Workout Tips For Busy People

May 8 2014

Workout Tips For Busy People

Most people in today’s society live busy, stress-filled lives with little-to-no ‘extra’ time for exercise. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, adults need a minimum of 2 hours and 30 minutes of cardio exercise along with a minimum of 2 days of strength training each week for better health. For even greater health benefits, adults should perform a minimum of 5 hours of cardio and 2 days of strength training each week.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult — if not impossible — for many adults to perform the recommended weekly exercise set forth by the CDC. From the moment they wake up to the time they fall asleep, many adults are swamped with a combination of professional work and family responsibilities.

Before you throw in the towel and call it quits for your workout routine, you should know that there are ways to incorporate exercise into a busy lifestyle. Making some minor adjustments to your normal daily routine can free up just enough time for exercise.

Break Up Exercise Into Smaller Segments

Performing a full 2+ hours of cardio in a single session might seem a little excessive — not to mention the fact that you’ll need a large opening in your schedule to accommodate such activity. But the good news is that you don’t have to perform this exercise all at once. The CDC even states that exercising in short 10-minute sessions is perfectly fine and will yield the same benefits as fewer, longer sessions.

“You can even break it up into smaller chunks of time during the day. It’s about what works best for you, as long as you’re doing physical activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time,” wrote the CDC on their website.

Wake Up Early

If you wake up an hour earlier each day, you’ll gain an additional 7 hours of free time. That’s more than enough time to meet the exercise recommendations of the CDC.

Rather than hitting the snooze button several times as you lay in been, try to get into the habit of waking up early to start your workout routine. Whether it’s going for a jog around the neighborhood or lifting weights at the gym, exercise is a great way to start your day off on the right food.

Invest In Dumbbells

If there’s one exercise-related item you should purchase, it’s a pair of dumbbells. Using nothing more than a pair of medium-weight dumbbells, you can perform a full strength training workout that targets every muscle group in your body, eliminating the need for a gym (going to the gym obviously requires more time).