by The 30-30-for-30 system is 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, for 30 minutes, using a rotation of different exercises. I like for the rounds to fit cleanly into 30 minutes, so I most commonly do 6 rounds of 5 exercises, 5 rounds of 6 exercises, or 3 rounds of 10 exercises, and occasionally 2 rounds of 15 exercises. This is one of the simplest and best things that I’ve learned and used in strength and conditioning, and I have used it with rowers of all ages, types, and levels.
I learned about 30-30 from this Dan John article in 2018, experimented with it in my training and coaching shortly after, and have used it in different scenarios and designs ever since. I spoke about it in my first USRowing webinar in April 2020 about minimalist/at-home fitness, and I wrote about it in my 2022 article, “How to Start Strength Training for Rowing.” That article features a whole section on 30-30 with sample session banks and tips for implementation.
I’ll add some practical advice in this post and hope to get everyone thinking about how and where this could fit in your own training or coaching.
Here are four main training scenarios when I’ve used 30-30-for-30.
#1. Starting or restarting strength training: All ages from youths to masters can focus on bodyweight exercises and get in a lot of high-quality practice with the squat, hinge, push, and pull (“the big 4”), plus shoulder, hip, and core (“the little 3”), and even mobility or stretching movements to fill out a session. Two or three sessions per week for 4-8 weeks is my recommendation for athletes beginning strength training, especially when also doing rowing, erging, or other sport training. Three 30-30 sessions per week for 2-4 weeks is a great way to restart after a few weeks or months away from strength training. After this point, or when bodyweight variations are no longer sufficiently challenging, either add load with some equipment or move to a more conventional loaded strength training program.
#2. A deload week or low-equipment workaround: For someone experienced in strength training, a bodyweight or low-load 30-30-for-30 session is a great deload week. It’s a nice compromise of doing something to make the session worthwhile, but not so much training that we miss the goal of rest. Many athletes prefer doing a different training routine versus “just going easier” on the normal routine. Doing 30-30 during a deload week also introduces it to the athletes so we can come back to it later. If we’re on a training trip or otherwise away from our normal array of equipment for a few weeks, we can at least maintain strength training status for more training later with effective and efficient 30-30 sessions.
#3. In-season strength training: 30-30-for-30 is at least a good backup plan to get your reps in when a fixed program or consistent equipment access just won’t work. We can design these sessions to work anywhere: at home, in a gym, in the boathouse, etc. As long as there’s enough space to move around, 30-30 can be done individually, in small groups, or in full teams. 30 minutes is a good session length to combine with erging or rowing if necessary. This is a great answer for the common in-season scenario of bad weather putting everyone on land, but needing to split the group with half erging and half doing something else. Avoid bodyweight circuits with work-to-rest ratios that are too fatiguing (too much work and/or too little rest), limited exercise selection (“20-minute floor core!”), and low movement quality (often due to poor ratios and exercise selection). We can get so much more benefit from a “big 4/little 3/mobility” 30-30 session. It’s good enough for at least the ~6-week late in-season phase when we’re focused on athlete health and performance at races, if not the whole in-season phase.
#4. A viable long-term approach: Two or three 30-30 sessions per week with good intent and session design creativity totally gets the job done. No one’s winning powerlifting or bodybuilding competitions this way, but that’s not the goal. This is my “all signal, no noise” recommendation for a busy coach, parent, and/or professional trying to fit physical activity and strength training in somewhere with training and other responsibilities. Most people can find 30 minutes somewhere in the day at least two or three times per week and just need a simple system to be able to get in and get it done. If we’re really strapped for time, 30-30-for-30 can easily become 30-30-for-15-or-20 and still be better than nothing.
Here are two more tips below. As always, I’m happy to answer any questions about this or anything else via comment or email.
Creativity is key: You can do the same basic exercises day after day if that works best for you. I find benefit in variety, so we can also…
- Vary stance width on a lower body exercise or grip width on an upper body exercise. I’ll use “normal, narrow, and wide” as three points of variation, and leave the exact ranges up to the individual athlete’s comfort.
- Lock in the standard 2:1 tempo (ratio of lowering-to-lifting) and then add variety with 2:2 or 3:1 for more muscular time-under-tension.
- Use single-limb exercises as well as double-limb exercises. I give each limb its own 30-seconds-on time; no mid-round switching.
- Squat, push, pull, hinge, shoulder/hip/core is my standard exercise order for all-around training, but we can vary this as well. Alternating upper body and lower body exercises creates a slightly more cardiovascular effect (but not like aerobic or interval training) as the body has to work harder to move blood from one hemisphere to the other. Consecutive exercises in one area of the body has more muscular fatigue, but the 30-second rest between exercises still allows some fatigue to dissipate (this is deliberately not a “burnout” session).
- Vary exercise options each round. If a straight 6-round session is A/A/A/A/A/A, use minor variations of each exercise to do A/B/C/B/A or A/A/B/B/C/C. I’ll also do “big 4/little 3” as a 6-round session with a rotating fifth exercise: (1) squat, (2) push, (3) pull, (4) hinge, and then each round uses a different (5) shoulder, hip, or core exercise.
- Do a session that is 3 rounds of 10 exercises or 2 rounds of 15 exercises with a mobility exercise after each strength training exercise, or after each pairing of an upper body and lower body exercise (ie. upper, then lower, then mobility). This makes for a great extended on-land warmup, too.
Add equipment: We have even more options with a little bit of equipment, such as a weighted vest, resistance bands, a suspension trainer (TRX, gymnastics rings, or DIY), a kettlebell or dumbbell (or a few), or more. A weighted vest fits really nicely here. Start with 5-10% of bodyweight and progress gradually. Just wearing the vest for 30 minutes is half of the workout! My own current training goal is to do two 30-30 sessions with a 60lb vest, about a third of my bodyweight, getting at least five reps per exercise per round. One session is 6 rounds of squat, pushup, bodyweight row, good morning, and ring plank. The other is a 5-round session of rear-foot-elevated split squat (left/right), parallel bar dip, chin-up, Nordic hamstring curl, and plank.
Enjoy your training!
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