Quick Workouts for a Busy Week (and getting over skipped-workout-guilt)

You’re not going to have time for an hour long workout every week. Life tends to happen and you have things to do, holidays to celebrate, friends and family to spend time with (tragic, I know). Fitting in a quick workout might be the last thing on your mind but you know you always feel better after getting your sweat on!

I had this week all planned out – workout on Monday, run on Thursday – until my week started off with an early morning client and ended with a 9 pm clock out after an event. Instead of lacing up and heading to the gym after work the next day, I sat down and got up only to make dinner and go to bed.

I had a moment of guilt (okay, a few moments), and then realized that missing a few workouts was not going to derail my goals or my momentum. A missed workout was not going to undo all of the hard work I put in last week.

I know I’m not alone in the Skipped-Workout-Guilt community. But I’ve come to realize a few things:

Sometimes a skipped workout is exactly what you need to hit reset. 

Sometimes your body just needs a break.

Missing one (or two, or three) workouts does not mean that you will lose progress. It does not mean you will gain back inches, or pounds, that you have worked to lose.

Guilt about missed workouts is not innate – it’s is a culturally learned emotion that is not worth your time this week!

So what do you do when you do miss a few workouts and realize the week ahead isn’t giving you a break?

You plan some bang-for-your-buck, quick workouts to fit in when you can.

22-Minute Treadmill HIIT

This is the ultimate quick workout – in and out of the gym in under 25 minutes but knowing you put 100% into the time you had.

2 min low speed; no incline
Repeat until you reach 18 minutes:
1 minute medium speed; no incline
30 second sprint; no incline
10 DB renegade rows
1 minute medium speed; no incline
30 second sprint; no incline
10 DB shoulder presses
1 minute medium speed; 5% incline
30 second sprint; 5% incline
10 Bench Dips
1 minute medium speed; 5% incline
30 second sprint; 5% incline
2 min low speed; no incline

Barbell Beast

20-minute AMRAP *use the same weight for all 5 exercises.

5 Barbell Deadlifts
5 Barbell Rows
5 Barbell Cleans
5 Barbell Shoulder Presses
5 Barbell Good Mornings

Make this one work for you time and again by tracking it in a workout journal and striving to get in more reps next time.

Core Kicker

Do 4 circuits for time.

8 each side DB Woodchoppers
8 each side Single Leg DB Deadlifts
8 each side Plank Up Downs
8 Single Leg Glute Bridges
8 each side DB Russian Twists