30 minutes in the gym - what do you do?

2

Replies

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    On A days, I would do a 30 minute run. On B days, I would do a 5 minute warmup, then calisthenics or plyometrics.

    But in reality, 30 minutes is really too short for most any effective routine. You should be looking for more an hour at the gym, otherwise, it's almost a waste.

    What? No. If you can't work out for an arbitrary amount of time you just shouldn't do it at all? That's silly.

    When some people give that excuse and they do, it shows the laziness in the first place.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    Especially when studies are now showing that for sedentary people, even doing something for 5 minutes every 2 hours can counter the effects of inactivity. I got a similar talk from a trainer because due to an injury I can only lift light on one side -- "if you're not lifting heavy, it's the same as doing nothing." These arguments come from people who either want an excuse for doing nothing, or from all-or-nothing exercise perfectionists.
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    edited May 2015
    Weights. Otherwise, why even go to the gym? Cardio/videos/etc can be done at home without paying for a gym membership.

    ETA: unless you need the motivation of a gym environment... Then, I guess do whatever you want?

    My vote still stands for compound weight lifting.
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    On A days, I would do a 30 minute run. On B days, I would do a 5 minute warmup, then calisthenics or plyometrics.

    But in reality, 30 minutes is really too short for most any effective routine. You should be looking for more an hour at the gym, otherwise, it's almost a waste.

    I do cardio for 30 minutes 5 days a week. I average 265 calories burned during those 30 minutes. Over 1 week that is 1,855 calories burned. Pretty sure that isn't a waste.

    I also do strength training some days, but there are days when I only do cardio and it's working for me.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    edited May 2015
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    On A days, I would do a 30 minute run. On B days, I would do a 5 minute warmup, then calisthenics or plyometrics.

    But in reality, 30 minutes is really too short for most any effective routine. You should be looking for more an hour at the gym, otherwise, it's almost a waste.


    Post was ok until the end.

    Workout can be a waste due to duration of workout. You sure?

    Workouts at the gym can be waste due to duration of the workout.

    Assuming 15 minute drive to the gym, 10 minutes for cooldown/warmup, 15 minute drive back home, and 20 minutes for the routine... You've now spent 3/4 of the time involved in NOT doing a routine.

    If you're limited to 30 minutes, there are better ideas than going to the gym.

    OK lets use me as the example. What workout could I who has over 7 years of weighting training do at home to effective burn calories since OP talking about it like that. Well I use my calories to create a deficit so calories burn at the gym really don't matter so much. There is nothing I can do at home to have a effective micro muscle tear. That is me though.

    OP didn't state they have a 7 year fitness base...

    But on that note, anything done at the gym can also be done at home, given the proper equipment. Or, even very little equipment. Did you know, you can lift heavy things at home too! For micro-muscle tears, try lifting 50lb bags of cement, and loading them onto a truck. Then unload them from the truck. I will bet you will have micro-muscular tears after that :)

    Or, if you don't like that idea... Burpees, mountain climbers, pullups, jackknives, and a host of other calisthenics when done at proper intensity will produce good results.

    If you've ever seen someone just out of prison who is jacked, you will start to see the alternatives to a gym. I don't think most prisoners had access to much of a gym at all. Likely just a bench, and some weights, if that.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    On A days, I would do a 30 minute run. On B days, I would do a 5 minute warmup, then calisthenics or plyometrics.

    But in reality, 30 minutes is really too short for most any effective routine. You should be looking for more an hour at the gym, otherwise, it's almost a waste.


    Post was ok until the end.

    Workout can be a waste due to duration of workout. You sure?

    Workouts at the gym can be waste due to duration of the workout.

    Assuming 15 minute drive to the gym, 10 minutes for cooldown/warmup, 15 minute drive back home, and 20 minutes for the routine... You've now spent 3/4 of the time involved in NOT doing a routine.

    If you're limited to 30 minutes, there are better ideas than going to the gym.

    OK lets use me as the example. What workout could I who has over 7 years of weighting training do at home to effective burn calories since OP talking about it like that. Well I use my calories to create a deficit so calories burn at the gym really don't matter so much. There is nothing I can do at home to have a effective micro muscle tear. That is me though.

    OP didn't state they have a 7 year fitness base...

    But on that note, anything done at the gym can also be done at home, given the proper equipment. Or, even very little equipment. Did you know, you can lift heavy things at home too! For micro-muscle tears, try lifting 50lb bags of cement, and loading them onto a truck. Then unload them from the truck. I will bet you will have micro-muscular tears after that :)

    Or, if you don't like that idea... Burpees, mountain climbers, pullups, jackknives, and a host of other calisthenics when done at proper intensity will produce good results.

    If you've ever seen someone just out of prison who is jacked, you will start to see the alternatives to a gym. I don't think most prisoners had access to much of a gym at all. Likely just a bench, and some weights, if that.

    I am sure prisons have barbells.

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    a lot of my workouts are around 45 minutes .. so they're pointless in your opinion

    oh and I walk to the gym and back

    and sometimes I'll do 25 mins cardio followed by 15 minutes weights and 5 minutes stretching

    according to you that's pointless?

    mindblowing
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    a lot of my workouts are around 45 minutes .. so they're pointless in your opinion

    oh and I walk to the gym and back

    and sometimes I'll do 25 mins cardio followed by 15 minutes weights and 5 minutes stretching

    according to you that's pointless?

    mindblowing

    le sigh. Please read what I meant again:
    Assuming 15 minute drive to the gym, 10 minutes for cooldown/warmup, 15 minute drive back home, and 20 minutes for the routine... You've now spent 3/4 of the time involved in NOT doing a routine.

    If you're limited to 30 minutes, there are better ideas than going to the gym.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    a lot of my workouts are around 45 minutes .. so they're pointless in your opinion

    oh and I walk to the gym and back

    and sometimes I'll do 25 mins cardio followed by 15 minutes weights and 5 minutes stretching

    according to you that's pointless?

    mindblowing

    le sigh. Please read what I meant again:
    Assuming 15 minute drive to the gym, 10 minutes for cooldown/warmup, 15 minute drive back home, and 20 minutes for the routine... You've now spent 3/4 of the time involved in NOT doing a routine.

    If you're limited to 30 minutes, there are better ideas than going to the gym.

    Assuming. Why are we making stuff up now? You made a claim that a short workout is a pointless workout which is clearly wrong.

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  • Altagracia220
    Altagracia220 Posts: 876 Member
    30 minutes running on the treadmill
  • Altagracia220
    Altagracia220 Posts: 876 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    Lola2248 wrote: »
    You have 30 minutes in the gym.
    Your aim is to lose weight.
    what do you focus on - cardio or focus on weight training?

    I don't go to the gym to lose weight.

    I go to the gym for health and fitness. So I do a warm up and than lift weights and a cool down.

    I think OP was just speaking hypothetically.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    a lot of my workouts are around 45 minutes .. so they're pointless in your opinion

    oh and I walk to the gym and back

    and sometimes I'll do 25 mins cardio followed by 15 minutes weights and 5 minutes stretching

    according to you that's pointless?

    mindblowing

    le sigh. Please read what I meant again:
    Assuming 15 minute drive to the gym, 10 minutes for cooldown/warmup, 15 minute drive back home, and 20 minutes for the routine... You've now spent 3/4 of the time involved in NOT doing a routine.

    If you're limited to 30 minutes, there are better ideas than going to the gym.

    le sigh .. LOL

    neat backtacking though

    doing something is always better than doing nothing

  • kromanich
    kromanich Posts: 16 Member
    Speed intervals at an incline
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I do both, so it would depend on the day.

    I do prefer to do my cardio outside, however, and like access to the gym mostly because of access to weights, so if I had limited gym access I'd use it for strength training and do cardio at other times.
  • noaddedsugarx
    noaddedsugarx Posts: 169 Member
    edited May 2015
    The stairmaster for 15 minutes then the treadmill because I prefer to do my resistance/kettlebell training at home.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    In 30 minutes, a 5-minute warm up plus compound lifts (Deadlifts, Bench Press, Overhead Press, Squats and what not) is your best bet. If you want to add in some cardio on other days, I have found that HIIT is quite effective.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    On A days, I would do a 30 minute run. On B days, I would do a 5 minute warmup, then calisthenics or plyometrics.

    But in reality, 30 minutes is really too short for most any effective routine. You should be looking for more an hour at the gym, otherwise, it's almost a waste.


    Post was ok until the end.

    Workout can be a waste due to duration of workout. You sure?

    Workouts at the gym can be waste due to duration of the workout.

    Assuming 15 minute drive to the gym, 10 minutes for cooldown/warmup, 15 minute drive back home, and 20 minutes for the routine... You've now spent 3/4 of the time involved in NOT doing a routine.

    If you're limited to 30 minutes, there are better ideas than going to the gym.
    Lol, you could say that for just about anything. Going to work for many can take 2 hours (home and back). Going to the grocery store and waiting in line, driving to the local cleaners (spend more time driving than picking up), etc.
    One DOESN'T need a whole hour to be effective in their workouts. In fact most progressive fitness routines are under 30 minutes due to the fact that the intensity is quite high and VO2 max is usually pushed to the limit.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • crazie4lulu
    crazie4lulu Posts: 762 Member
    HIIT or tabata training. Tabata is 4 minutes of an exercise... 8 intervals of 20 seconds all out work and 10 seconds rest period. Kettle bell training tabata style is a killer calorie burn!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I would do 30 minutes of lifting 3x weekly with my focus on compound lifts; on non-lifting days I would do 30 minutes of cardio work.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    HIIT or tabata training. Tabata is 4 minutes of an exercise... 8 intervals of 20 seconds all out work and 10 seconds rest period. Kettle bell training tabata style is a killer calorie burn!

    I have been meaning to incorporate Tabata into my workouts. I have heard good things about it.

  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    30 mins in a gym isn't a lot of time. It's enough time to do the necessary though: 2-3 selfies, a Facebook post/checkin to state that you are indeed AT the gym, snapchat your latest crush so they know you work out, a few minutes of poses/self admiration in the mirrors, fill your gallon water jug. That should leave you a couple minutes to hit the foam rollers, and go home.

    But seriously .. as people said .. short sets of compound lifts. With limited time, isolation exercises are too inefficient, and you can do cardio any time.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    arc trainer
  • scottacular
    scottacular Posts: 597 Member
    Tabata session, google it - you can get it done in less than 20 minutes. It's basically cardio and weights so you'll burn a decent number of calories and still be burning them after. The time you have left you can use for stretching or for mopping up your own sweat.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    On A days, I would do a 30 minute run. On B days, I would do a 5 minute warmup, then calisthenics or plyometrics.

    But in reality, 30 minutes is really too short for most any effective routine. You should be looking for more an hour at the gym, otherwise, it's almost a waste.


    Post was ok until the end.

    Workout can be a waste due to duration of workout. You sure?

    Workouts at the gym can be waste due to duration of the workout.

    Assuming 15 minute drive to the gym, 10 minutes for cooldown/warmup, 15 minute drive back home, and 20 minutes for the routine... You've now spent 3/4 of the time involved in NOT doing a routine.

    If you're limited to 30 minutes, there are better ideas than going to the gym.

    Logistics-wise, I completely agree with you. It wouldn't be worth it, for me, to make a trip to the gym for only 30 minutes. But who knows, maybe the OP's gym is at her work and she has 30 minutes there in the middle of the day. Or maybe it's next door and she can get there in under 2 minutes. It takes me 2 minutes to roll out of bed, go to the bathroom, get dressed, and end up in my own basement gym. I could get in a somewhat decent workout in 30 minutes fairly easily if I didn't putz around.
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Lola2248 wrote: »
    compound lifts?
    Bench, squats (with weight!!), deadlift, overhead press, barbell rows
    adding dips and pull-ups is great too
  • DrWhoIsYerDad
    DrWhoIsYerDad Posts: 263 Member
    I used to think cardio was the main activity for burning calories , but it seems weight lifting is the way to go from what I've been reading.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Whatever will give me 20 minutes of cardio - five minute warm up - 5 minute cool down.

    But the reality; I NEVER only spend 30 minutes in the gym.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I used to think cardio was the main activity for burning calories , but it seems weight lifting is the way to go from what I've been reading.

    Nope!
    It's not a big calorie burner at all - but that's not the reason for doing it.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I don't exercise for weight loss and eat back exercise calories anyway but if I only had 30 minutes in the gym I would alternate between:

    30mins cardio of choice. If I wanted a high calorie burn I wouldn't chose HIIT - would work at the highest sustained level I could sustain for 30 minutes (cycle trainer probably, maybe rowing which is close to a "full body" workout). I don't need a warm up or cool down for a short session.

    30mins would be enough (for me) to do four compound lifts (upper body push & pull, lower body push and pull) plus some core work. If you alternate push/pull, upper/lower you need very little recovery time.
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