No Time Is No Excuse
The most common excuse I hear for not exercising is the old "I don't have time for it!" routine. But the truth is, you do have time for it. Fitness doesn't just mean going to the gym for a few hours every day. There are plenty of ways for you to get fit without having to spend a lot of time doing. Sure, the more time you put into it the faster you'll get results, but you don't need to put hours upon hours into it just to get into shape.
I've developed a basic twenty-minute workout that you can do from anywhere. Whether you're waiting for your kid to wake up from their nap or if you're stuck in a hotel room on a trip, you can do this work out to get in shape or maintain your level of fitness.
The first thing I do is warm up with fifty jumping jacks. Jumping jacks are a simple exercise that anyone of any fitness level can accomplish. If fifty is too easy for you, then up the level to a hundred or two hundred. Don't just skip them because you find them too easy. You need to get a little bit of a warm up before you start working.
The next thing I do is twenty five body weight squats. These are another relatively easy exercise that has a pretty big impact. If you're having trouble with them, you can use a chair to assist you until you get the hang of it. But don't rely on that chair for too long! After a week or two you should be able to do them without any assistance.
After that, I move into push ups and sit ups. I'm sure you remember these from your elementary school days. While they may have been the bane of your existence back then, now they're quick little exercises that will help you get into shape. I do about twenty five of each of those. Like everything else, if you're finding that you're not being challenged, then feel free to up the number you're doing.
Once you've done those, do another fifty jumping jacks to give yourself a final boost. Don't do too many this time around since this is where we begin doing our wind down routine. You don't want to do from high impact to doing nothing, else your body will feel like crap.
The last part of the routine are static wall sits. Find a clear wall and lean against it. Then slowly lower your body until you're in a sitting position, as if you were sitting in a chair. Maintain this position for thirty seconds to a minute (or longer if you can!) This is a great way to end a workout. Not only are you still getting exercise, but you get a bit of a breather too!
By the end of the twenty minute workout, you should be sweating a good bit. If you're not, then you weren't pushing yourself hard enough. Now that you know about this work out, you can no longer use the excuse that you don't have time for exercise!
