Keep the main lift, cut the extras
Start with the lift you are tracking: squat, bench, deadlift, press or row. Do your working sets as planned. Then do one or two accessories and stop. Cutting a few accessory sets costs far less than skipping the session.
Warm up briefly and specifically
Skip the long general warm-up. Do two or three lighter sets of your first lift, building up to your working weight. Later exercises need little or no warm-up because you are already warm.
Pair exercises that do not compete
Alternate two exercises for different muscles, such as a press and a row, or a lunge and a pulldown. You rest one muscle group while working the other, which roughly halves the time for those sets. Do not pair your heaviest lift; give it its normal rest.
Stay in one place
Choose exercises you can do with the same equipment, such as a pair of dumbbells and a bench. Walking between machines and waiting for them uses up more time than you might expect.
An example 30-minute session
- 0–5 minutes: warm-up sets of squat.
- 5–15 minutes: squat, 3 working sets, 2 minutes rest.
- 15–27 minutes: dumbbell bench press and one-arm dumbbell row, alternated, 3 rounds.
- 27–30 minutes: one set of plank or a carry, then done.
Over a week, short sessions add up
Three 30-minute sessions a week can cover every major muscle group if you rotate the main lift. If you can only manage short sessions, a full-body split usually fits better than one that trains each muscle group once a week. See how to plan your gym week.
In Kit
Choose how much time you have before you get a workout, and Kit fits the session to it, based on how long your sessions really take. The time shown is an estimate, and you can still edit any exercise or set. If a suggested workout is still too long, tell Kit and it prepares a shorter one.
