I need to shorten my workout.. what should I do?

[jibraltor]

Hi! I'm on a very tight schedule when I'm at the gym... I have about 55 minutes for my workout and at my current pace I would need about 65-70 minutes so I need to cut 10 ro 15 minutes. Here's how my workout currently looks like:

Day 1 : Chest-Triceps-Forearms-Abs

DB Bench press (3x10)
DB Incline Bench press (3x10)
DB Lying Triceps extention (4x10)
Dips (4x6)
DB Wrist Curl (3x10)
DB Reverse Wrist Curl (3x10)
Crunch (3x25)

Day 2 : Back-Biceps-Abs

Cable Front pulldown (3x10)
Cable Close Grip Pulldown (3x10)
Cable Seated row (3x10)
BB Shrug (3x10)
DB Curl (3x10)
DB Hammer curl (3x10)
Crunch (3x25)

Day 3 : Shoulders-Legs-Abs

Leg press (3x10)
Leg extension (3x10)
Leg curl (3x10)
Calf press (3x10)
DB Shoulder press (3x10)
DB Lateral raise (3x10)
DB Lying rear lateral raise (3x10)
Crunch (3x25)

Before starting to lift I stretch my legs for 2 minutes then I run for 5 minutes to warm up and then I stretch the muscles I will work that day for about 4-5 minutes. At the end of my workout I do another 4-5 minutes of stretching. So basically that leaves me with about 40 minutes to do all my sets.

Could you please tell me what would you choose between these options or if you have other ideas to shorten my workout...

A : Take out the running at the beggining.. I was told it was very important to warm up the metabolism before doing some weight training but do you think it's really necessary?

B : Do the crunchs at home.. I will do that if there's no other solution but that would only cut about 5 minutes out of my workout and I prefer to do everything at the gym so when I come out of there I'm done for the day.

C : Take out some exercises.. It would be the best solution but I don't know which exercises my workout could live without.

D : Do less repetitions.. I would gladly do it if you guys tell me it wouldn't harm my progress.

I'm awaiting you're suggestions and I hope you can help me.. thanks in advance!

[Grey Ghost]

First I would spend about 5 minutes on stretching out legs and parts that you will work out that day. Then, I would go little heavier and less rep and shorter breaks to shorten the time. Don't take out the stretching part at the end of your workout, it's just as important to stretch in the beginning of your workout.

[Luca Brasi]

First of all, the best thing to do is to make time for your workout. Arrange your daily schedule so you can fit in the 80 minute workout.

If, by all means, you still can't fit in the time, here are some suggestions:

Don't do crunches every day. Treat abs just like any other muscle. Do them once a week and continually add resistance.

The leg press, leg extension, and leg curls, can all be combined into one exercise: Squat. Calf press is important, keep that in.

Without crunches, your doing about 20 sets...you should have no problem doing this in 55 minutes. Maybe your resting too long between sets.

[Steve]

I don't see how you cannot do your workout in an hour or less. Do you perhaps waste too much times between sets? The reason I say so is that I sometimes do more than you and still finish in an hour's time. And I ALWAYS do 10 min warm-up and stretching.

[gcs118]

To shorten time, I recommend removing the running and stretching and just do warm up sets. Also, do compound movements to maximize gains. For example, my back/biceps day one week is Deadlifts, Hyperextensions, DB curls, and Pull Ups. This hits my back and bis really hard with only 4 exercises, in a rather short period of time.