The most common excuse people use for not working out is that there’s never enough time. Experts recommend a 45 minute workout everyday to maintain a reasonable level of fitness. Taking out 45 minutes from your oh-so-busy routine seems an impossibility that most of us just go sloughing through life without even making an effort. Here are some mini-workouts and tips which you can use as per your convenience and in any combination that suits you to get that workout without messing with the rest of your routine. Let’s cut down on those excuses! Please note that while exercising in spurts throughout the day may not help you to lose weight it has several benefits including an instant energy boost/refresher and general toning.
- Start your day with crunches in bed. 50 is good startup number and you can build up to about 200. It’s a great way to spend a few extra minutes in bed to sort through random thoughts and plan your day. When you get used to it you can do the same before sleeping as well.
- Do lunges or squats when you are waiting for your food to warm up in the microwave. You can easily do 10 squats and 10 lunges (alternate legs) in 30 seconds. Add sets and build it up while you watch the countdown on your microwave timer.
- Feeling tired at work and need to stretch a bit? Here’s a two minute workout to give you a boost (everyone can spare 2 minutes!): 10 jumping jacks, 10 squats and 10 wall push-ups. You can do this in a quiet corner at work or even in the bathroom if there’s no privacy anywhere else. One set is a good starting point and you can do this as many times as you like during the day. If there’s not enough space for jumping jacks replace it with lunges or just running in place.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator for at least 3 floors. This is a really old tip, hence it gets ignored quite often. But if you’ve heard of the benefits of the stepper at the gym this is the real version.
- Park your car far away enough from your office/school/shopping mall to get at least 2 or 3 minutes walk going to and from.
- If there’s a grocery store close to your place make it a habit to walk there and back for little stuff like bread, eggs or milk. Tell yourself its good for the environment to give yourself additional motivation.