WORKOUTS FOR THE PERSON WITH NO TIME
Time. It seems that these days few people have enough of it. For some, this has made exercising difficult. Let me walk that back a bit. People’s busy lives have made them think they don’t have time to exercise. It’s created an almost built in excuse for those looking for an excuse not to exercise. What I’ve attempted to do with this post is remove some of those EXCUSES.
I’ve shown you in the past that if you want to get in the best shape of your life you not only need to eat more, many of you probably need to exercise less (HERE). That’s right, the good news for many of you is that research has repeatedly shown that when it comes to exercise, less is often more.
What this means, however, is that at least some of your exercise should be intense. I’m not talking about ‘kill-yourself’ intense, but many of you would do well by significantly shortening your workouts, while cranking things up a bit in the intensity department at least part of the time. What are some of the ways to do this for people who don’t ever seem to have enough time? I’ve left you a list below, but honestly, if all you did were combinations of the first four bullet points, many of you reading this would be well on your way to a fitter future.
- DUMBELLS ON AN EXERCISE BALL: While I have a short post on my site (HERE), YouTube has about a jillion videos on the subject. Incorporating RESISTANCE TRAINING and CORE STRENGTH via the ball (keep your feet together) is one of the cornerstones of any 10 minute workout.
- SPRINTS: All too often, jogging is slogging. Don’t slog your workouts — keep them intense. If you like to jog, jog a 40, sprint a forty, jog a 40, sprint a 40. SPRINTING is metabolically similar to resistance training — the best form of exercise for just about whatever you are looking to accomplish (including building lean body mass, while dropping body fat).
- KETTLEBELL SWINGS: If you are looking for a single exercise that does everything, the KETTLEBELL SWING is about as close as you can get.
- STRETCHING / YOGA / PLANKS: There are numerous variations of all of these. These are also a part of my CURE YOUR BACK PAIN PROGRAM as well. For those of you still doing situps, STOP IT ALREADY! And with the cost of WHOLE BODY VIBRATION having come down so much in recent years, it’s fun to incorporate it into this bullet as well (yoga or stretching on a WBV machine).
- BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES: The original king of body weight exercises was one of my fitness heroes, DR. JACK LALANE. Jack proved that if you’ve got 10 minutes and a floor or chair, the workouts you can do are nearly unlimited. Since it’s tougher to workout your legs with the ball and dumbells (first bullet point), you can do things like wall sits, air squats (or squats against the ball against the wall), bridges (hamstrings), lunges (butt), and any number of others. Many of these can be done with a ball as well. Like I said, YouTube.
- BALANCE & PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING: Use the ball or a bosu, or you could even put a slackline in your back yard (no, you don’t have to train like BEN). For kicks, try jumping rope on your bosu. And if you have a TRAMPOLINE (or even a mini tramp), the possibilities are endless.
- BURPEES & MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS: No, I get it — you don’t like these either. Incorporate them into a circuit and hammer them in short bursts.
- OTHERS: The list is literally endless, and with the internet it’s easy to find things you can mix together for 10 or 15 minutes. Be aware that if you are working out outdoors, try and incorporate GROUNDING into whatever you might be doing. And if you are going to workout, you may as well be helping your cause by eating the right foods (HERE).
Naturally, some of these activities require more physical skills than others. With whatever exercise program you decide on, start slow and build up. But the point is to start. Get an ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER, create a written plan, and get started. It’s Saturday for Pete’s sake so you can start today. No; YOU ARE NOT TOO OLD. For those struggling with chronic health issues, consult your physician and take a look at THIS POST as well. Don’t forget to visit our FACEBOOK PAGE, and if you like what you’re seeing, be sure to show us some love by liking, sharing, or following.