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How to Build Muscle On a Busy Schedule: Effective Training Tips For Busy People

Added 2023-01-25 13:50:09 +0000 UTC

For many of us, finding the time to GET AND STAY in shape can be a challenge, especially in our busy day to day lives.

With work, school, family, and social obligations, it can be hard to even find a few hours to focus on our fitness goals. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Busy schedules often make it difficult to fit in a workout but by understanding the basics of how to build muscle, you can still achieve your fitness goals.

So whether you’re a busy student or a working professional these tips can help you learn how to build muscle on a busy schedule.

Lets get it...

Understanding the Challenges of a Busy Schedule

When you're busy, it can be difficult to find time to exercise.

Some of the main challenges of a busy schedule that you'll need to be aware of include:

Time management - It's easy to let your schedule get out of control. You may have deadlines, various appointments, and things that need to get done around the house. It can also be difficult to get motivated when you're super busy and have a million other things on your mind.

Social commitments - When you're busy, it can be difficult to say no to invitations. You might want to get out and socialise, but it can be tough to fit it in.

Lack of sleep - Too little sleep can hurt your efforts to build muscle. If you're too tired, you might skip the gym or not give your best effort. Or you may not have enough energy to workout properly.

Lack of food/nutrients - It's important to eat a healthy diet to get all of the nutrients you need to build muscle. It's also important to eat enough calories if you want to build muscle. It's so easy to forget to eat when you're super busy. It can also be difficult to get in time to prepare healthy meals.

I have written an article on budget friendly meals you can use to build muscle. It's here : https://www.patreon.com/posts/76683191?utm_campaign=postshare_creator

Principles of Effective Training for Busy People

The best way to build muscle on a busy schedule is to be strategic about your workouts.

You may not be able to lift as much weight and specifically target as many individual muscles groups as someone who has a lot of time to train, but you can still build muscle if you focus on the right exercises.

What you want to focus on are compound movements - If you're looking for an effective muscle-building workout, compound movements are the way to go.

Compound exercises use several different muscle groups at the same time and include the big lifts like squats, pull ups, leg presses and deadlifts.

Benefits of Compound Exercises

Compound exercises have several advantages over isolation exercises.

First, they require more energy expenditure and they stimulate more muscle tissue growth.

Second, they can be performed in less time than isolation exercises.

Third, they engage multiple muscle groups, which can help to build strength and power.

Fourth, they help to improve balance and coordination.

Fifth, they can help to reduce body fat.

Finally, they can help to increase muscle size, strength, and power.

The Best Compound Workouts for Mass

To get the most out of your muscle-building efforts, it’s important to incorporate compound exercises into your workout routine.

The best compound workouts for mass are:

Deadlifts, hip thrusts squats, overhead presses, dips, lunges, rows, chin-ups, and pull-ups.

Deadlifts muscles targeted

The glutes 🍑: The main muscle group targeted by deadlifts, which are responsible for extending the hips.

The hamstrings: A group of muscles located at the back of the thigh, which are also responsible for hip extension.

The spinal erectors: A group of muscles that run along the spine, which work to keep the spine in a neutral position and help to prevent injury.

The trapezius (Traps): A muscle that covers the upper back and shoulders, which work to stabilise the shoulder blades and support the barbell during the deadlift movement.

Forearm flexors: muscles that help to grip the barbell,

Quadriceps: muscles on the front of your thigh, they also play a role in deadlifts as they help to keep the knee joint stable.

Additionally, deadlifts also engage the core muscles, which help to stabilise the spine and transfer power from the legs to the upper body.

Hip thrusts muscles targeted

Hip thrusts primarily target ALL OVER the gluteus maximus muscle, which is the largest muscle in the buttocks. This exercise is the most effective for building strength and size in the glutes.

Men and women should be doing it.

Squats muscles targeted

Squats will primarily target the muscles of the lower body, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes

Overhead presses muscles targeted

The overhead press targets several muscle groups, including the deltoids (shoulders), triceps, and the upper chest.

Chin-ups and pull-ups muscles targeted

This is one of my favourite exercises that I do all the time.

Chin-ups and pull-ups are both compound exercises that primarily target the muscles in the upper back, specifically the latissimus dorsi (lats) and the trapezius (traps).

Additionally, chin-ups and pull-ups also work the biceps, forearms, and the core muscles, such as the abd and the obliques, which help to stabilise the body during the exercise.

The differences is within the grips.

For more bicep activation, do an underhand grip

For more focus on the entire back and lats, do an overhand grip.

Gymnasts do loads of movements which involved pulling up their body and maintain themselves on ropes and poles so over time this is how the build an amazing well rounded upper body.

Dips muscles targeted

Dip exercises primarily target the triceps, which are the muscles located on the back of the upper arm.

This exercise also works the chest, shoulders and the muscles of the upper back.

This exercise is effective in building strength, size and definition in the triceps, chest, shoulders, and upper back.

These exercises are great because they engage multiple muscle groups and require a lot of energy expenditure in order to complete the movement.

When performing these exercises, it’s important to use a weight that is challenging enough to stimulate muscle growth but not so heavy that you cannot maintain proper form.

You should also make sure to use proper form and technique in order to maximise the effectiveness of the exercise and minimise the risk of injury.

When doing squats, you are better of using squat machines that have back support because that take all of unnecessary weight that would usually be on your spine and it gets put directly onto your lower body.

This is why I like hack squats machines.

The back support provides additional stability and support, which allows you to focus on the movement and engage the correct muscle groups.

Additionally, the machine's design allows for a more consistent and controlled movement, reducing the risk of injury and allowing you to lift heavier weights.

It also allows people with back issues or other conditions that make traditional squats uncomfortable or impossible to perform a variation of the squat without risking injury.

An Example Of How I Would Train On A Tight Schedule

If I was someone on a very tight schedule, I'd train two days a week.

This is just an example of what I would do and how I would structure it, so please adjust the reps and sets accordingly.

DAY 1 - UPPER BODY

Pull ups: 4 sets of 10 -20 reps (10 reps over hand, 10 reps underhand)

Pushups: 4 sets of 10 -20 reps

Dips: 4 sets of 10 - 20

20KG Plate shoulder presses 3 sets: 15-20 reps

And I would train in a circuit.

I would do 10 - 20 pushups

then straight after 10 - 20 pushups

then straight after 10 - 20 dips

Rest 2-3 minutes

This would be 1 set

(I would do the shoulder presses at the end)

Circuit training also helps with cardio, so I'd also be getting that in at the same time.

This would not take me no longer than 30 minutes.

DAY 2 - LOWER BODY

Hack Squat: 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Hip thrusts: 4 sets of 15 - 20 reps

Calf raises: 4 sets of 15 - 20 reps

I would do more reps on hip thrusts and calf raises as these are usually very stubborn muscle groups to grow.

If possible, I would do this in a circuit too.

This would not take me no longer than 30 minutes.

Doing more sets, reps, or a combination of both can help to stimulate growth in stubborn areas of the body.

I have written a check list on how to get an amazing lower body, it's here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/63822411?utm_campaign=postshare_creator

This is just a rough blueprint on what I would do. So if you want use it, feel free but adjust it to your personal goals.

If you are trying to loose weight you may want to include exercises which are more cardio focused (You should still focus on doing compound exercises too)

If you are trying to build muscle you may want to include exercises which are more muscle building focused.

So, thats 30 minutes (or less) on both days which is 1 Hour a week.

You have managed to hit the whole body in just two days.

Because you are there for such a limited amount of time, make sure to train with a good amount of intensity.

Training with intensity does NOT mean to absolutely annihilate yourself.

Train smart so you can train forever.

1 hour is the average length of time most people spend in the gym on a daily, however it's not really about how long you spend in the gym, what's more important is WHAT you are doing whilst in the gym.

Do not forget to incorporate progressive overload into your training.

If you train with the same amount of weights, reps and intensity all the time, your body will adapt to it and your progress will eventually stagnate.

So every week or every few weeks, you should either be increasing the weight, the amount of sets, the training intensity or the amount of reps you are doing.

Doing a different variation of an exercise that hits the same body part is also a form progressive overload.