I’ve heard all the excuses of why people don’t workout…
“I don’t have enough time to workout.”
“I’m so bored with my workout!”
“I don’t have energy to get moving!”
If you’re struggling to master the motivation to get moving, even short workouts can have long-term benefits.
In less time than it takes to make your morning smoothie, you can surge fresh oxygen through your body and brain, build and shape muscle and rev your metabolism.
Short on time? No problem. A recent study published in the International Journal of Exercise Science found that an 11-minute bodyweight routine had long-term benefits and improved aerobic endurance in participants.
The key? Intensity.
Every participant was asked to challenge their body and complete as many repetitions as possible in the given time. The successful experiment used the following routine:
- 1-min jumping jacks (warm-up)
- 1-min burpees (without the push-ups)
- 1-min marching in place
- 1-min running in place with high knees
- 1-min marching in place
- 1-min split-squat jumps (start in a lunge, then switch with leg is forward)
- Repeat steps 3-6
Exercise no longer has to be a special event that you need to plan into your day, and short pockets movement can result in meaningful fitness improvements. Finding a few minutes before the day begins, at lunch, or during an afternoon slump creates a symphony of cellular changes, and alters thousands of chemicals from appetite hormones to inflammation markers.
Short workouts, big results!
