With warm weather approaching, what would you say is the single best way to get in shape for wearing summer clothing? I don't have a lot of time to waste in the gym with finals coming up. Please put together a quick workout that I can do in as little time as possible. Some nutrition advice wouldn't hurt either.
-Compulsive Junior
If you have only a very limited time to spend in the gym (or even to go outside and enjoy the weather), my advice is to couple intense resistance training with interval cardio training.
For the resistance training, use supersets and tri-sets (either two or three exercises right in a row with no rest in between). A circuit training workout would be great under normal circumstances, but the Tufts gym is just too crowded for such a regimen to be practical.
With your supersets and tri-sets, work on two sets of 12 repetitions with no rest in between. Focus on the largest muscles in your body: quads, hamstring, glutes, chest, back, shoulders. Don't worry about getting an arm workout in. Your arm muscles will serve as accessory muscles for some of the multi-group upper body exercises. This will help to tighten and strengthen your biceps and triceps in addition to working out your larger muscles.
Working the bigger muscles in the body gives you the biggest metabolic boost from your workout. You will have a prolonged caloric burn after the workout in addition to the calories you are burning during the workout itself. Keeping the intensity level high with superset and tri-sets helps to burn an increased amount of calories during the workout. Make sure to use a controlled speed of motion so that momentum and gravity don't do the lifting for you. Your weight training workout should take less than 30 minutes if done properly.
As far as cardio goes, spend the majority of your time doing interval training. If you like to run, sprint for a minute, then jog/walk slowly while you get your energy back. Repeat for 10 minutes. If you like to bike, get your RPMs up high for a minute and then recover for a minute. The same principles apply to whatever type of cardio you like to do. Interval training offers an extra intense workout - leading to an efficient caloric burn - and gives you an additional metabolic boost after training, similar to a weight lifting workout.
In terms of nutrition, focus on eating many times per day. The thermic effect of digestion will help to increase your basal metabolic rate, increasing calories burned throughout the day. Keep sugar and other simple carbohydrate consumption to a minimum. Don't eat processed foods, and drink lots of water. Make sure to consume good fats - olive oil, natural peanut butter, nuts, et cetera - as these will help you to feel satiated throughout the day. The key is to be consistent. If you couple efficient, effective dietary changes with a compact, intense workout schedule, you should see your fat burn and your muscles tighten - just in time for the beach.
I work out a lot and lately I seem to be having trouble recovering from my workouts. What can I do to get my energy level up faster for my next workout without talking to Victor Conte and Greg Anderson for supplement advice?
-Bulky senior, loves 'the pump'
Providing your body with adequate recovery mechanisms can be just as important as providing it with recovery time. In between workouts, make sure you are getting adequate sleep and adequate nutrition. If you aren't consuming enough calories to allow your body to rebuild itself after a workout, you won't feel a high energy level for the next session.
Once you get your lifestyle under control, then we can take a look at additional mechanisms of recovery. Massage therapy can speed up the time in which muscle heals. You can get a 30 minute massage at Health Services for 20 dollars. Also, water is a great recovery system. Go into the pool during an open swim and just lie there. Take a long, hot shower after a workout. But the most important thing is to give your body adequate recovery time. If you don't give yourself enough time to recover from a workout, you'll find that your gains start to stagnate, and sometimes even reverse. Above all else, make sure that you are placing a premium on recovery, and not focusing solely on getting more workouts in.
