Quick workouts for busy dads: it's strong made simple

Short on time, not ambition? Trainer Phil Paterson shows how to build serious strength in 20 minutes or less.

Making time for your physical health with quick workouts isn’t a vanity project or a selfish endeavour for busy dads. It’s an investment in your future. Strength training helps build a resilient body so you can stay active with your family, protect your joints and keep doing the things you enjoy for years to come.

Of course, life gets in the way. Work, family logistics and school holidays can turn a 20-minute trip to the gym into a two-hour hole in your day. When time is tight, even getting there once or twice a week can be difficult.

The good news is that you can still build and maintain meaningful strength with little or no equipment. Think of this as a build-your-own workout: choose what works for the time, space and kit you have available, and build a session around it.

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When your training window is short, compound exercises are your friend. These movements recruit several muscle groups at once, giving you more bang for your buck than spending precious time on isolation exercises such as bicep curls.

Squats, lunges, press-ups and rows work several joints and muscles together, helping build practical, everyday strength. They also make the body work harder overall, giving you a cardiovascular benefit alongside the strength work.

The challenge with bodyweight training is keeping things balanced. It’s easy to end up doing lots of press-ups and squats while neglecting your back and the muscles along the rear of the body. Pulling movements can also be harder to recreate without gym equipment.

That’s where a small amount of inexpensive kit can make a real difference. Resistance bands, a suspension trainer or even equipment at your local outdoor gym can open up far more options.

Pull-up ©Phil Paterson

Make the clock work for you

Another way to make lighter exercises more challenging is to change the structure of your workout.

Two useful formats are AMRAPs, which stands for “As Many Rounds As Possible”, and EMOMs, or “Every Minute On The Minute”. Both allow you to pack plenty of work into a short period without needing heavy weights.

A classic example is the CrossFit workout “Cindy”:

5 pull-ups
10 press-ups
15 air squats

Repeat as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.

None of those movements sounds especially intimidating on its own, but repeat them continuously and the workout becomes surprisingly demanding.

For many people, though, the original version is simply too difficult. If five pull-ups represents your maximum effort, you’re going to grind to a halt very quickly.

The answer is to scale it.

If full pull-ups aren’t there yet, use a resistance band or suspension trainer for assisted rows. If full press-ups are too much, perform them from your knees or with your hands elevated on a bench.

You can also lower the repetitions. As a rough guide, aim for around 30–40% of the maximum number you could perform in one fresh set. If you can manage 10 good press-ups, try four or five per round instead.

And if you only have 10 minutes? Do 10 minutes. A shorter workout you actually complete beats the perfect session you never start. Quick workouts for busy dads start here.

Split Squats ©Phil Paterson

Build your own workout

Choose movements from across the different categories to keep your session balanced.

Lower body

No equipment

Split squats
Air squats
Squat jumps
Glute bridges or hip thrusts
Reverse lunges
Single-leg Romanian deadlifts

With minimal kit

Swiss ball hamstring curls
Rear-foot elevated split squats using a suspension trainer
Mini-band glute bridges

Upper body: pull

No equipment

Assisted chin-ups using a doorway or park bar
Bodyweight inverted rows
Bent-over T-raises

With minimal kit

Resistance-band single-arm rows
Suspension-trainer body rows

Upper body: push

No equipment

Standard press-ups
Kneeling press-ups
Wide or narrow hand-position variations

With minimal kit

Suspension-trainer chest press
Resistance-band single-arm chest press

Core

No equipment

Planks
Side planks
Dead bugs
Woodchop movements

With minimal kit

Resistance-band woodchops
Suspension-trainer plank variations
Swiss ball roll-outs

You can use these movements in two ways.

For a fast session, choose one from each category and perform them as a timed circuit or EMOM.

Alternatively, take a more traditional approach and choose two movements from each category, performing three or four sets of 10–15 reps. You can do them individually or pair exercises together as supersets.

©Phil Paterson

Try this: the 20-minute rotating EMOM

This simple workout rotates through five stations, giving each muscle group some recovery while keeping your heart rate up.

Set a timer. At the start of every minute, perform the prescribed exercise, then rest for whatever remains of that 60-second window. Complete three or four rounds for a 15–20 minute workout.

Minute 1: Split squats
8–10 reps per leg. Keep your weight controlled and drive through the front leg.

Minute 2: Press-ups
10–12 reps. Use standard, kneeling or suspension-trainer press-ups depending on your ability.

Minute 3: Rows
10–12 reps using a suspension trainer or resistance band. Pull the chest towards the handles and squeeze the shoulder blades together.

Minute 4: Glute bridges
10–15 reps. Drive through your heels and squeeze the glutes at the top without arching your lower back.

Minute 5: Squat jumps
8–10 reps. Explode upwards and land softly. If consecutive jumps are too much, pause briefly between reps.

Consistency beats complexity when it comes to quick workouts for busy dads

Starting or maintaining a strength routine shouldn’t feel overwhelming. This framework can be an entry point into resistance training, a back-up for weeks when the gym isn’t realistic or simply an efficient way to train at home.

The important thing is not to change everything every time you exercise. Variety can keep things interesting, but consistency is what allows you to see progress.

Stick with a selection of exercises for a few weeks. You might manage another round, add a couple of reps or complete the same workout with less effort than before. Those small improvements are exactly what you’re looking for.

Pick a structure that fits your schedule, choose your movements and get started.