If you’re time-crunched, time is something we all want more of or want to slow down. Who wants a disagreement with their partner to slow down? Anyway, time, or lack of it, is often used as an excuse reason for not sticking to your workouts.
Whether this lack-of-time thing is real or imagined, it doesn’t change the fact that exercise ends up at the bottom of your to-do list. If time is an issue, you need exercises that offer more bang for your buck and help you get closer to your performance or vanity goals.
These four exercises do just that. Here I’ll go into how I chose them, and then we’ll get to the good stuff.
There’s nothing magical about the number 4. I can only count that high.
How I Chose These Time-Crunched Exercises
It’s a hefty claim to say these are the four best exercises for time-crunched adults because there are many great exercises out there. Here’s how I chose them.
Compound Exercises
Compound exercises target multiple muscle groups. For example, squats engage the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core, while push-ups work the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The more muscles you engage during your workouts, the more bang for your buck you get.
Self-Limiting
Self-limiting exercises have a beginning and an endpoint because your body signals enough is enough. These movements are not like going for a walk, but exercises that require your full attention.
Up/Down
One of our most challenging physical tasks is getting up and down, either from the ground or the stairs. Up/down/down up exercises are excellent for the time-crunched adult because they train multiple muscles and raise your heart rate.
Standing Up
This study by Carrie Schmitz suggests that if a person stood instead of sitting for an extra 3 hours a day, they could burn over 30,000 calories (approximately 8 pounds of fat) over the course of a year. Standing while exercising trains your balance, core stability, and more muscles than sitting. Sounds like a win-win, right?
The Best Time-Crunched Exercises
Now, it’s time for the good stuff.
Unilateral KB Overhead Carry
The Unilateral Kettlebell Overhead Carry is a core and shoulder strengthener where you hold a KB overhead and walk a set distance. By having the weight overhead, it challenges your shoulder to stay locked in while your upper back muscles fire to keep it there.
But the real magic happens down below. With only one side loaded, your obliques and deep core stabilizers must resist side bending and rotation, providing a serious core strength injection. This move strengthens your shoulders and abs, teaching your body how to move well under load.
It trains every muscle from your head to your toes.
How to do it:
Press a kettlebell overhead with one arm, locking out the elbow.
Your wrist stays aligned with your shoulder, and your biceps should be near your ear.
Then you walk deliberately, keeping your core tight, your glutes engaged, and your ribcage down.
Reset and repeat on the other side.
Did it Meet My Criteria?
Compound Exercise: Yes
Self-Limiting: Yes
Up/down: Yes
Standing: Yes
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 40 steps per side.
Unilateral Bench Press
Starting to sense a theme here? Two unilateral exercises back to back. The bilateral bench press and its variations are excellent and build oddles of strength and muscle.
So why this exercise?
Similar to the exercise above, the magic lies in the offset load. When performing the unilateral bench press, the offset load helps strengthen your core, particularly your love handles, to prevent you from falling off the bench. Then you have to do the other side, so your core, chest, and triceps get equal love. With the bilateral press, your core isn’t working as hard.
What does that all mean? You work more muscle with the same or less weight, which is what’s needed when you’re time crunched.
How to do it:
Position the dumbbell as demonstrated in the video above.
Bend your arm slowly until your elbow passes your torso.
Using your triceps and chest, press until your elbow is straight.
Pause for a beat, then reset and repeat.
Did it Meet My Criteria?
Compound Exercise: Yes
Self-Limiting: Yes
Up/down: Yes
Standing: No
Sets & Reps: 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps per side.
Double Dumbbell Front Squat
The dumbbell front squat requires you to hold two dumbbells in the front rack position. Because the dumbbells are anterior, there is an increased demand on your upper back, quadriceps, and core. But that’s no big deal because many squat variations do that.
So why this one?
Barbell squats are king, but they require more stability and mobility to get into a good position and maintain it. Dumbbells do not, and the added advantage of dumbbells is that you’ll have them in a neutral position, making it easier on your shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints.
The ease of setup, joint friendliness, and the ability to use more weight than your typical Goblet squat make it an ideal variation for the time-crunched adult. Oh, yeah, and it hits your quads pretty hard, too.
How to do it:
Curl the dumbbells to the front rack position, keeping your chest up and shoulders down.
Assume your preferred squat stance.
Lower into a squat, keeping the spine neutral while staying as upright as possible.
When you have reached your squat depth, return to the starting position.
Reset and repeat.
Did it Meet My Criteria?
Compound Exercise: Yes
Self-Limiting: Yes
Up/down: Yes
Standing: Yes
Sets & Reps: 3 sets 6-12 reps
RDL Unilateral Row
The RDL unilateral row reduces your stability because you’re in a single-leg stance, making it more of a full-body exercise. However, there’s a benefit to all this. You will use less weight but train more muscle. You’ll be working your glutes, hamstrings, balance, love handles, grip, forearms, biceps, shoulders, upper back, and lats.
Wow, that was a long sentence with commas, but worth it.
When you’re time-crunched, weight is essential, but working more muscle with the same or less load takes precedence. The RDL row is like a hamburger with the lot, but only for your sexiness. If you were to do only one exercise on this list, this would be it.
How to do it:
Get into your single-leg RDL position by taking your right foot off the ground, hinging with your hips, and putting your right hand on the bench.
Grip the dumbbell with your left hand, with your shoulders down and chest up. Keep a soft bend in your knee.
Then row the dumbbell towards the outside of your hip, feeling it in your upper back and love handles.
Slowly lower to the starting position, reset, and repeat.
Then repeat on the other side.
Did it Meet My Criteria?
Compound Exercise: Yes
Self-Limiting: Yes
Up/down: Yes
Standing: Yes
Sets & Reps: 3 sets, 8-15 reps per side.
Wrapping Up
A lack of time will always hinder your health and fitness. Rather than focus on the problem, let’s focus on the solution with exercises that give you a bigger bang for your health buck. These exercises are challenging, but are so worth it.
If only I could remember how to count to four.
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