Finding the time to actually carry out your entire exercise routine can be hard work at the best of times, but there are ways you can help yourself to make the most of what you do have by cutting down the time your workouts are taking.There are various exercising techniques that help you to do this, as well as information sources available to you that help you find out what is and isn't effective in relation to your training, such as performing only cardio exercise to try and lose weight, or spending hours at a time lifting contrasting weights that won't benefit you as much as more specific workouts in the long run.Weight lossAs one of the most common exercise goals, it seems ideal to use this as an example as to where you can find areas to help out your training. The to go to for this type of gaol seems to be focussed around dedicating your time entirely to cardio in the hopes of burning off the most calories, but this isn't actually the case.HIITWorkout techniques like high-intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) are extremely effective in helping you reach your goals in the fastest amount of time, by raising your heart rate higher than cardio would have and resting to make this actually achievable and sustainable. This has proven to be the most effective way to burn calories whilst at the gym so it's definitely worth thinking about.The idea behind HIIT is to perform your exercise with as much effort as physically possible for short durations such as 60 seconds of sprinting, for example, before then resting for 60 seconds and then repeating for around 20 minutes. This would burn more calories than say jogging for 30-45 minutes, and in far less time. On top of all of that, as if it couldn't get any better, it also helps your dramatically increase your stamina in the long run too!TabataOther forms of this are existent too, such as Tabata training, which follows the same time-based system, using 30 seconds of exercise, 30 seconds of rest, and then repeating this for 8 rounds. This then leads you to do the same again with another exercise, totalling to 4 different exercises. This means that your workout will last 16 minutes in total and can give you massive results!EquipmentWhether you're going for long duration cardio, or HIIT type methods, the best thing you can do for yourself is to use very high involvement machines, rather than more simplistic machines like a treadmill or exercise bike. The best examples of this would be to use assault bikes, cross trainers or rowing machines, as these all incorporate more muscles being used at once, allowing you to burn the most calories in the least time.Weight TrainingOn top of all of the various cardiovascular exercises you can do to help you lose weight, it's also an amazing idea to start utilising weight training where you can to help you lose the weight. Cardio burns a lot of calories in one quick blast, no one can deny, but weight training takes that a little bit further.If you use a low weight with a higher rep range, you can easily help yourself to burn a huge amount of extra calories, and to an even better effect, you continue to burn calories even after you've finished training by doing this as your body is building muscle.Strength:Another of the most common training goals for your fitness is strength and muscle building. This usually involves lifting weights for sets at a time, hitting different areas of the same muscle group, or even hitting a full body workout.Compound ExercisesTo make sure you are making the most of your strength training, the best way to train is to focus on one or two complementing muscle groups, such as your chest and triceps for example, and focus solely on those to get the best results. This is where compound exercises come into play, as they hit the most muscle groups at once and help you to build real and practical strength that you can utilise outside of the gym, rather than just improving how much you can lift in one exercise.What we mean by this is like instead of focussing on your bicep curls to get bigger arms, it's better to do a hard-hitting upper body exercise like pull-ups first, as this still hits the biceps hard, but also will do most of your upper body in the process! Some exercises can even be used at the same time, like a muscle up which involves hitting all of your back as well as all of your chest, shoulders and arms too, allowing you to really make the most of what you're doing.Set VariationThere are other ways of achieving similar results as well though. A good example of this would be changing your set styles, like utilising supersets, in which you perform one exercise to your usual standard, before immediately proceeding to another different muscle group and doing the same with that. This means you are not wasting time resting unnecessarily whilst still really hitting different muscle groups.Reduce RestingYou can take this even further by reducing your rest times in general, as a lot of people find they are taking more than they need and actually just waste time as a result. One of the worst ways this happens is when people are distracted during their rests like using phones or talking to other people, rather than keeping their head in the game and focussing on their technique and form.HIITHIIT exercising can really make a difference in your strength training too if you are finding this difficult, and you don't really need to focus on your repetitions either if you are performing the exercises to the best of your ability every time you are exercising. It is best to keep within the same muscle group for this type of training though, so it is not as open as doing it with cardio training. Tabata works in the same kind of way, so you can find what works for you and what isn't as successful.External:Factors outside of your training routines do also have a big impact on your training as well, as should not be forgotten about. The amount of rest days you are allowing yourself, for example, has huge impacts on how successful the results of your workouts will be, as you only perform at your best when your body is ready to. This applied to sleep as well, so be careful!Nutrition is essential as well too, as without the right kind of foods in your diet, you may find it hard to keep energised whilst you are working out, or even be cancelling out the results of your workout which will make the whole thing pointless in the first place, so as eating massively saturated foods or eating too many calories in general.Variation is key, so no matter what your goal is, we advise mixing things up so that you are keeping your body on its toes and ready for whatever you have to throw at it, rather than strengthening some areas and not others without even realising.Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.
