You know you have to work out to get healthy and reach your fitness goals. But sometimes you just don't feel motivated. Or you think you don't have the time.
We can help.
Do you have 5 or 10 minutes in your day? (Come on, you do!) Try these different ways to get in short bursts of exercise – everything adds up over time!
- When you go outside to pick up your morning newspaper, take a brisk 5-minute power walk up the street in one direction and back in the other.
- Try 5 to 10 minutes of jumping jacks. (A 150-pound woman can burn 90 calories in one 10-minute session.)
- Cooking dinner? Do standing push-ups while you wait for a pot to boil. Stand about an arm's length from the kitchen counter, and push your arms against the counter. Push in and out to get toned arms and shoulders.
- Just before bed or while you're giving yourself a facial at night, do a few repetitions of some dumbbell exercises.
- Walk around the block several times while you wait for your child to take a music lesson. As your fitness level improves, add 1-minute bursts of jogging to your walks.
- Turn a trip to a park with your child into a mini-workout for you. Throw a ball back and forth and run for fly balls.
- If you have a work meeting in another building, leave 5 or 10 minutes early (or take some time afterward), and do some extra walking.
- On breaks at work, spend 5 to 10 minutes climbing stairs.
- If you're pressed for time and must wait for an elevator, strengthen your core with ab exercises. Stand with your feet parallel and your knees relaxed. Contract the muscles around your belly button. Then elevate your upper torso, and release. Finally, contract your buttocks for a few seconds.
- During TV commercials, jog in place. A 150-pound woman can burn up to 45 calories in 5 minutes.