A High Intensity Workout Routine In Under One Hour

Hoon Kim

Published in

Keelo

5 min readJun 2, 2016

TL;DR

Follow this schedule:

Minute       Activity0:00         Arrive at the gym0:05–0:10    Warm up0:15–0:30    Do the day’s strength / skill exercise0:35–0:50    Do the day’s conditioning workout0:50–0:55    Cool down0:55         Leave the gym.

In an earlier post, we discuss why we should stop the mundane routine of 1 hour weights + 30 minutes of cardio (i.e. the traditional workout).

Specifically, these workouts:

Become boring fast,
Take too much time (1.5 hours or more), and
Deliver sub-optimal results.

So, what should we do instead? Let’s look at each point.

ISSUE #1: Traditional Workouts Become Boring Fast

SOLUTION: Do The Things You Enjoy

Being active, staying in shape should never feel like a chore. Rather, the journey itself should be enjoyable too, not just the final result.

While this point may seem obvious, we should be active in the things we enjoy.

We propose a high intensity workout routine that we believe is much more enjoyable than the traditional workout.

But, keep an open mind to other activities too. Running outside, olympic weightlifting, swimming, rock climbing, yoga, hiking. It’s definitely okay to mix things up. As we become more active, we may find interest in other physical activities.

ISSUE #2: Traditional Workouts Take Too Much Time

SOLUTION: Spend At Most One Hour At The Gym

There’s little reason to spend more than an hour at the gym. Get in at 5pm. Leave by 6pm.

Stick to this time constraint. It makes the mental commitment of working out easier and the whole process more enjoyable.

ISSUE #3: Traditional Workouts Deliver Sub-Optimal Results

SOLUTION: Do High Intensity Workouts with Functional, Compound Movements

Let’s break down what we mean by “functional, compound movements” and “high intensity”.

Functional, Compound Movements

In real life, our bodies coordinate multiple joints and muscles to move naturally.

For example, when we place a heavy box on an overhead shelf, we use our legs, glutes, and hips to lift the box off the ground. Then, we use our core for stability and arms, shoulders, and back to place the box on the shelf. All the while, the only real thought is: “let me place this box overhead.”

We’re not thinking about isolating our leg muscles, abs, biceps, etc.

Then, when we workout, we should be doing movements that reflect real life (i.e. they’re functional). They should always recruit multiple joints and muscles to work together (i.e. they’re compound).

Movements that satisfy both conditions are known as functional, compound movements. They’re often rooted in gymnastics, olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting. See our list.

Examples of Functional, Compound Movements

When these movements involve weights, they’re always with free weights, never machines. No Smith machines, no leg press machines, no cable pulley machines.

High Intensity

Technically, “high intensity” means working at or near your max power capacity. From a metabolic point-of-view, it means relying primarily on your anaerobic (phosphagen and glycolytic) energy systems.

In everyday terms, it means pushing yourself as hard as you can for a short period of time. You know you’re working at high intensity when your heart rate is up, you feel out of breath, and you feel you can’t keep up the pace for too long.

Examples: 1-rep max weight deadlift, 200-meter sprint intervals.

So, why do high intensity workouts? They uniquely provide these benefits:

Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), a.k.a. “Afterburn Effect”, increases calorie burn after the workout ends. “Post-exercise oxygen consumption replenishes the phosphagen system… [and oxidizes] lactic acid” as a result of utilizing anaerobic energy systems. (1)
Neuroendocrine response that results in increased “testosterone, insulin-like growth factor, and human growth hormone”, which “increase muscle mass and bone density.” (2) They also improve our metabolic system in how we store, break down, and burn calories. (3, 4)
In addition to heart health, cardiovascular improvements that increase the “body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently” and allow “blood vessels [to expand] better… which reduces the risk of a vessel-blocking clot.” (5)
They take less time while delivering similar or greater benefits than low to moderate-intensity workouts done for longer duration, which may explain why high intensity workouts are perceived to be more enjoyable. (6)

BRINGING EVERYTHING TOGETHER

We’ve agreed to spend at most an hour at the gym. We’ve also agreed to stick to functional, compound movements performed at high intensity.

How do these guidelines translate into an actual workout routine? Here’s an example.

A single workout day looks like this:

Minute       Activity0:00         Arrive at the gym0:05–0:10    Warm up0:15–0:30    Do the day’s strength / skill exercise0:35–0:50    Do the day’s conditioning workout0:50–0:55    Cool down0:55         Leave the gym.

This schedule takes less than an hour, but it is highly effective.

Here’s what we mean by “strength / skill exercise” and “conditioning workout”.

Strength / Skill Exercise

Strength or skill exercises refer to movements done to improve the body’s strength, power, coordination, balance, or accuracy. Examples:

5 sets of 5 deadlifts,
12 alternating sets of kettlebell swings and pull-ups.

In both examples, we do compound movements and limit them to just one to two per day. That’s totally okay. Because they’re compound movements, we’re actually working many muscles at once. A single deadlift activates over 30 different muscles! (7) Equally important, we’re training our body to use our muscles in coordination with each other.

Conditioning Workouts

Conditioning workouts refer to short, high intensity workouts that focus on improving our endurance, stamina, speed, coordination, and agility. While strength isn’t an explicit objective, these workouts reinforce the strength we already have.

In short, these workouts do a whole lot. Just doing conditioning workouts three times a week would be sufficient exercise for most people.

What does a conditioning workout look like? Example:

TWENTIES II:3 Rounds of:
  20 Air Squats
  20 Push-ups
  20 Bodyweight Lunges
  20 Sit-ups

When done consistently over time, these workouts deliver significant improvements to our musculoskeletal, central nervous, cardiovascular, and metabolic systems.

Our New High Intensity Workout Routine

Now, let’s plan our next month’s workout schedule with these steps.

Pick three days per week you can commit to, e.g MWF.
For each day, stick to the hour schedule shown above.

Get Keelo for your personalized workouts! Let the app tell you what warm up, strength, conditioning, and cool down workouts to do!

Sources:

A High Intensity Workout Routine In Under One Hour

Written by Hoon Kim