Mini Workouts

Most people will have some kind of structure to their training week involving 2,3,4,5 or even 6 main training sessions spread across the days.  For those of you with 4 or less main training sessions in the week you will invariably have experienced how it can be a challenge to fit all the accessory work required to support your main lifting goals. Very often people have to be quite ruthless about choosing the most ‘bang for your buck’ options.

There can also be a problem with peoples energy and enthusiasm lagging towards the end of a main session meaning that the exercises right at the end of a programme can get done with minimal effort or even worse skipped out.

This is where Mini-Workouts come in. These are 15-30 minute additional small workouts, often done with minimal equipment for focussed on one or two muscle groups or strength qualities in need of attention.

Now I hear you say “yes but I don’t have any time for additional workouts or to get to the gym any more times”.  Well let’s put that negativity to bed straight away.  EVERYONE has time for 1-2 short mini workouts per week and even if you can only do them at home with little to no equipment then you can still bolster your main workouts with extra work which will help you progress much faster.

Pick a body part or muscle group you feel requires more work. Perhaps your biceps or forearms are weak and let you down on your pull ups. Maybe your rear deltoids are under developed causing poor thoracic posture. Are you simply wanting a way to get more pressing volume? Are your calves under developed? Maybe you need some extra volume on the quads? Maybe your mobility is lacking and you are always stiff from being sat at a desk all day when you begin training sessions. A couple of dedicated mobility mini sessions in the week could mean it takes you half the time to warm up properly for your main sessions.

The late, great, Louie Simmons, founder of Westside Barbell, Columbus Ohio, was well known for advocating as many as 15 additional mini workouts to some of his athletes to supplement his standard 4 session conjugate training system. We all say how busy we are but grabbing 10-15 minutes here and there across the week to do something positive towards your strength will set you apart from those who rely on only their main training sessions.  Those who succeed most in strength training are those who put the most into it. We cannot spend our whole lives in the gym, but we can allocate little pockets of time here and there to keep developing ourselves and working towards our goals. Training goals must somewhat consume a portion of your thoughts, and be important enough to not be forgotten about altogether in between your main training sessions.

If you would like some advice as to how to build some mini workouts into your weekly routine, then please email info@ironforgegym.co.uk or speak to me in the gym.

Below I have included a couple of very simple short mini workouts with the relevant reason for why they would be chosen. I have included one zero equipment workout, and one which just involves some very basic kit which many people will have at home.

Workout 1 – External Rotators / Shoulder Stability

Motive/reason to choose: You struggle to maintain scapula control during the bench press and overuse the pecs and front delts. 

A1 : Kneeling Dumbbell External Rotation (elbow supported on bench or alternative like arm of a sofa)

3-5 sets of 8-10 reps (4 sec eccentric)

A2 : Supinated Grip Band Pull Apart (arms straight, elbows locked)

3-5 sets of 15-25 reps

Workout 2 – Quads

Motivation to choose:  When you squat with a barbell your hips shoot up first and you end up relying on your posterior chain too much. This is an indicator of disproportionally weak quadricep muscles. 

A1. Ultra Close Stance Raised Heel (3″) Bodyweight squats – 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps with 6 sec eccentric

A2. Split Squat Stance Mid range Isometric  Hold – 3-5 sets of 15-30 seconds per side

A3. Standing Sissy Squats / Deep Knee Bends – 3-5 sets of 20-30 reps