3 Reasons Why Shorter, Less Intense Workouts Are More Effective For Muscle Growth, According To A Trainer

Contents

1. Shorter, less intense workouts allow you to be consistent.2. They give you a higher-quality muscle stimulus.3. They allow you to put your effort into your muscles.

“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.”

Going to the gym is fun, but let’s face it: you don’t want to spend all day there. Luckily, if you ask Shannon Ritchey, DPT, the founder of Evlo Fitness and host of the Dr. Shannon Show podcast, you don’t have to.

“I will preach this until the day that I die: shorter, less intense workouts are more effective than longer, more intense workouts,” she said in a recent TikTok. As Ritchey sees it, when it comes to muscle building, you don’t need to put hours in at the weight room, even if the gym bros seem to think you do.

But, you also don’t have to do a grueling HIIT workout or even a high-rep Pilates one to get the results you want. “Women have historically been encouraged to focus on cardio, calorie burn, and ultra-high-rep training to become smaller, but this often leads to burnout and minimal changes in body composition,” Ritchey says. “By training smarter—not longer or harder—women can actually build lean muscle, improve metabolic health, and feel better doing it.”

Typically, Ritchey’s workouts take just 35 minutes (she follows the ones on her platform), but you could technically get even shorter if you increased your weight and decreased your reps. “A workout doesn’t have to feel brutal to work—it just has to provide the right mechanical stimulus,” she says.

And, you guessed it: you can get that stimulus in a shorter amount of time. Here’s why it can be optimal to keep your sweat sessions short and snappy, according to Ritchey.

Meet your trainer: Shannon Ritchey, DPT, is the founder of Evlo Fitness and host of the Dr. Shannon Show podcast.

1. Shorter, less intense workouts allow you to be consistent.

Have you ever done a super tough workout that left you so sore you were rethinking if you ever wanted to go to the gym again? Soreness might feel like a badge of honor, but it’s the enemy of consistency, which is key.

Intense, draining routines are hard to keep up with, whether it’s because you’re too drained the next day or flat-out unmotivated to do another grueling workout. “Our brains are wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure,” Ritchey says. “If your workouts are short and efficient—not exhausting—you’re more likely to show up regularly.”

And, that showing up is important for anyone with fitness goals. “All meaningful physiological adaptations—whether it’s muscle growth, strength, or coordination—require a consistent stimulus,” Ritchey says. That means sticking with your workouts and doing similar exercises each week. “Your body builds neuromuscular strength and connection before it builds muscle,” Ritchey says. “If your workouts are inconsistent and always different, you skip that first, critical step and therefore never really see the change you’re looking for.

2. They give you a higher-quality muscle stimulus.

One problem with longer, more intense workouts is that they add a lot of variables to the equation and cloud your judgement of how well you’re working your muscles. “Many times fatigue or exhaustion is confused as an effective stimulus, but just because something burns, makes your heart race, or makes you tired, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s applying the principles of hypertrophy,” Ritchey says.

For each set, you want to get one to three reps shy of failure in anywhere from six to 30 reps. “Providing your muscles with that stimulus may not make you sweat buckets, but consistently doing that is shown to change the size and strength of your muscles.”

Pro tip: Not sure if you’ve given your muscles the proper stimulus? Try Ritchey’s rest test. At the end of the set, rest for a moment, then pick up your weight and try to do a few more reps. If you can do two to three, you weren’t close to failure—so pick up a heavier weight.

3. They allow you to put your effort into your muscles.

More intense workouts (think: bootcamps or HIIT classes) might be good at getting your heart rate up, but they also divide your attention. “When workouts are long or include a lot of cardio, you fatigue before you get to the muscle-building sets,” Ritchey says. “This reduces your ability to push hard where it counts.”

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t get your cardio in; it’s just that you might want to keep it separate so that you can give each its due. “Think of this like trying to lift heavy after running a mile; you won’t be able to give as much effort as if you were fresh,” Ritchey says.

By keeping your workouts short and less intense, you can stay focused and make sure you’re actually working those muscles. And, that’s the whole reason you’re working out in the first place.