What to do with 10 minutes before/ after class

by | Feb 10, 2026 | Uncategorized

An extra 10-20 minutes per day can make a HUGE difference in your health and fitness. Many of you get to the gym a bit early or have the ability to stay after, and wonder what would be a good use of your time. Here are 4 things you can do with extra time and some examples for each.

  1. Bodybuilding style strength work. This is a good way to build some structural strength in weak areas, keep joints strong, work some of the “show muscles”, etc. I would stick to more bodybuilding (single joint) exercises over bigger/ complex lifts because it is less taxing, and since this is before or after your main workout, we want to avoid over-stressing your system. 

Example 1: (upperbody)

4x

10 db concentration curls

15 db overhead tricep extensions

Example 2: (lower body)

4x

10 single leg leg extensions each side

10 roller hamstring curls

Example 2: (core)

4x

5 dragon flys

10 db side bends/ side

:20 sec plank

  1. Conditioning work. Extra conditioning is always a great way to build endurance and stamina for CrossFit. And it is very joint-friendly, especially if you are using the machines. Again, you don’t have to go so hard that your main workout suffers. Treat this like accessory work.

Example 1

3x

3 min easy bike (3 out of 10)

2 min mod bike (5 out of 10)

1 min hard bike (7 out of 10)

Example 2

4x

1 min row

1 min ski

1 min run or bike

Example 3

10-20 min jog or higher resistance walk on TruGrit runners

  1. Mobility work. Never the most fun option and usually the most important. If you struggle with stiffness, lack of flexibility/mobility, aches and pain, etc this should be a MUST. Spending 10 min here can open up the body to get into better positions which allow for more efficient movement patterns which lead to the ability to lift heavy and go fast.

Example 1 (full body)

Go to youtube and type in ROMWOD. Follow along

Example 2 (upper body)

2x

1 min tspine extension over foam roller/ medball

10 thoracic rotations each side

:30 sec banded tricep stretch each side

Example 3 (lower body)

2x

:30 sec couch stretch/ side

:30 sec frog pose

1 min seated straddle

  1. Lastly, spend some time working on a skill that you have yet to master. Again, make sure this is practice, and not intense training or a lot of volume. The goal is to refine motor patterns, practice technique, and get better at the skill of a specific movement.

Examples:

-jump rope variations

-kipping drills (pullups, toes to bar, muscle ups)

-olympic lifting

-handstand variations

Etc

Hope these gave you some ideas on how to use those few extra minutes. Doing these things consistently will yield big changes.

If you have something specific you want to work on, hit me up and let’s schedule a 30 min 1on1 session. We can deep dive into what you are looking for and go through what exactly you should spend your extra time doing!