As far as gym excuses go, we've heard them all at King Strength and Performance...

"I'M SURE I'D LOOK LIKE THAT TO, IF I DIDN'T HAVE A FULL-TIME JOB."

"I REALLY WANT TO HIT THE GYM LATER, BUT I HAVE NO MOTIVATION AFTER 8 HOURS OF WORK."

"I WANT TO BE IN BETTER SHAPE, BUT I JUST DON'T HAVE THE TIME."

This list could go on for days, but that's not what you came here for. Fitting in a workout in your daily schedule can seem like an impossible task.
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With long work days, your schedule is probably all booked up right? But somehow, we always manage to fit an hour long scrolling session on Instagram or an extra episode of Netflix at night. Whether we like it or not, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. It's all about priorities.

Right now, setting an alarm 1.5 hours earlier sounds about as fun as doing burpees in class. However, the endorphin high that you feel the rest of the day is worth it.

Here are some hopefully helpful tips to get in that workout before a busy day at work:

1. LAY OUT WORKOUT CLOTHES THE NIGHT BEFORE: Having workout clothes next to the bed has been one of the most helpful steps in getting to the gym before the sun comes up. There is no time wasted rummaging through drawers in the dark when you're already prepared.
2. MIX UP YOUR PRE-WORKOUT OR PRE-SET YOUR COFFEE MAKER BEFORE BED: A big factor in getting to the gym early in the morning is caffeine. Before bed, mix up your pre-workout and throw it in the fridge so that you can head out the door without thinking. If you aren't a pre-workout type of person, try setting your coffee maker for 10 minutes earlier than the time you intend on waking up so the smell of the fresh brew gets you out of bed.
3. SET MULTIPLE ALARMS, SORRY BABE: By setting more than one alarm, you're reminded that you are sleeping on your goals, literally. At first it may help to set 2 or 3 alarms that are about 5 minutes apart to ensure you get out of bed.
4. MEAL PREP YOUR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH: If you have a day job to get to post-workout, having your meals prepped beforehand will be an absolute game changer. This will cut down on the time you spend in the morning packing up your lunch or making breakfast in a rush. Easy things to prepare for post workout food are overnight oats with protein, a banana and peanut butter, a protein bar, egg bites, etc. Food preparation saves time and also saves you money.
5. PACK YOUR WORK CLOTHES IN YOU GYM BAG: Pick out your work clothes the night before and bring them along with you. This will shave off some travel time rather than stopping at home on the way. Finish your workout, change and get on with the rest of your day. 

If you have any tips of your own - share them below! We would love to hear your personal advice and share it with the King Strength and Performance community!

Are you an early bird or want to become an early bird in the gym? We're rewarding anyone who wants to try making training a priority in their life with 5 Strength and Conditioning sessions for FREE!

As a reminder, we rotate our strength blocks between two central themes:

1. Accumulation: volume, body composition and work capacity
2. Intensification: strength, speed, power and explosiveness

You get both strength and conditioning in both training themes. But we design our training this way because it's more sustainable, smarter and has a better ROI.

We're finishing the first accumulation block of 2020 where the theme was Advanced German Volume Training, where the primary focus to effectively build endurance and improve our work capacities. The improvements will be seen in the next strength block immediately.

For Strength Block #2 of 2020, we are shifting gears and heading into an intensification block. The theme of this intensification block is the 5x5. It will take us 4 weeks to go through this strength block cycle.

THE 5X5 IS FOCUSED ON THE BIG THREE MOVEMENTS: SQUAT, BENCH AND DEADLIFT WITH THE PROGRAM DIVIDED INTO HEAVY, MODERATE AND LIGHT VERSIONS.

March's King Strength and Performance strength block is the famous 5x5, a program invented by strength and conditioning legend and pioneer Bill Starr.

Bill Starr landed on the set and rep scheme because he thought it was the perfect balance of volume and intensity that would develop muscular size and strength at the same time.

For some historical context, Starr designed this program at the time when most of his athletes and lifters worked full-time, manual labor jobs outside of training. They'd do hard labor in factories and then after work, they had to go to the gym to train.

Starr had to be strategic with program design to get the most results for his athletes. By trial and error, he realized what we adapt to is the most important. And that it's not about how much one can do, but about how much one can sustainably handle.

His methods became something of a legend and ushered a whole new world of strength and conditioning that took deep roots in all aspects of the physical culture.

The 5x5 program split is three separate days focused on the big three: Squat, Bench and Deadlift. The program is broken up into a heavy, moderate and light version.

This is important because it was one of the first great attempts to look at pattern development from a movement perspective and performance perspective. On one hand, you need a certain level of exposure to master the movement. On the other hand, you need a certain amount of intensity to perform optimally in the movement.

But if you push one exercise everyday at maximal intensity, you will break (which we imagine was a product of learning this the hard way). There has to be proper manipulation and variability in training intensity to accommodate proper recovery.

The 5x5 program has three days that start with a heavy version of Squat, Bench or Deadlift followed by a moderate version of Squat, Bench or Deadlift, followed again by a light version of Squat, Bench or Deadlift.

You push the weight as heavy as you can on each for 5 sets of 5 reps but the weight is deloaded based on the rage of motion, vector, distance from center of gravity, joints involved, and balance required.