B*llshit.

I know that's harsh but I don't think you are being completely honest. I know it's tough to find time to workout but it can be done - right now I have a full time job, I'm working to develop this blog, I'm planning a wedding with my fiancé, I walk my dog twice a day for at least 30 minutes and I'm developing web sites through a side business I started.

I'm not saying because I can do it, you can. Rather, I understand the difficulty in finding time to workout but I think if you re-examine your daily schedule you'll find you have more time than you think.

Here are a few examples to get started.

Where is your gym located?

The best place for a gym is within walking distance of your house or your office. Why? Because travelling time is a massive waste of potential workout time. Check out my post on time management when choosing a gym here. If you have to travel 10, 20 or 30 minutes to get to the gym, that's 20, 40 or 60 minutes wasted.

If you can walk to the gym, do so at a faster pace than normal and you've just warmed up your body for the workout. Better yet, sign up for a gym close to work and workout at lunch and eat at your desk afterwards. A co-worker here at the office does that and swears by it. In fact, if you do workout at lunch, you've lost absolutely no time for your other priorities after work.

If you can't workout at lunch, get to the gym immediately after work before going home. This will save you half the traveling time to the gym because it is already on your route home. If don't, you'll have to travel home, travel to the gym, then travel home again. See the problem? One way to save time is to integrate your workouts into your existing schedule.

What exercises are you doing?

Ever heard of compound exercises and isolation exercises? Compound exercises use multiple muscle groups at time - think of squats, deadlifts, bench press. Isolation exercises, as you've probably guessed, just use one muscle group at a time - think bicep curls, lateral raises, calf raises. So if you're strapped for time, which exercises should you be doing?

Start incorporating compound exercises into your routine to multiple muscles simulateously. For example, the best leg workout I've done in a long while was only 3 sets of squats, lunges and hamstring deadlifts. You wouldn't believe how sore I was and I completed the workout in under 45 minutes.

Here is a list of common compound exercises but with a simple Google search, I'm sure you could find more.

• Shoulders: Military Press, Hang Clean and Press, Arnold Presses
• Arms: Close-Grip Chin-Up (w/palms facing toward your face), Dips, Close-Grip
• Pushup, Twisting Dumbbell Curl
• Legs: Barbell Squat, Deadlift, Lunges
• Back: Chin-Up, Pull-Down, Deadlift, Row
• Chest: Push-Up, Dips, Bench Press

Save even more time by Supersetting

Supersetting involves performing one exercise immediately after you completed your first exercise. It's very effective when you superset unrelated muscle groups, like legs and triceps or chest and biceps, because while you work one muscle group, the other can rest. This will also save you from doing dreaded cardio because this type of workout is a cardio workout in and of itself.

Here's a time comparison of a workout with and without supersetting:

If you don't take rests between your sets, you can shave off 18 minutes from your workout AND you can accomplish a cardio workout at the same time! Admittedly, you will have to take it easy for the first week or two to get used to working out like this because it will take ALOT out of you, it's tough (I've seen people throw up so take it easy to begin with).

Don't want to superset? Then work primary and secondary muscles together

Whenever you use the bench press, your chest is the primary muscle group while triceps and shoulders are secondary muscles. When your back is the primary muscle group, your biceps are generally the secondary. For quads, it usually calves. Exploit this to save time.

Combine chest, triceps and shoulder days, back and biceps and dedicate a day to legs (you also use your abdominals for some compound exercises like squats and deadlifts). This way your triceps get a workout when you do your bench pressing and you won't have to do as many tricep specific exercises afterwards. Why workout this way? You’ll spend less time in the gym. Of course this all means nothing if you aren't focused at the gym.

Go to the gym to workout, not socialize

Of course you won't have time to workout if you go to the gym and shoot the shit for an hour. This is pretty obvious but few actually do it. Get in, workout, get out, it's the easiest way to find time to workout.

I hope these tips help. Incorporate working out into your existing routine and it shouldn't be difficult to find the time.

Summary:

• "I don't have the time to workout" is usually b*ullshit.
• Find a gym that is located close to your house or your work.
• Include a trip to the gym as part of your existing routine to save on travel time.
• Do compound exercises instead of isolation exercises where possible.
• Superset unrelated muscle groups.
• If supersetting is too tough, workout complementary muscle groups on the same day.
• Stay focused at the gym, you're there to workout.