Shorter Workouts Can Build Strength
Many individuals avoid strength training, citing a lack of time as a primary barrier, often believing that hours in the gym are necessary for results. However, exercise physiologists and researchers suggest that significant strength and muscle gains can be achieved with surprisingly short and infrequent workouts.
The Minimum Dose Approach
Experts, including exercise physiologist David Behm, advocate for a "minimum dose" approach. This demonstrates that meaningful progress is possible with as little as one or two brief workouts per week.
"This can mean as little as a half-hour in the gym."
Key Strategies for Efficient Training
To maximize results from shorter sessions, focus on these strategies:
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Focus on Multi-Joint Exercises: Prioritize compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, and overhead presses. These movements engage multiple major muscle groups simultaneously, making workouts more efficient.
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Beginner Recommendations: For the first three months, beginners can start with one workout per week, performing one set of 6 to 15 repetitions for a handful of multi-joint exercises. Progress can then involve increasing to two workouts per week or two sets per movement.
Intensity Over Volume
While research indicates a dose-response relationship between the number of sets and muscle growth, the most significant gains often occur within the first few sets, with results leveling off afterward. Brad Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science, suggests that 1 to 1.5 hours of training per week (e.g., two 30-45 minute sessions, with 4-6 sets per muscle group) can yield substantial health benefits and strength gains.
Crucially, workout intensity is a primary determinant of effectiveness.
James Steele, an exercise scientist, emphasizes the need to push close to muscle failure during each set. A large study led by Steele, involving nearly 15,000 participants, demonstrated that 20-minute, once-a-week machine-based workouts led to 30% to 50% strength increases in the first year, with gains maintained over time.
Conclusion
Ultimately, consistent effort and intensity are more critical for strength building than prolonged gym sessions. Individuals have considerable flexibility in designing a program that is enjoyable and sustainable, as long as they train hard and regularly.