Many people struggle to fit in regular exercise and feel guilty if they don't fit in an hour at the gym several times a week. One of the key reasons my clients give for not getting or managing to stay fit is lack of time and not being able to fit regular exercise into their busy lives. As with most things, if it becomes a priority in your life then you will fit it in but it's often not until something goes wrong with your body or health that it becomes a priority.
What riles me is that going to the gym has become synonymous with getting fit - yet despite the rise of the gym in today's society (and there have never been more than there are today) we are more unhealthy than ever. You do not need to go the gym to get fit and you certainly don't need to spend hours there slaving away.
What is more sustainable in the long term is increasing your daily activity levels and having achievable and realistic goals and expectations that fit into your lifestyle. Whilst more is invariably better than less, it's not always possible and so to help those of you who struggle to fit exercise into your life, I've suggested a number of 20 minute sessions that can easily be fit into a busy day, leaving you with no more excuses!
Interval training sessions: Pick an aerobic activity - such as running, cycling, swimming or even skipping. Rather than stick at the same pace for 20 minutes, try alternating between sprinting or all-out effort for 1 minute and then slowing down till you get your breath back and then speeding up again. If you count this as 1 set (a sprint then a rest period) you can repeat 8-10 sets in a 20 minute session.
Circuit Session: Choose 5 or 6 compound (multiple muscle) exercises - such as the Squat, Lunges, Stability Ball push-up, Bent over row, wood chop or Stability Ball Jackknife - and perform 10 repetitions of each exercise one after the other, without resting. When you have completed 1 set of each exercise, rest for 1 minute then repeat another set of 10 reps for each exercise. Repeat this up to 4 times and you'll have completed a great fat-burning session by keeping your heart rate up and also incorporating resistance exercises.
Body part workout: If you want to improve your strength or reshape your body significantly but don't have time to spend an hour or more lifting several sets for each body part, then split up your routines and focus on a single body part each session. For example, in a 20 minute session you could focus on your pecs (chest) and perform 3 or more sets for 3 or 4 exercises, such as bench press, incline press, pec fly or cable crossover. This also just about gives you time to complete adequate rest periods in between each set. Always be sure to perform each exercise with prefect form and do not compromise quality for speed.
Stretching: If you have to choose, then perform a stretching session over a resistance session to help re-balance your body. If you are pushed for time (and even if you're not) it's only really necessary to stretch muscles that are tight and need stretching rather than completing a whole body stretching routine. If you're unsure of which muscles you should concentrate on it's worth getting a qualified trainer to perform some assessments on you to identify the imbalances in your body.
Relaxation: If you're feeling stressed but feel you should do some exercise to help de-stress or have 20 minutes to spare in a hectic day, try performing some relaxation techniques instead. Find a comfortable sitting or even lying position, loosen tight clothing and get as comfortable as you can. Close your eyes and start breathing deeply through your diaphragm. Allow your lungs and diaphragm to fill as much as possible - try counting in for 4 - and then slowly exhale - counting out for 5. You may also like to try focusing on specific body parts - start at your toes and clench then relax them, move to your calves and clench and relax and slowly use this technique for all of your body parts to help relax tight muscles.
About the Author
Lea Woodward is a qualified personal trainer and director of activOne ltd in the UK. activOne provides fitness, nutrition & lifestyle coaching to private clients & corporate wellbeing services in the East Midlands as well as virtual training to clients worldwide. Check out the website http://www.activone.co.uk