Friday Fitness: Every Bit Counts - 10 minute Workout Routine

Are you finding it hard to fit exercise in? Many of us pack so many tasks into our daily routine, there’s not even enough time to relax let alone exercise. If you have attended my Exercise Adherence lecture you know that “lack of time” is one of the most common excuses for not sticking to a regular fitness program. But what you forget to realize is that in the time it might take you to go through your e-mail, or even read this blog post, you could have fit in a workout?!

Let’s face it…your fitness level does not live or die by 60-minute workouts. Short bouts of exercise, when accumulated, have been shown to share similar benefits to longer workouts. (See Adam’s post more information on HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)) Think back on your stay here at Hilton Head Health. Just by participating in your daily thermal walks you were averaging around 60 minutes of additional daily physical activity- I bet you didn’t even think of it that way!

Why not conquer your activity at home like you did when you were here at H3. It’s simple. Simply just become more active. Move more, weigh less. In order to do this, we must let go of the "all or nothing" mentality. Your body will reap numerous benefits just by moving more. With that being said I challenge you “lack of timers” to break up your exercise into 10 minute bouts throughout the day. Or maybe you simply do some sort of callisthenic (push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats, etc.) every 5 minutes til the hour. You could choose to do a tabata, 20 sec ON the exercise 10 sec REST. Repeat that for the entire five minute segment. Then the next five til the hour vary the exercise and repeat the tabata. Thus, an 8hr workout day gains you 40 minutes of activity. Treat these segmented minutes like you would a regular workout. Take 1-2 minutes to warm up and get the muscles ready, including stretching. Follow with at least 5-7 minutes of exercise at a medium or high intensity. Then make sure to include a 1-2 minute cool down. Repeat 3-6 times throughout your day for an active total ranging between 45-60 minutes.

So…this “Fitness Friday” your challenge is to squeeze in 10 minute activity/fitness bouts throughout your day. Even if you generally devote a solid hour to exercise, drop the “all or nothing” routine. Today break it up into smaller segments throughout your day. Challenge yourself mentally and physically… because as I always say “every bit counts!”