How to Get the Greatest Return on Investment on Your Workout

Minimal Effective Dose (MED) is a term I picked up from Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Body”. Although some of the methods to Tim’s madness is interesting, it worked for him and for a lot of other people. I wouldn’t say that it is a magic pill for getting an adonis figure and pinnacle health, but it's a useful theory for us all to live by if you have a go-go-go lifestyle and don’t have time to spend 2 hours in the gym 6 days a week.

MED ensures your movements and activities have the greatest return on investment (ROI). Complexity does not necessarily mean higher ROI either. Too often I see people working out or posting very difficult incredibly risky moves with way too many bells and whistles. If you don’t know what I mean, take a look at some of the posts on Instagram @gymhardos…

Keep it simple, make sure you have control of the movements and your breathing and minimize recovery between movements. No weights, no problem- you have gravity. If you have 15 minutes three times per week you are going to make improvements in your movement efficiency, strength, stability and mobility. Insert the 5 movement patterns below nice and slow for 15 minutes three times per week for 4 weeks and see how you feel afterwards.

1. Single leg hip hinge

2. Push up

3. Split squat or lunge variation

4. Inverted row (reverse of a push up)

5. Log Rolls or Plank Rotations

Now, if you are already working out a bunch, change up the intensity and complexity to make the level of effort of these 5 movement patterns feel like an 8 out of 10 on a 1-10 scale of effort.

The goal is not the number of repetitions, but rather going slow and keeping the muscle under tension, also known as Time Under Tension (TUT). This prevents momentum and loss of form which can increase the risk of injury.

If you have questions about these movements or other progressions please feel free to contact me for further guidance.

Be well.