Tactics to Get the Most from the Gym in Just 40 minutes

We know life can get busy so if you're short on time but still want to workout, here are some simple and effective tactics that you can use to get a good gym session in, in just 40 minutes or less.

Turn the intensity up, and keep your rest times down, for some blistering cardio conditioning

High intensity training takes many forms, from sprint intervals to supersets with weights. The key point is that you should do the exercises as quickly and intensely as you safely can, while keeping your rest times between sets as short as possible.

High intensity training has been shown to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness, improve blood pressure and cholesterol scores, reduce body fat, and improve heart health, among other things.

Just keep in mind that high intensity training is taxing on the nervous system. Listen to your body, and don’t do too many of these sessions per week.

Our Pure Circuits and Pure Bootcamp class could be the perfect introduction to HIIT-style training principles, with each session taking just 30 minutes.

For HIIT workout ideas, check out our free video workouts section here.

Lift heavy for a few sets, but stick to just a couple of compound exercises

Conventional bodybuilding-style training usually involves doing a large variety of exercises per muscle group, often focusing on isolation moves like pec flyes and concentration curls.

While that type of training has its place, you can make tremendous strength and size gains by dedicating some of your sessions to going hard and heavy on just a couple of key compound lifts at a time.

According to strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline, exercises like the deadlift and overhead press have more than enough kick to recruit the surrounding muscles and give you a respectable full-body workout in one go.

Treat these as pure strength-building, power-lifter-style sessions, and go as heavy as you can for 2-3 sets of 5 reps on each exercise, allowing adequate recovery time between sets.

If you're looking to build muscle, you can also join us on our Pure Combat, Pure Legs Bums and Tums class which run for 30 minutes and are focused more on toning up.

Dedicate a session to a solid 30 minutes of cycling

While high intensity interval training has many benefits, you may well burn yourself out if it’s all you do in the way of cardio.

Not only is a solid, steady-state cycling session a great way of working on your aerobic fitness, research published in The BMJ has found that cycling to work is linked to a substantial decrease in a person’s risk of dying from cancer or heart disease. What’s more, cycling is a low-impact form of cardio, which will be easier on over-worked joints than jogging.

If cycling to work isn’t on the cards for you, our 30-minute Pure Cycle sessions give you a varied and fun spin workout, with an energetic soundtrack to keep you motivated.

Want to know more about our free classes? Check out our Classes page.