Workouts - Time crunched? How about some density training!

Hey everyone,

In a rush on Thursday night, between getting home from work and going to see a good friend on her birthday, we were looking for a quick workout.  What could we do in approximately half-an-hour; something that would be intense and effective?  A density workout!


Density workouts incorporate the idea of supersetting exercises (i.e. back-to-back activities).  The way we do our density training is by picking 10 exercises, then dividing them into five pairs.  You then alternate between those two exercises in a pair, performing them for five continuous minutes.  At that point, you have earned a two minute rest.  Then repeat.  With this style, you can do a full, very intense workout in 33 minutes (excluding any rest period post-workout).

We should note that you need to modify the number of repetitions you do in your density training, to avoid burning out in any one set.  For example, if I can normally do 10 reps each for exercises A and B, I will only do 5 at a time so that I can keep going back and forth, with minimal to no rest, for a full five minutes.  Trust us - it can be challenging!

As Thursday was leg night, we did the following routine:

• Hip bridges + side jumping lunges
• Kettlebell swings + overhead lunges (holding a kettlebell overhead on one side, switching it to the other side halfway through)
• Straight leg deadlifts + kettlebell squats (holding the kettlebell in a racked position)
• Bench jumps + tempo kettlebell squats
• Alternating kettlebell deadlifts + burpees

Here are a couple of pics of Tannys doing her kettlebell swings:

This was a killer workout, so much so that we decided to do another density training session on the following night.

Friday night was upper body and we created this challenging workout:

•  Pullups (weighted for Alex) + clean & press (with kettlebell)
• Bench press + alternating kettlebell rows
• Kettlebell snatches + renegade rows
• Dips + chinups
• Reverse pushups + pushups

At the end of 33 minutes, we both were lying on the ground, gasping for breath.  Despite the fact that it was a cardio challenge, we also lifted some heavy weight.  This style of workout allows you to use your normal weights, but reduces the rep-range to allow you to keep going for the full time. 

If you are planning a density workout, it is important to be very cognizant of which exercises to pair together.  For example, a heavy move should usually be accompanied by something lighter/easier.  Similarly, it works best if you can use different muscle groups (i.e. as above, we would often do a chest move with a back move, instead of doing two back moves together).

Here are a couple of pics of Alex doing reverse pushups:

Well, we are off to Florida tomorrow morning!  You can look forward to some blog posts about our 5km charity run, as well as our thoughts and tips on maintaining your fitness while travelling.

- Alex & Tannys