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Have you let your workouts slide because of your various commitments. Is your gym membership getting stale? Have you considered working out at home, as you may not always have time to go to the gym or to studio classes?
By working out at home, you can combine longer sessions when you have more time, with shorter sessions when time is tight. For example you should be able to find a 10 – 15 minute slot to workout, ideally 3 times a week.
As it is a short session you will want to maximize on your time, so that you can achieve similar benefits to a longer exercise session. One way to do this is to raise the intensity of your workouts. Research has found that bursts of high intensity training, followed by timed periods of less intense activities or rest, can burn more fat and increase your fitness level in a quicker time frame than steady state exercise. Another name for this type of training is HIIT, High Intensity Interval training.
You can mold your workout to your schedule and you don’t need a lot of equipment, just a mat/towel and your own body weight. At the same time if you have some dumbbells, a kettlebell, etc there’s no reason why you cannot incorporate them into your workout. Adding weights to your workout will also help to raise the intensity, as will compound exercises where you utilize more than one muscle group. For example, performing a squat with a shoulder press.
The ideal type of workout should include cardio exercises to keep your cardiovascular system strong and working efficiently, with resistance exercises to help build muscle, strengthen your bones and encourage a greater rate of fat burn. Exercises that will work the entire body should be chosen where possible, to encourage a balance in the development of muscles. Exercise the larger muscles first for example your quads, back and shoulders before the smaller muscles like, biceps and triceps, this will help to prevent you tiring too quickly.
Some of the following exercises are ideal to put into this type of workout as they get your heart rate up and keep those feet moving; squat jumps, mountain climbers, burpees and jumping jacks. (As always, please consult your physician before beginning exercise.) The following exercises also require effort; push ups, lunges, squats and planks. So for your shorter home workouts, pick some of the exercises stated above.
A workout may look like this for example: For a 10 minute workout choose 5 exercises, do them intensely for 50 secs followed by a 10 sec rest for 2 sets. Always make sure that you warm up beforehand and cool down properly.
How do you find time to fit in your workouts? Would you now consider working out at home? How can you fit HIIT into your schedule? Thanks for commenting.
Gillian Stephen is a Fitness and Nutrition coach and also a mother of two, a 2 year old and a 4 year old that keep her very busy. She supports individuals by helping them put together a strategy for weight loss. She incorporates making better food choices and fitting exercise into your busy schedule, so you lose the weight and keep it off, a lifestyle change. Follow Gillian on Twitter @Gillan_Stephen, and via her website www.fitnessbuster.com.
