Pumping Up with AJ Sloan: The Time Crunch Workout

June 17, 2022
AJ SLOAN

Once again, I am resorting to a hotel room workout. Whether you’re out of town for work, play, or a bit of both in my case, you gotta keep tight, am I right? Dilemma: I have a shoot in less than an hour. Solution: The Quickie. No, I am not referring to getting head from the concierge in the maintenance closet. Not this time .

The Quickie is what I do when I am crunched for time but want to start my day with some movement to get my blood flowing and my muscles looking nice and juicy.

The only equipment you will need is: Spotify and your Clock app. Start with the former and find some jams. If you’re bored with yours, check out my Ultra playlist (link above and below!). Can’t pump without good music to pump to.

Now open your stopwatch. Depending on how much time you have, set a goal for yourself. It can be 10 minutes, 15, 30, whatever time allows, but push yourself (a few days a week I do this for 45-60 minutes). The objective is to fulfill said amount of time with 30-60 second increments of exercises from squats and lunges to push-ups and dips. As always, there are an infinite amount (well, dozens at least) of variations of every movement, so mix it up. I always alternate between upper and lower body exercises, and I personally aim to take no breaks and get through to the end; winded yet satisfied. Just remember to go at your own pace and keep on pushing.

If you do need a break, that is completely fine. Hit stop on the stopwatch until you get into motion again. But remember, the amount and duration of your breaks will prolong your workout, and since we are on a time crunch: less is more when it comes to rest time.

If you do feel like stopping before the goal time that you were aiming to hit, don’t. Just think of the day ahead of you. Think about the little time you are dedicating to yourself for something that will make your morning, day and life that much better. You got this, I promise. Just take a moment to breathe, and finish what you set out to do.

See the attached video to see just a handful of exercises I tend to do when strapped for time. And of course, have fun with it. Starting your day with even ten minutes of movement will have you energized, help you think clearer, and prepared to rise to any challenge— from the boardroom to the bedroom, presentations to penetrations.