We are all busy - and often exercise is one of the things that gets dropped off the priority list (despite being one of the most important things for us - both mentally and physically!). 

So - when you do squeeze in the time to exercise, you want to make sure that you are getting the most out of your 30 minutes. Here are 4 of our top tips, to get the most out of your next workout:

1. Quality over quantity

Try not to race through your reps. Control them, take your time. You might think it is more efficient to race through your reps so you can squeeze more in, but all you are doing is missing the opportunity to recruit more muscle fibres. Take your time and control your movements. 

2. Connect to your muscles

It is so important to really think about the muscles you are working. If you are just flying through a movement on auto-pilot, you are missing out on so much great muscle fibre recruitment. Our top tips for connecting to your muscles are: 

(i) Tap the muscle that you are working. This can help stimulate mechanoreceptors in that area of the body - and will help your brain essentially connect to your muscles in that area. 

(ii) Imagine the weights you are using are 10x heavier than they actually are. Think about how your muscles would have to contract to lift that weight. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this cue, it lights up my muscles light nothing else.

(iii). Focus! You have set this time aside for you. Forget your to do list, think about the muscles you are working, take your time and connect. 

(iv) We also love to picture the origin and insertion points of the muscle we are working, and picture them getting closer together as the muscle contracts. It's really amazing how much your brain can help you connect to your muscles if you think about the right things! 

3. Get close to failure (30 reps or less)

To see muscle growth, you really want to be getting close to failure, ideally in around 30 reps or less. This means working hard, and lifting heavy. If you choose biomechanically effective movements (like we do at Alimba) for some muscle groups even just bodyweight will be sufficient to get to this failure point.

What does failure feel like? It will feel like you get stuck halfway through a rep, you might start trying to use momentum or accessory muscle groups, and you will likely also be pulling a funny face or grunting! 

4. Lift heavy enough

Please - ladies, don't be scared to lift weights. You will not turn into Arnie overnight. Building muscle is actually really hard - it takes hard work, consistency and a really tight diet - but it is nothing to be scared of (and should ideally be what you are chasing because muscle is SO DAMN good for you). 

Hopefully these tips help you get the most out of your next workout. If it is all too complicated and you want someone to take the work out for you - we program all of your workouts for you, and release 6 brand new workout videos every week. We do every class with you on the video and talk you through every single rep. We have a 2 week free trial if you want to check out what we are all about! 

Happy working out! xx