Pt 2: How Long Do You Need To Train Each Week For Longevity?

Welcome back! 

Last post we established that to reap the longevity rewards from strength training we only really need to commit 30-60 min per week. What we did not establish is how those 30 min should look. 

Today's goal is to give you some principles, tools and examples to help you get the most out of training for only 30-60 minutes per week. 

1: Train full body 

I mean, this one is pretty obvious. You have to be holistic in your approach here. Please do not just pump your chest or glutes and expect all the benefits here. 

2: Cut the fluff

You only have 30-60 minutes, so you need to choose the biggest bang for buck exercises. This is going to be your compound movement patterns like squats,  hinges, upper body push and pulls, and lunges. I love isolated movements like bicep curls and calf raises, but in the context of this situation they are not on the priority list. 

3: Train with intensity

You have to challenge the movements you select enough to create adaptation. It should not be easy peasy. I'm not talking about smashing yourself and going to failure, but you should be in the vicinity of your working sets. You should only have 2-4 reps left in the tank on a given movement to make sure you're getting what you need out of your hard work. 

4: Utilize training frequency

If all you have is 1 day to spare then that is better than nothing. However breaking up your 30-60 min into multiple days in the week would most likely be the best path forward. For example this could be three 20 min sessions or two 20-30 min sessions.

5: Pair exercises that make sense

There are many possible exercise pairings that make sense.  When time is limited though, you need to pick exercises that really make sense from an efficiency of transition standpoint. Pick options that allow you to stay in one spot and do not require a lot of set up and/or loading and unloading of weight. For example, in most gym set ups a Barbell Back Squat and Lat Pull Down would not make much sense.

Example of how to put it all together

I really like the idea of an “every minute on the minute”(EMOM) training set up for time constraint situations. 

Here is how it works:

  • Choose 1 or many exercises 

  • Decide how many sets of each exercise you want to do. 

  • Each set represents 1 minute 

    • Let's say you chose goblet squat and push ups. 

    • If I wanted to do 4 sets of each exercise that would be a 8 minute EMOM 

  • The complete the prescribed number of reps for the given exercise in each minute

    • Let's say you want to do 8 reps for squats and push ups. 

    • You would start the timer and do 8 squats. 

    • This takes 40 seconds, now you get to rest for 20 seconds 

    • At the start of the next minute you do 8 push ups. 

    • This takes you 25 seconds not you have 35 seconds to rest. 

    • You would repeat this for 8 minutes giving you 4 total sets of each exercise 

Now that you understand what an EMOM is, here is an example of two. 

EMOM 1: 15 min total (5 sets of each exercise) 

*Notes: Use the first two sets of each exercise to ramp up weight. This will serve as a little warm up to have you prepared for the real training load by set 3.

EMOM 2: 15 min total ( 5 sets of each exercise) 

*Notes: You could load up the push ups if too easy. Ramp up the load of the first two sets for push ups and reverse lunge.

Here is how it could fit in your week. 

  • Do both together on the same day 1x per week. 

  • Do both together on the same day 2x per week with 2-3 or days of rest  in between

  • Alternate between each EMOM doing only 1 on each work out day giving 1 day of rest in between each day.

Just a reminder

For the best longevity results, combining some aerobic fitness in your week in conjunction with resistance training looks to have the biggest risk reduction for all cause mortality. 

This does not need to be complicated. Hitting over 7000 steps and getting out for a short hike in nature once a week will go A LONG way in keeping you healthy and happy. 

That's it for now! If you have any questions or are looking for assistance do not hesitate to contact me via

Nathan Obrigewitsch