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Reprintable Article – No Time? No Problem!


Summary:
When life gets hectic, usually something’s gotta give in the schedule. More often than not the workout is sacrificed for other priorities, and that’s not a good thing. Find out how to get that workout in, even when your schedule is crazy.

No Time? No Problem!
by Jackie Burgmann, author of “Hot at Home” – The Transformation Solution for People Who Hate The Gym

So, sometimes life gets crazy… you’re too busy with work, family, social engagements or other pursuits … and there just isn’t time to work out.

Really? No time at all? Can you spare even 5 minutes?

If you don’t think you have time you can still get your workout in on any given day. Even if you only have 5 minutes between appointments.

Instead of using ‘No Time’ as an excuse to blow it off, here are some excuse busting workout ideas so you can get it done even on your busiest of days.

Five Minute Power-Squat Blast

Get in position to perform a bodyweight squat. Keep your eye on a clock or watch and time yourself for exactly 5 minutes. No more, no less. And during that 5 minutes? See how many “proper form” bodyweight squats you can do.

I promise you, you will be sweating and breathing heavily (and your legs will be shaky) at the end if you really put all your effort into going as fast as you can without breaking proper form or cheating by only going part way to the bottom position. It’s not long, but it’s a HARD workout.

My record currently stands at 235 squats in 5 minutes … and my legs were burning so hard and my heart was beating so fast when I was done, I literally thought I was going to drop to the floor unwillingly.

Trust me, the five minute power-squat blast is a great leg, glute and cardio workout squished into 5 little minutes.

Five Minute Power-Pushup Blast

This is the same concept as the power-squat blast.

Time yourself for 5 minutes and see how many proper form pushups you can do.

If you’re not able to do pushups from your toes quite yet, you can make them easier by pushing up from your knees, or put your hands on a ledge, bench or short table and do incline pushups. The bigger the incline, the easier the pushup. If you need a bigger challenge, put your feet on that bench or table and do decline pushups instead.

If you give it everything you’ve got, you’ll get an excellent upper body workout jammed into 5 minutes flat. The added bonus is that pushups not only work your chest, arms and back, they also engage your core very effectively and even force your legs to provide stability so it’s actually a very effective full body workout.

If you can find 10 free minutes in a row in your crazy day, then combine the two blast workouts. Do the pushup blast first, then the squat blast.

Or if you can find 20 whole minutes in a row in your otherwise jam-packed day, say between meetings or on your lunch break or right after the kids are down for their nap, try doing the whole thing twice.

Intense full body work out for the day DONE. Slap hands and walk away feeling smug that you didn’t let life get in the way of your goals!.

But if you really can’t find more than 5 minutes in a row, then every time you do find an extra 5 minutes, just break out one of these two blast workouts and use the time wisely.

You can do this all day long, alternating between the two blasts and wind up getting an effective hour-long strength workout done, essentially chipping away at it 5 minutes at a time as the day progresses.

And you didn’t even have to find time to get to a gym or need any special equipment.

Need some ideas for quick cardio workouts? Also not a problem.

Jump Rope

Try jumping rope for 15 minutes. Jump rope just sounds like good fun, but it’s harder than it appears.

The constant jumping will get your heart rate up and get you breathing heavily quickly and jump rope sessions are an excellent and easy cardiovascular workout.

If you want a bigger challenge, experiment with different kinds of jumps… one legged, alternating legs, two spins of the rope with each jump, or crossing your arms with each spin of the rope.

An added bonus of jumping rope is that it’s a great way to work your calf muscles. Want well-shaped calves? Jump rope!

Bodyweight Cardio Circuits

Bodyweight exercises grouped together into circuits are also a great way to get an effective and fast cardio workout.

Try doing 100 mountain climbers, then 100 burpees, then 100 breakdancers, then 100 squat thrusts. Or 50 of each and go around the circuit twice instead of once.

Ouch.

But fast. And effective.

The amount of time these types of workouts will take you is determined by how fast you can do all your reps, but assuming it takes 2 seconds to do each rep and you don’t take any rest periods it should only take you approximately 15 minutes to get through the 100 reps version once or the 50 reps version twice.

Your heart will be racing and you don’t need any equipment or even much floor space. And you’ll get a great full-body workout in at the same time.

Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are also a great cardio workout you can get done quickly without special equipment and in a small space. Just start jumping and don’t stop for 15 minutes. It’s as simple as that.

Your heart will be racing after 15 minutes and you’ll have engaged every part of your body with constant movement. Easy, fast, simple. Perfect for those hectic days when there just isn’t time for much else.

Combinations

If you find yourself with just a smidge more time than you thought you had you can also combine any of the above ideas to create a more varied workout. Just mix and match and get it done quickly before the unexpected free time runs out.

Remember, you don’t even have to do your daily workout all at the same time. It all still counts if you break it up throughout the day.

Choose one type of exercise to do in the morning for 5 minutes before heading to work, another on your coffee break, yet another at the beginning of your lunch break and the last one just before dinnertime.

A short workout (or a bunch of short workouts) beats no workout at all if that’s the only way you can make the time to get it all in.

Always keep your eye on your goals and use little tricks like these to moving towards them.

So now you can make sure you get your quick mini-workouts in on those hectic days you just don’t have time to devote to a big, longer workout.

And, when someone asks how your workouts are coming, instead of saying “I just don’t have time”, you’ll be able to say “GREAT, I workout every day!”

Byline:
Jackie is the creator of “Hot at Home” The Transformation Solution Designed ESPECIALLY for People Who Hate The Gym and want to get in their best shape EVER … without the inconvenience of finding time in a busy schedule to go to a gym.

Keywords:
workouts for busy schedule, fast workouts, quick workouts, mini-workout ideas

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