A few years ago I was working 2 jobs and, with a young family, I had very limited time to work out. I had to squeeze my short workouts in after dropping the kids off at preschool and before the first job began. I wanted to train with a high-volume approach, but just didn’t have the time.
I experimented and did a little research, especially on things like time under tension.
Then one day I was extra short on time so I decided to do a 5 min set of squats. I just used a warm-up weight of 135 lbs. I figured I could get 100 of them in 5 mins. The first minute I did about 18-20, then I was reduced to catching my breath and doing one more every 4-6 seconds (if I was lucky) until the last minute when I got about 3. It was hell. My legs burned like crazy, and I had a pump unlike any before!
It was so hard I could barely do anything else, then I went to work and suffered through my day. But I had stumbled upon something. Something that I’m sure others have done, or are doing, but it definitely worked. I mean, who decided on these arbitrary numbers anyway? Why 10, 12 or 20? Surely once you get out of the low singles range, the number of reps is not really that important?
What Is Weight Training For Time?
The basic concept behind weight training for time is that instead of doing a set of 10 or 12 reps, you will do an exercise for a period of time, usually between 1 and 5 minutes.
Let’s say you perform a single exercise, bench press for example, for 1 minute straight. Your muscles will be controlling that weight for one whole minute. This doesn’t sound like much at first. But when you compare that to a set of say 10 reps, you will find that it is much more challenging. This is due to several reasons.
Time Under Tension
The concept of time under tension is well known in the weightlifting and bodybuilding community. Put simply, it is the idea that doing your reps more slowly, and/or doing more total volume (sets/reps), will yield better results because the muscle is actually lifting the weight for a longer time.
If you, like me, have sometimes been guilty of doing your reps a little too fast, then your time under tension will have been reduced.
Turn under tension is an important concept in building muscle. Think about it. What makes more sense? That a few intense seconds on each muscle, several times a week will stimulate optimum muscle growth? Or that much longer, multiple minute sessions of controlled, intense exercise will work better?
When you focus on time under tension, the usual approach is to do more sets, more often. But this is a little narrow minded, and will lead to bloated, never-ending workouts. It may even make you stop enjoying going to the gym, or want to skip workouts. Sorry for the cliche, but you have to think outside the box.
Training for time provides a different approach, and a great solution for the problem of how to increase time under tension in your training without spending more time in the gym.
You Almost Can’t Cheat!
What are the great things about training for time is that you really can’t cheat, (besides shortening your range of motion, i.e. not doing the full exercise).
If you go too fast to reach a certain number of reps, you’ll get there and realize that you still have 45 seconds! So really, the cadence, or pace at which you perform the exercise is irrelevant because are now training for time. We all know that 10 super slow reps will work your muscle more thoroughly than 40 super fast ones. So you may as well slow down a bit and really focus on your technique and on feeling the muscles that are being trained.
Many of us will bang out our curls or bench presses with lightning speed, often neglecting the negative almost completely. This way we can tell ourselves we did five, six sets or whatever the number may be. But this doesn’t make sense compared to training for time.
If you do 10 reps – fast, maybe 1 second each – your time under tension is only 10 seconds for the whole set! This means that after 6 sets (probably with a little time wasting between them) will only yield 1 minute of time under tension!
So, you don’t have to go super slow, like 6 seconds per rep, but you could slow it down to 2 or 3 seconds for each rep.
In doing this, I discovered that the number of reps made no difference, so I shouldn’t even count them. It’s just a distraction anyway.
How Long Should A Set Be?
If you are using a decent amount of weight, try doing sets of 1-2 minutes. This is plenty of time to really work the muscle you’re targeting. Since the number of reps you perform is kind of a non-issue, you can focus on squeezing each rep out with perfect form and without any improper assistance from other muscle groups (“Body-English”).
If you want to try longer sets, like up to 5 minutes, there is certainly plenty of reasons to do so. Perhaps you want to do as much as possible in minimal time, or maybe you don’t have much weight to use, or simply want to use a very light weight. Either way, a 5 minutes set of anything is tough, but particularly big compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and rows. But you will often do the equivalent of 10+ sets in 5 minutes, so it’s a really compact way to cram in the volume.
How Many Sets Should I Do?
As I mentioned before, if you do the math you’ll see that even a 1-minute set will be roughly equal to three sets of 10 reps. So you won’t need to do that many sets. 2 x 1 minute sets is a good place to start for the average guy who wants to get bigger.
3-5 minutes total for any particular exercise, with one exercise for the smaller muscles (biceps, forearms etc.) and two for the bigger ones (quadriceps, lats etc.).
If you are a very advanced trainee and have a great deal of muscle mass, you may want to increase the volume up to 10 mins total for larger muscles, but this will be plenty for even the biggest guys.
For general fitness, you could just pick one exercise per body part, and do one 1 min set of each, two or three times a week.
How Does Training For Time Compare To Regular Sets and Reps?
The major advantage is that how you will save a great deal of time. Every 1 minute set is equal to at least 3 conventional sets. why you may not reach the same number of total reps, i.e. 30, or 36. Your muscles will be worked more thoroughly in far less time.
Also consider that most people will rest for at least 1 minute in between sets. So, along with the time spent getting on and off equipment adjusting weights etc., you’re condensing 5 mins of gym time into 1.
What Are The Benefits Of Training For Time?
- A lot of volume in a bite size package. We’ve already covered the fact that the average set of 10 reps only involves about 20 second of time under tension at best, so training for time you’ll greatly increase that amount – with overall less time spent working out. 2 x one minute sets will truly blast a small muscle group, and a 5 minute set on a large muscle group will leave you unable to do much more.
- Condensed sets. You are essentially combining multiple sets into one, giving you a more efficient and productive workout.
- Lower weight needed. When you are really burning it out with longer sets, the weight is going to have to be lighter. Even though you will be pushing yourself hard, it will simply not be possible to use the same weights that you would on a regular set of 8, 10, or 12.
This is especially useful if you workout at home and have limited weights and equipment. Also, lower weights are easier on your joints and will be less likely to lead to injury.
- Less need for a spotter. Since you are going to be using lighter weights and paying extra close attention to form, you may not need a spotter as much as you normally would. Remember to keep safe however, and always get a spotter if you need it.
- No excuse for poor form. Since you will not benefit in anyway from cheating or speeding your way to a specific number of reps, you will probably end up going slower, taking the time to use perfect form and really feeling every part of the movement. After all, whether you perform 40 fast reps in a minute or 10 super slow ones, either way the time under tension is the same. So slow down and do each rep perfectly.
- Time. Training for time instead of reps will really condense your workout into a much smaller amount of time. Think 20 mins instead of 60 for a standard weight room workout.
- Complete muscle exhaustion. This approach to your training will totally tap your muscles of all energy and strength and just completely fatigue every muscle fiber. Start out with caution, as you may experience greater muscle soreness than from a traditional set and rep scheme.
Is Training For Time Better?
Is it better for building muscle? This is a good question, and one that remains unanswered by science right now. I think that training for time will stimulate your muscles and prime them for growth, at least as well as traditional set and reps.
So, it can’t hurt but if you’re worried about not growing as fast as possible feel free to switch it up. How about alternating conventional training and training for time every other workout, or every other week? Or you could just throw in the timed training whenever you feel like a change or are short on time.
Is it better for general fitness? Again, better is a relative term, but if getting the maximum out of a short workout if something that’s important to you, then training for time could be a great choice. You will gain muscle and keep your metabolism up.
The longer sets will increase your stamina and train you for longer, more intense muscular output. The variety of this training mixed with regular sets and reps will be productive in and of itself.
What Weight Should I Use When Training For Time?
Since this is much more taxing than a standard set with 10 or 12 reps, you will probably need to adjust the weights that you use.
If you’re planning on doing 1 minute sets, a good starting point when training for time is to use a weight that you would be able to do 20 reps with. If you’re going for a 5 minutes set, you’ll need to go even lighter.
If you want to go “heavy” use a weight that you can do 10 reps with and try to last a minute – be sure to use a spotter.
Remember, from the time under tension perspective, if you do a 1-minute set it is equivalent to doing about three conventional sets. So, triple sets! Would you be able to use the same weight for a triple set as a single one? Don’t let your ego get in the way. Trust me, you’ll get a thorough workout even with the lighter weights.
Should I Only Train For Time?
Training for time is by no means the only way to get in great shape, but it is certainly an effective and very time-efficient way to lift weights or do any type of resistance exercise.
But of course, it doesn’t work for some exercises, and sometimes you just want or need to go heavy for a short burst to test yourself and reassess strength levels.
So if you’re the type of person who likes to stay very strong, you may want to do some low-rep, heavy work too. Otherwise, you will get all the benefits of conventional training – and more – from training for time instead of counting reps.
It’s Unconventional – But Try It!
The time-saving factor is a huge pro for training for time. The ability to work your entire body in 15 mins sounds too good to be true. But think about how you really spend your time in the gym.
For many of us, there’s a lot more cooling down, stretching, and pacing around than actual lifting. Not to mention checking your phone, changing the song, fiddling with your earbuds…
The casual exerciser will literally only need 1 set per body part! If you want a great, muscular physique, you’ll probably need more – but it won’t be anywhere near the volume or time you would spend ordinarily.
The Workouts:
Here’s 2 examples, one is a full body routine to be performed 3 times a week. The other is a split routine that hits everything twice a week.
Full Body:
| Body Part | Exercise | Number of Sets | Time Per Set |
| Upper Leg | Leg Press | 1-2 | 60 seconds |
| Squats | 2 | 60-120 seconds | |
| Lying Hamstring Curl | 1 | 60 seconds | |
| Calves | Standing Calf Raise | 2 | 60 seconds |
| Chest | Bench Press or Dips | 2-3 | 60 seconds |
| Back | Bent-Over Rows | 2-3 | 60 seconds |
| Shoulders | Military Press | 2-3 | 60 seconds |
| Biceps | Cable Curls | 1-2 | 60 seconds |
| Triceps | Cable Pushdowns | 1-2 | 60 seconds |
| Abs | Ab Machine | 1-22 | 60 seconds |
Split Routine:
Monday/Thursday:
| Body Part | Exercise | Number of Sets | Time Per Set |
| Legs | Leg Press | 2-3 | 60 seconds |
| Squats | 3 | 60-120 seconds | |
| Leg Extension | 2 | 60 seconds | |
| Lying Leg Curl | 2 | 60 seconds | |
| Calves | Standing Calf Raise | 2-3 | 60 seconds |
| Seated Calf Raise | 2 | 60 seconds | |
| Chest | Bench Press | 3 | 60 seconds |
| Dips | 2 | 60 seconds |
Tuesday/Friday:
| Body Part | Exercise | Number of Sets | Time Per Set |
| Back | Rows | 2-3 | 60 seconds |
| Pulldowns | 2-3 | 60 seconds | |
| Arms | Cable Curls | 3 | 60 seconds |
| Cable Pushdowns | 3 | 60 seconds | |
| Shoulders | Military Press | 3 | 60 seconds |
| Barbell Shrugs | 2 | 60 seconds | |
| Abs | Ab Machine | 2 | 60 seconds |
Related Posts:
How Can I Bench Press 225 lb x 20 Reps?
There is no need for fancy exercises or countless variations on hand spacing or whatever, (once you are able to bench press 225 lb for 10 reps). Warm up thoroughly, train with 225 lb, and with a slightly heavier weight, alternating, twice a week. Training with the correct weights, the right rep range, and the right training frequency, will push you towards, and then even beyond, the 20 rep range.
Will Only Doing Clean And Presses Be A Good Workout?
Somehow this exercise seems to equal more than the sum of the individual parts. You will find that it is pretty intense on your cardiovascular system. Performing High Reps within one set is extremely difficult. The better technique is to shoot for a total number. If you’re simply attempting to only do the clean and press and nothing else I would try and do 50 three times a week. Even if you’re doing other exercises I would aim for at least 20 three times a week. Simply do as many as you can per set, for as many sets as it takes. A whole workout consist of only 50 reps sounds like it would be too easy. Most guys do more than 50 reps just on their biceps. But a clean and press is a lot harder than a barbell curl and it will be difficult to reach that number!
