When it comes to the gym, people are notorious for excuses. Maybe you don’t have time to go to the gym, so you decide to workout at home instead. But you don’t have the right equipment necessary to get in good workouts, plus the couch is just way too inviting. 

Put it all together, and you get stagnancy. And the longer you stay stagnant, the harder it is going to get to jump back on that horse. 

So if you really don’t have the time or equipment necessary to train, you are just going to have to get a bit creative. 

Don’t worry, though, we did the whole creative-thinking process for you. And we came up with an easy-to-follow method that is quick and does not necessitate a whole lot of gear. 

The Method

It’s a relatively simple method, once you get the hang of it. It involves two exercises, yes, just two. You can pick any two exercises you want, though, for the sake of this example, we are going to use pushups and crunches. 

The method is called Ratio Training. Ideally, it will work at a rate of 15:1, though you can start wherever you want, depending on your level of experience. For true beginners, I would start with a 10:1 ratio, and build your way up to 15 and beyond. 

The way it works is as follows: 

In the first set, you will perform 15 repetitions of Exercise A (pushups) and one repetition of exercise B, the crunches. 

Without rest, you then immediately jump into the second set, which will involve 14 repetitions of Exercise A and 2 repetitions of Exercise B. 

Is it starting to make sense? 

For the third set, you will perform 13 repetitions of Exercise A and 3 Repetitions of Exercise B. Eventually, the workout will end when you perform one repetition of Exercise A and 15 Repetitions of Exercise B.

Now, granted, it does not sound all too difficult. But trust me, this kind of routine is utterly exhausting. 

If you start at the level of a 10:1 workout, and keep with the pushups/crunches routine, by the end of it, you will have performed nearly fifty repetitions of each exercise. 

And if you do the 15:1 ratio, you will end up performing 120 repetitions of each exercise. It sounds easy, but it adds up quick. 

The best part about this Ratio Training method is that you can use any two workouts you want. As long as you perform the method properly (no rests, period), you are in for a highly intense workout. 

Plus, to ensure you get good, full-body training, you can switch out your two target exercises every day. In total, especially because there is no resting allowed, you’re in for a sub-twenty minute workout, which is easily doable. 

You can even do it while watching TV, and you can fall into the couch when you’re all done. Plus, this method involves little-no equipment. You can choose to use no equipment whatsoever, and rely solely on body-weight training.

You can also choose to incorporate some level of equipment. If you happen to have an old set of dumbbells and a weight bench, you can make one of your two exercises for the day dumbbell chest presses. 

If you have a pullup bar, you can make one of the exercises pullups. If you have a shoulder press machine, you get the picture. The point is that it’s all about the method. And through this method, your excuses fade away. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it requires as much equipment as you have on hand. 

Now, if you want to make sure you’re getting in a solid full-body workout, and don’t have any handy equipment laying around, pick up one pair of dumbbells. Incorporate a dumbbell exercise into each of your daily routines – shoulder presses, chest presses, triceps extensions, bicep curls, dumbbell squats, or lunges – if you stay committed, you can train your entire body. 

If it is difficult for you to hit the gym or workout at home, all you need is a set training program or routine. Once you have that, all you have to do is start. 

Then, the challenge of the routine will be your motivator. You know you can do better, you know you can be stronger, you know you can do the 15:1. So you will get there. 

All you need is a bit of patience, a lot of commitment, and twenty minutes (or less).