Micro Workouts: All You Need To Know About Short Workouts For Fat Burning And Muscle Building
Micro Workouts: All You Need To Know About Short Workouts For Fat Burning And Muscle Building
Don’t have time to workout?
Aren’t interested in making time to workout?
Still want to lose weight and build muscle?
The answer - Micro workouts.
What Are Micro Workouts?
Micro workouts are short and intense workout sessions that last anywhere between 5 to 20 minutes in total.
What Are The Benefits Of Micro Workouts?
The primary benefit of micro workouts is the fact that they are extremely time efficient. Busy individuals and other individuals who don’t keep fitness on their priority list can reach their fat loss and muscle building goals without devoting a large part of their week on maintaining a ‘fitness lifestyle’ and performing longer training sessions.
The second benefit of micro workouts is that they are space efficient and don’t require a lot of equipment. For individuals who keep traveling or despise going to the gym, micro workouts make the perfect solution.
The above mentioned benefits together make micro workouts one of the most sustainable types of workouts, and this is where the real power of micro workouts lies.
Why Does Workout Sustainability Matter?
Think about it. Do you think the reason people are not in shape is that they don’t know any better?
With the power of the internet, we are one Google search away from finding the roadmap to getting in shape. So, while everyone used to blame the lack of knowledge as the reason why the majority of the population is out of shape, we now realize that there is more to it.
The reason people aren’t in shape is that they fail to sustain what they expect of themselves. By creating a system that primarily focuses on enhancing sustainability, we can expect to see much better results in the long run.
Do Micro Workouts Work For Fat Loss?
Yes. Micro workouts are a great way to assist you in your fat loss journey. Not only do they help increase caloric output for sedentary individuals, but they also help create a stimulus for muscle retention, something that is often neglected while setting up a fat loss plan.
Do Micro Workouts Work For Muscle Gain?
Yes. Micro workouts work for building lean muscle. While you aren’t going to turn into a jacked bodybuilder doing only micro workouts, they are definitely capable of helping you build a lean and ripped physique which emphasizes on building muscle in the right places.
Are Micro Workouts Just A Fad?
If you are coming across micro workouts for the first time, these might seem like a fad. Even more so if you are coming from having a bodybuilding/ strength training background.
While we cannot predict the future, looking back we can see that micro workouts have actually been used all along, not just by individuals wishing to look good, but even by top level athletes and bodybuilders. In some cases, by themselves, and in others, as a supplement to a pre-existing workout program.
More on this in the next question.
What Existing Exercise Techniques Support Micro Workouts?
1. HIIT
High Intensity Interval Training is one of the most popular forms of micro workouts. It is exactly what a micro workout is supposed to be - short, effective and intense. This style of training helps countless athletes around the globe get in top condition by performing short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods.
2. Grease The Grove
This a method that involves training a specific exercise multiple times throughout the day. It is based on the notion that the best way to get better at a skill is to practice it more often. This technique is used frequently amongst top level calisthenics athletes which allows to them build strength and muscle over time to perform ‘superhuman’ exercises.
3. Rest Pause Training/Myo-Reps
Rest pause training has been popular in the bodybuilding world for a very long time and it continues to grow in popularity even today. This style of training expects you to perform a single set of an exercise to complete failure, after which subsequent sets are performed with insufficient rest periods to provide an excellent growth stimulus to the muscles. This is a time effective way that allows bodybuilders to get in extra workout volume for a given body part in a session.
4. Supersets
Popularized by bodybuilders, supersets have been following the principles of micro workouts all along. By performing two exercises back to back, you have a short and intense workout session that can help you build muscle and lose fat.
What Are The Most Common Micro Workout Mistakes?
1. No Structure
Micro workouts won’t work if you are planning to just wing it. Just like any other workout program, micro workouts need to be planned in advance so you have an idea of what you need to be doing every session. Without structure, it is hard to progress, and without progression, you will not achieve the results you want.
2. No Progression Model
As I mentioned above, having a structure alone isn’t enough. Progressive overload is crucial to provide yourself with a muscle building stimulus. This can be as simple as;
Doing more reps.
Completing the workout in a shorter time.
Doing more sets.
Lifting heavier weight
Performing a harder variation of the exercise.
Improving form and control.
3. Insufficient Intensity
People who claim micro workouts don’t work fail to work hard enough and take their muscles close to failure. Unlike traditional long workout sessions, you cannot expect to get away with sub-maximal effort micro workouts. Every set and rep needs to have intent behind it.
4. Insufficient Volume And Frequency
Since micro workouts will have you do lesser volume (sets and reps) than what you would do in longer workouts, it is even more important to make sure you accumulate sufficient volume over the week. Since everyone recovers at a different rate, the best way to go about this is to train a muscle as soon as it feels recovered instead of waiting for a pre-determined day(s) of the week. The more frequent you train your muscles with micro workouts, the better, given that you are able to recover and progress from the previous session.
Are Micro Workouts Right For Me?
Micro workouts are suitable for those who are;
Busy.
Not interested in prioritizing fitness.
Interested in building the ‘beach physique’ instead of the ‘bodybuilder physique’.
Finding it difficult to stick to a workout program.
Hoping to transition away/take time off from the gym while still maintaining/making progress.
How To Set Up A Micro Workout Plan?
In any way you like. As long as you train at an intensity that pushes your muscles close to failure and focus on progressively overloading your training every time you are recovered, you can’t go wrong.
Here’s what a sample push workout that can be performed 2-3 times a week can look like if you have a pair of dumbbells or bands:
Exercise 1
Pike Push Ups (or Feet Elevated Pike Push Ups) - Rest Pause Training
1 set to failure + 4 cluster sets to failure with only 10 seconds rest in between.
Exercise 2
Push Ups x Rest Pause Training
1 set to failure + 4 cluster sets to failure with only 10 seconds rest in between.
Exercise 3
Lateral Raises + Tricep Bench Dip Superset
Alternate and perform 3 sets to failure of each exercise back to back without rest.
*You reach failure when fail to execute another rep with good form and control.
You are not limited to this example as there are multiple ways to set up your micro workouts. You can set up timed micro workouts where you try to accumulate a maximum number of reps within a given time period for a specific exercise.
For example, a 5 minute pull-up back workout. Start a 5 minute timer and perform as many reps as you can within this time period. Seems too simple, but it works. Track how many reps you’re doing and try to add an extra rep every session. This can be performed 2-4 times a week.
Conclusion
Hope this clears out some of the most common doubts on micro workouts.
Micro workouts are a powerful tool when used right and can be a great way to get in shape if you wish to devote on 5-20 minutes a day to training.
Combine these with a nutritional approach that works for you and you are setting yourself up for success.
If you have any more questions, drop them down below and I’ll be happy to help.
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