"I just don't have time to work out!"
Sound familiar? Perhaps the biggest excuse for not exercising is a lack of time. This was a primary impetus for my new book,
Women's Home Workout Bible.
There is a prevailing misperception that exercise requires a large time commitment. This simply isn't the case. The truth is, virtually everyone can find the time for fitness and achieve all the terrific benefits that go along with it: heightened energy levels, improved posture, elevated metabolism, increased strength, better health, and of course, a terrific looking body!
So if you are one of those people that have been procrastinating to start an exercise program because you don't think you have enough time, take heed. Here are
five surefire ways to make exercise efficient enough so even the most time-pressed individual can get in a good workout.
1)
Turn commercial breaks into exercise opportunities: One of the easiest ways to increase workout efficiency is to make better use of your down time. Prime target: TV watching. Next time you're viewing your favorite show, take the opportunity to use the commercials breaks as a means to get in a little exercise. For example, the first set of commercials you could perform sets of crunches; the next do some push-ups; the next jump rope. Given that the average one-hour show has twenty minutes worth of commercials, you'll have gotten in a full day's workout while staying entertained!
2)
Space out your cardio throughout the day: There is a long-held belief that you need to perform one long session of cardio to derive benefits. If you don't have a big block of time, the thinking goes, then you can't get in a good aerobic workout. Right? Wrong! The fact is, you can split up your cardio over the course of the day and still see excellent results. In fact, three 10-minute sessions have been shown to be just as effective as one 30-minute session. This provides a great deal of flexibility. You can surely fit in 10 minutes before going to work or getting the kids ready for school. Get in another 10 minutes on your lunch or coffee break. And then find 10 more minutes towards the end of the day before sleep. The realization that you aren't bound by having to squeeze in a workout all at once should open up a world of possibilities for making exercise a part of your life.
3)
Interval train: Most people seem to subscribe to the misguided opinion that cardio should be performed in the "fat-burning zone" (generally considered between 60 to 80 percent of target heart rate). While there is certainly nothing wrong with this approach, you can actually improve the rate of fat-burning by utilizing a concept called interval training. Interval training involves combining periods of high intensity cardio with periods of low intensity cardio. On the high intensity intervals, you train "all out," as hard as you can. On the low intensity intervals, you bring the pace down to a level where you can carry on a conversation rather easily. The exact protocol of your intervals will be dependent on your abilities, but a good starting point is to employ a ratio of 4:1, where you do four minutes ...
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