One of the biggest battles we face in life is finding time to do everything we want.
And while I will do a massive write-up on this in the future (along with the “myth” of time management), today I want to focus on how a little bit of time can do more than you think to help you achieve your fitness goals.
There are tons of ways to look at this:
The Kaizen principle.
The principle of the slight edge.
Or even the famous quote, “little hinges swing big doors.”
The bottom line is very subtle, minor changes (or upgrades) can make a profound difference in life, and especially in training.
One of the big issues for me, personally, is that I’m very “all-or-nothing” when it comes to my training.
If I don’t get to foam roll, reset, do my mobility drills, and then hit an awesome strength training session, it just doesn’t feel right.
But in that same vein, I’ve got more going on now in my life than ever before. And sometimes, I just don’t have time for a full and proper workout.
Which is why I’m becoming a huge proponent of what I call the +1 Workout.
The goal of the +1 Workout is simple:
To do something on a day in which you would typically do nothing.
Simple, right?
There are numerous benefits here – just by virtue of moving around a bit, your heart, lungs, soft-tissue and joints will all be happier with you.
But if I left it at that, this post would be pretty darn empty (not to mention way too short!).
So with that being said, here are a handful of +1 Workouts you can try out, based on what your current needs and goals are.
The “Correctives” Workout
A +1 Workout the focuses on your correctives is an awesome example of how to clean up posture, movement and alignment more quickly.
Let’s say you only train 2-3 times per week. If you have a movement limitation you want to address, it’s going to take a dedicated block of time to fix it.
And at only 2-3 sessions per week, it’s going to take longer than it should because you just aren’t giving your body enough stimulus or feedback to address the problem.
However, if you can get through those correctives even one more time per week, that’s going to fast-track your progress.
(Side note: For my online and offline clients alike, I try and get them to perform their first page “correctives” a minimum of 4-5x/week, with daily being a best case scenario).
If you fall into this camp, it’s simple: Once you know your correctives, you go through that section of your program at least one extra time per week (if not more).
If you have a core/trunk stability issue, you work on that.
If you have a shoulder mobility issue, you work on that.
The bottom line is you try and increase frequency/exposure so your brain “gets it” faster than if you were only doing this stuff two or three times per week.
So that one is pretty simple. Now let’s dive into some examples that are a bit more training focused.
The Strength Workout
A lot of the people reading my site have a dedicated goal of getting strong(er). Whether it’s to improve their sports performance or just throw around more weight, I love this goal.
And what’s one of the biggest issues we have when it comes to getting stronger?
I’ll give you a hint: It’s not just what you do in the gym that matters….
That’s right, it’s recovery.
There are various schools of thoughts when it comes to training, and especially training frequency. On one end you have the people that go balls-out once per week on their lifts.
On the other end of the spectrum you have people who train their lifts daily (or close to it) in an effort to take advantage of the motor-learning effect.
If I lean towards one end of the spectrum, it’s the motor learning side.
Quite simply if you want to get stronger at squatting, benching or deadlifting, you need to squat, bench or deadlift more frequently.
But what if, at this point in time, you simply can’t do that?
What if you’re too stiff, sore or beat-up after your last squat session and you can’t train. Then what?
Easy – you need to do squat anyway, but with a reduced volume/intensity.
Get in, move around, and work that soreness out.
We’ve known for decades that active recovery (i.e. doing something) is superior to passive recovery (i.e. doing nothing).
By going in and working on squat technique, even with submaximal weights, you can do wonders for both recovery and motor learning.
You kill two birds with one stone – you move around (which expedites recovery) and you get better at “learning” your lift as well.
That’s a win-win in my opinion.
But let’s say that the power or Olympic lifts aren’t your thing. What if you just want to get stronger in general?
In this case, it’s a great idea to find some simple things that you can do around the house to get the job done.
Buy one of those chin-up bars that hands in your doorway, and do something like this:
- 1a) Chin-ups, 4-5xAMAP (AMAP = as many as possible), superset with
- 1B) Push-ups, 4-5xAMAP
It doesn’t look or feel like a lot, and that’s sort of the point. The goal isn’t to crush yourself.
The goal is to do something.
Yet another option would be to get one light kettlebell and develop a circuit to cycle through. Here’s an idea if you want to move around a bit:
- 1A) Goblet Squat with Heartbeat, 3×8
- 1B) Single-Arm Overhead Press, 3×8
- 1C) Single-Leg RDL, 3×8
- 1D) Renegade Row, 3×8
In that workout alone I’m getting total body mobility, core strength, shoulder strength and stability, hip stability, and building my posterior chain.
Now that we’ve covered strength, let’s talk a bit about conditioning.
The Conditioning Workout
If you need to improve conditioning, or want to expedite fat loss, this is a great time to use a +1 Workout.
In my post on Long Duration, Low Intensity Cardio, I talked about doing continuous activity in an effort to build a more efficient heart, stronger parasympathetic drive, etc.
But too often people assume that long duration MUST equal cyclical, boring exercise like running, biking, swimming, and the like.
Not the case.
First off if you’re going to do something repetitively, at least make it something that looks really cool.
Push a prowler.
Drag a sled.
But if cyclical isn’t your thing, this is an ideal time to do a bunch of random stuff and build it into circuits. With my athletes we’ll head over to the turf side of IFAST and build something like this:
Prowler pushes,- Sled drags (lower body),
- Sled pushes/pulls (upper body),
- Sledgehammer swings,
- Med ball throws (half-kneeling, tall-kneeling, split-stance, rotating, etc.)
- Farmers carries,
- Corrective exercises,
- Mobility drills,
- Agility ladder drills,
- Etc.
Perform all exercises for 30-60 seconds. If heart rate gets too low, pick up the pace and work a bit harder. If heart rate gets too high, take a quick break or ease off the gas a bit.
This example is a bit more strength/weights focused, but you could absolutely tweak it if your goals are more athletic in nature, too.
Here’s a great write-up from Patrick Ward on extensive field circuits you can incorporate in your training that will give you a similar training effect.
Now keep in mind, the goal of this workout is not to get after it and “crush” your conditioning session.
Trust me, I get the mindset. I like to get after it, too. But that’s not the point for this type of workout.
The point is to achieve a specific adaptation, and working too intensely will not allow you to do that.
But what if you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, and you want/need high intensity exercise to stimulate fat loss?
Perfect – this is an ideal time to get a quick-and-dirty session in, and it works great as a +1 because it should only take a handful of minutes.
Some of my favorite tools in this case are either an AirDyne bike or a kettlebell.
If you’re on a bike, go 30 seconds on, 60-90 seconds off, that’s one round. Perform as many rounds as you can.
It doesn’t sound difficult but those 30 seconds “on” need to be a maximal effort.
And while the bike is great, my personal favorite is a kettlebell.
With one moderate sized kettlebell (a 24 or 28 kg is great for me), make it a goal to get 100 swings in. And there’s no right or wrong way to do this.
10 sets of 10 reps.
4 sets of 25 reps.
30 reps, 30 reps, 40 reps.
Doesn’t matter, the goal is simply to get that 100 swings in.
In September when I was bursting at the seams with stuff to do, this workout was my savior.
I might go from 6 or 7 am until 9 pm at night, so mental and physical capacity were quite low.
But I could also summon enough energy to go in the basement, do a few mobility drills, and then get in 100 swings.
The first couple of options I’ve outlined have been a bit more structured. Now let’s really get outside the box and think of ways we can not only get an extra workout or two in, but have some fun doing it as well.
The Play & Movement Workout
This is one I bet you’ll start seeing from me more and more.
As we age, and especially if we do a lot of strength training, we have a natural tendency to lose some of natural athleticism.
Strength training is great, but it’s largely a sagittal plane movement. And, it’s very focused and controlled.
Not a bad thing, but sometimes we need more variety in our lives as well.
The play and movement workout is simple: It could be going to a park, or a field, or your gym if it has the right materials.
From there, you do all of the stuff you did as a kid.
Hops, skips, jumps, bounds, lateral shuffles, cariocas, hanging on the monkey bars, whatever.
The goal is to just move around and feel athletic.
If you skipped over it before, go back and check out Patrick’s article I linked above. It’s good stuff.
If you have access, grab a ball of some sort and take it along for the ride. If you’re at a basketball court, work on dribbling, shooting, and perhaps more importantly, planting and cutting.
If you’re in an open field take a soccer ball and work on dribbling, kicking, your touch, faking out an imaginary defender, etc.
It doesn’t have to be intense, but it does have to be thoughtful. Think about and feel what your body is doing at all times.
In this day and age where everything is rigid, planned and executed, this may be the best kind of workout for our bodies and our minds.
In fact, I think I just wrote my new Wednesday night workout for the foreseeable future!
The Activity Workout
This last one is simple.
Maybe you don’t want to lift weights, do circuits, or even go to a field and play.
But sitting around isn’t the ideal option either.
In this case, just do something.
(Are you seeing the trend yet?)
One of my favorites is to go for walks with my family. My daughter always enjoys them, and you’ll often find that walking is great for stimulating the brain.
If you’re a creative thinker, movement is great. Same thing if you’re “stuck” on a particular problem at work or school.
Just get out and do something. Even if it’s only 10-15 minutes, this little habit can make a huge difference in how you move and feel.
Summary
Whether you’re incredibly busy, or simply want to fast-track your training progress, +1 Workouts are a fantastic tool in your toolbox.
Your challenge for this week is to use the +1 principle in your own training. Even if it’s not one of the pre-canned methods I outline above, make it a goal to get in one extra “workout” per week.
Your body, and mind, will thank you.
All the best
MR