Running Beginner Prescription under time constraints

The gym I go to (the only one open in town currently) only allows people to train in pre-scheduled one hour blocks. For the most part I’ve been able to complete the prescribed workouts within the time frame. However, some days the equipment I need (racks and bars) are taken and I have to wait. On these days I have less time to do all my sets and reps and in order to squeeze them in I’ve been cutting rest between sets short and doing fewer warmup sets. Doing this, I can finish my main sets in time, but I feel a lot more tired afterwards than on days where I’m not rushing. The frustrating thing is that I can’t really predict whether I’ll need to rush my training or not because it’s based on the availability of equipment at the time, which varies a lot day by day and week by week.

I was wondering what your recommendations would be for this situation. I worry that fewer warmup sets and less rest between sets could lead to injury. Thanks in advance.

Yea I think that’s tough since it’s really out of your control. That said, I think you’re doing the right thing by reducing rest as needed to get the work in. I don’t think that reduced rest increases risk of injury, though you may need to temper the load.

Additionally, you can swap exercises from different days that are similar to reduce the amount you have to wait for equipment.

Hopefully that helps!

-Jordan