3. It all depends on your body and how it feels. It's better to wait that extra day and get a good workout instead of putting in 75% effort yesterday.

Time-Saving Tip #3 - Doing 4 sets of less exercises is more beneficial than the "circuit training" method. 4 sets allows for a warm-up, two main sets and an "all-out pyramid" set for each machine.

Time-Saving Tip #4 - Up your maximum weight on each exercise by one slot each week or so. That could be 10-20 pounds, which isn't that much if you workout regularly and are over 100 pounds on the exercise. The increase will be on the beginning of the pyramid set to start, then will influence your middle sets as well.