Never let a lack of time be an excuse not to exercise again
These days most people are time poor, but that’s definitely not a good enough reason not to move your body regularly and get results to boot. If you’re struggling to keep to a fitness regime due to a demanding work schedule or maxed out lifestyle, try these FIT ideas and kick some butt in less time than your lunch break.
1. Embrace HIIT
Being fit and healthy doesn’t mean you need to spend hours on end exercising or in the gym. When you’re strapped for time, HIIT is a surefire way to get the most bang for your minutes as it has been shown to generate results in a much shorter timeframe than traditional workouts do.
“If you’ve never heard of it before, HIIT is an insanely efficient style of workout that alternates periods of short, intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.
Basically, that means you’ll be working really hard for a short amount of time, resting, then working hard again. And most HIIT workouts take only about 10 to 20 minutes—making them the perfect fit for busy people of all types,” says Krista Stryker, founder of 12 Minute Athlete.
2. Anywhere, anytime exercises
There are plenty of exercises that you can bust out wherever you are, whenever you get the opportunity. Adding these moves into your repertoire means you pull out a mini workout as soon as the opportunity presents itself, such as when you’re waiting for a late bus or have a spare 10 minutes at the end of your lunch break. These simple exercises will help tone your body, sans gym:
- Calf raises
- Chair dips
- Lunges
- Squats
- Planks
3. Early bird gets the worm
Most people are able to make some time to exercise first thing in the morning by simply setting the alarm a bit earlier than usual. “The great benefit of waking up earlier to workout is that you get it over and done with before the storm of your busy day hits,” says NYC personal trainer Mike Sturrock. “It also helps to energise you and start the day off on a positive note, thanks to the endorphins.” It doesn’t have to be too much earlier either; an extra 30 minutes in the morning to exercise is all you need for an effective power walk, HIIT session or resistance routine.
4. Schedule walking meetings
Okay, we know what you’re thinking, but hear us out. Next time you have a one-on-one meeting, why not do it walking? It makes sense to use this time to move rather than sitting idle, and ideas often flow better if you walk and talk.
In fact, successful business people are doing this more and more, especially since Nilofer Merchant broadcast the concept on a TED talk and founder of The Upside activewear label, Jodhi Meares, told Harper’s Bazaar that it’s the only way she conducts her meetings. “Instead of doing conference meetings or coffee meetings, I ask people to do walking meetings,” says the very busy, successful and fit Meares. So who’s in? Thought so!