At this stage, there really are no more excuses for not working out, yet many people still struggle to squeeze in a workout, but have you thought about a lunch break workout? Some reasons for not working out are valid: Successfully juggling a demanding career and taking care of family commitments normally requires long hours out of your day. But if you’re spending your precious spare moments managing a handful of fantasy football teams or staying current with every new Netflix drama—it’s on you.
And science has proven that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to a host of health issues. So if you’re unwilling yet to make your training work after work, why not within work, like, say, your lunch break?
If you’ve got an hour to get away in the middle of the afternoon then you’ve got more than enough time to get a solid workout in. Even with driving to the gym, changing, showering and getting back to work takes up half of that time, a 30-minute workout puts you back on the training track and puts you miles ahead of those waiting in line for a middaty machioto.
A short workout is always better than no workout—and getting the work in over the long run leads to healthier habits that may lead you to find other ways to expand on that 30 minutes.
The first step in creating an effective lunch hour workout starts by considering it as an option. Here’s how and why it could work for you.
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Why Choose a Lunch Break Workout?
Lunch break workouts don’t cut into your sleep or your evening leisure time with family, or force you to go to bed early so you can get up earlier. You also get a mental break from work and a midday energy boost. Working out consistently improves your energy—which bleeds into enhanced focus and productivity. You might even find you’re more efficient during work hours and less often need to take work home on evenings and weekends.
Committing to a lunch break workout also ensures you take your lunch break instead of working through it. Even the smokers at your work take their breaks. Committing to a break establishes boundaries around your work and your well being.
Lunch break workouts are less likely to be skipped because of late nights and poor sleep or evening family or social commitments. An added plus: You also avoid the chaos of packed early evening gyms.
Gym Options
Ideally, you’ll have access to a gym nearby. A lucky few will have a gym in their work building and an employer who considers health and wellness a priority. Most cities have gym options within a short walk or drive. Convenience is your top priority, even if the equipment or amenities are lacking. If you can keep your total turnaround time under 15 to 20 minutes, you have more than enough time to get a great workout. Look online for all the gym options in the immediate area. You might be surprised to find some small private facilities, or group exercise studios nearby. Some people hire a trainer or attend a class as a commitment to working out.
More employers understand that healthy and active employees are often happier, more productive, and take fewer days off. Employees who feel their employer values them and have the flexibility to prioritize their fitness, are less likely to leave. Many employers are more flexible on working hours as long as the work gets done or you’ve worked the agreed upon hours. Getting to the office 15 minutes early or staying 15 minutes late so your lunch “hour” becomes 75 minutes creates more turnaround time to get to and from the gym.
Talk to your supervisor, expressing your effort to maintain your physical and mental health, productivity and energy, and propose a little more flexibility around your lunch hour—while ensuring your boss that won’t advantage of his gym generosity (nothing good will come if you turn an hour into a three-hour workout). Only the most myopic (or powerless) supervisors will refuse. If you’re the boss, learn to give yourself (and your employees) the time needed to put your health first. Business owners can be the worst for sacrificing health for the shortsighted illusion of productivity.
In the worst-case scenario in which there’s no reasonable option to reach a gym, you can choose bodyweight circuits if you can find a space to hide out and train. Celebrity trainer and Muscle and Fitness cover athlete Don Saladino is one of many coaches who offer inexpensive, quality bodyweight workout plans. Barring any other options and having decent weather, going for a walk on your lunch break can be one of the most energizing and health promoting behaviors available.
Tactics to Create an Effective Lunch Break Workout
You might believe you need at least an hour for a great workout and won’t bother trying if you don’t have this window. Working out for even 30 minutes a day, especially going from nothing, would be life altering. Even gym diehards can do a lot with 30 to 45 minutes in a gym. We just need to modify our tactics.
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1) Shorten Your Warmup
Just 15 minutes of steady state cardio to warmup is a luxury not a necessity. You can get an effective warmup with a few light sets of each exercise. You can also discard the stretching and foam rolling before the workout, or if you feel better with them, do them between warmup sets. Stretching and foam rolling do not reduce the risk of injury while lifting. They also don’t create lasting increase in muscle length or flexibility, outside of extreme long duration stretch that few sane people would subject themselves to. A little stretching or foam rolling may improve short-term range of motion to allow you better mobility during lifting (by temporarily relaxing tense muscles), if done shortly before the exercise. If you need this extra range of motion, stretch or foam roll between your sets.
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2) Shorten Rest Breaks
Rest is essential for building strength and muscle, but we probably overdo it a little, especially scrolling on our phones. If you bring your phone to the gym floor (most people do for music), use it as a timer between sets. Or try leaving it in your locker, you’ll blast through your workout.
You also don’t need much rest between warmup sets. This buys more time between harder working sets where the rest matters. For the important lifts near the beginning of your workout, you can then afford to take 90 to 120 seconds between working sets to recover to perform well. Then shorten rest breaks between sets of accessories and isolation exercises.
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3) Use Dropsets
You can get more training effect during short workouts by extending some of your sets past failure. Use drops sets on the last set of each exercise (where it’s safe to train to failure) to increase your training intensity. You can condense your last two sets of many exercises into one plus a drop set. When you reach failure, immediately lower the weight and keep going with strict form until you hit failure. You can do one to three drops for any set to feel intense tension on muscles.
Use caution going to strict form failure on heavy full body exercises where failure could mean getting stuck under a barbell, like bench press and squats, or where you might otherwise put yourself in a vulnerable position. Dropsets are often more effective with dumbbells, machines, and cables.
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4) Use Supersets
There’s no better tactic to condense your time but retain the effectiveness of a longer workout than performing two exercises back to back with minimal rest between. Choose exercises that involve opposing (biceps vs triceps) or unrelated (chest and core) so one muscle group can rest while the other works. Choose exercises that can be done at the same station and requires minimal complexity and setup. At the same time,, don’t forget about being conscientious of other members—and don’t hoard the equipment.
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5) Do Cardio Separately
You may be used to doing cardio before or after your strength training workout. It may be wise to separate your lifting from your cardio when time is condensed. This may eliminate getting too sweaty and needing to take time from your workout to shower before returning to work.
Think of ways to get cardiovascular activity outside work hours. Try planning walks with family or friends. Look for ways to participate in outdoor group activities, join recreational sports leagues, or take one evening and one weekend to tack on a gym cardio session.
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6) Focus on a Few Big Lifts
Workouts don’t require as much variety as you might believe. You get all of the physical and mental health benefits of lifting even if you focus on a few core lifts, as long as you train hard. Focus on the big lifts you enjoy most, prioritize building strength, and fill out the remaining time with supersets and dropsets.
Pick squats, deadlifts, and lunges before the leg extension machine. Pick bench and shoulder presses before cable pressdowns. Pick chinups and rows before forearm curls.
Triage by choosing the exercises that recruit the most muscle and move the most load in the limited time you have.
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7) Focus
Some people step into the gym locked in and ready, with headphones on and hats hiding eyes. No distractions are tolerated. Others enjoy the social nature, seeing friends at the gym. It’s also easy to get lost in conversation and let 10 minutes pass before you remember your next set. Stay on task, set a timer for your sets, and politely cut off conversations to keep your workout from being derailed.
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8) Find an Accountability Partner
Maybe the challenge is internal. Maybe motivation is unreliable and maybe discipline hasn’t yet taken root. Maybe the answer is finding a like-minded coworker or friend as a workout and accountability partner. If breaks can be coordinated, the commitment to join a friend can override the days when you don’t feel like going. Structure your workouts where one of you rests while the other lifts, then trade places.
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9) Hire a Coach
Lunch-hour workouts seem like a great idea. Execution is often the problem. Hold yourself accountable by hiring a coach. Many of my clients over the years have booked sessions as non-negotiable ways to train during their lunch break. The appointment holds them accountable. For those who can’t find a qualified trainer for the times you need and who are more independent, consider having an online coach plan and structure your workouts.
Lunchtime workouts are a great way to reduce the long-term risk of lifestyle disease. They’re a great way to sustain your energy and productivity, while keeping more of your down time to rejuvenate and spend with friends and family. You can do an effective workout in less time and enrich your life in the process.
