I have established an exercise routine to exercise for 60 minutes a day. Well done, champion!
Most days, you can stick to that routine.
But what if you don’t have an hour to exercise?
Maybe you have extra work with deadlines. Maybe you are traveling. Maybe your child’s activities take up more time than usual in your day.
Whatever the reason, you may find yourself in a situation where you can’t stick to your usual 60-minute (or 45-minute) workout routine and can only work out for 30, 20, or 15 minutes.
what should you do
do something rather than nothing
Behavioral scientist Michelle Segar works with people to develop healthy eating and exercise habits. In a podcast interview with her, she said perfectionism is one of the things that keeps people from exercising regularly, and they address her all-or-nothing mindset when it comes to exercise.
The reality is that the benefits of exercise accumulate over time. all Whether it’s a 15-minute or 60-minute stint, physical activity is good for your body. actually, research Just a few minutes of vigorous exercise a day was found to reduce the risk of dying from cancer by about 40% and the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by about 50%.
Not only are the health benefits of exercise cumulative over the long term, but short bursts of activity can immediately improve your mood and stress levels.
What’s more, attending a workout, no matter how short, will help you stay consistent with your exercise and solidify a habit of physical activity in your life. You can be sure of getting the many benefits of physical activity for years to come.
So, if you can’t do a full workout, just get it out of your mind once and for all that exercise isn’t worth it.
When it comes to physical activity, even 15 minutes is better than nothing.
Use constraints as opportunities for exercise
Instead of frustrating that you only have 15 minutes to work out, use it as an opportunity to engage in improvisational art. Enjoy the creativity that comes with your back against the wall. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do, focus on what you can do.
For me, this is the most helpful change of mindset. Frustration at having my ideal exercise plan ruined has led me to be playful about what I can still do to move my body in a limited time frame.
Become an Exercise MacGyver!
Focus on workout density
If you don’t have time to do a regular workout, barbell coach Matt Reynolds recommends shifting your focus to maximizing the “density” of your workout. It’s about doing as much work as possible inside.
There are many ways to intensify your 15 minute (or 10 or 20 minute) workout.
Do one set of AMRAP. Let’s say you planned to do 3 sets of 5 squats, 3 sets of 5 bench presses, and 3 sets of 5 deadlifts. If you only have 15 minutes, you don’t have time for all these reps.
Instead of doing 3 sets of 5 reps on each lift, do 1 set for as many reps as possible (AMRAP). So do squat sets for as many reps as you can, bench press sets for as many reps as you can, and deadlift sets for as many reps as you can. .
You may need to drop some weight, but that’s okay. The goal is to get as much work done as possible in a limited amount of time. With this and all other suggestions, don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.
Do a superset. Another way to add density to your workout is to do supersets.
A superset is performing two different exercises in succession. When doing supersets, you should combine exercises that work different muscles. This allows one muscle group to recover while the other muscle group recovers.
Supersets can be combined with things like bicep curls and tricep dips. But since you’re looking to get the most out of it here, do something that involves a compound exercise that works multiple muscle groups. I can do it. Or you can combine pushing exercises like push-ups with pulling exercises like pull-ups.
In supersets, perform the exercises back-to-back, resting between supersets. A typical rest interval between weightlifting sets is about two minutes, but shorter breaks are fine when doing supersets. Because the muscle groups you worked on first are already getting rest while performing her second exercise in the pair. If you’re really short on time, pick a broken one and skip the rest between sets entirely.
Training deadweight prisoners. If I do not To make weights accessible during shortened workout windows, try it. I do prisoner-type bodyweight training. You don’t need any tools, you can do it in 15 to 20 minutes, and you won’t get tired.
One of my favorite bodyweight workouts to do when I’m pressed for time or on vacation is CrossFit’s Cindy WOD.
Set a workout time limit for yourself. It could be 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or 20 minutes. Then do as many of the following rounds as you can.
- 5 pull-ups
- 10 push-ups
- 15 air squats
Repeat this sequence as many times as possible until the timer rings. You don’t need to rest between sets or rounds unless you’re tired and have to quit. Cindy burns calories and gets your heart rate soaring. It’s brutal, but you do a lot of work!
Do HIIT. HIIT alternates between periods of intense exercise and periods of rest. Great for small timeframes. In fact, HIIT can’t be done any other way (it’s impossible to sustain the all-out effort it requires over an extended period of time).
HIIT can be done with bodyweight exercises, kettlebells, treadmills, elliptical machines, and bicycles. Anything that can get your heart rate up. Choose your preferred modality.
If you are doing HIIT as a regular part of your anaerobic training, you should follow the guidelines outlined here. But in his one-off session of this kind of improvisation, he goes all out for a minute and then he rests for a minute, maximizing the ratio of working intensity to sweating time. Repeat these intervals as long as your time frame allows.
With all of the above in mind, you should be thinking of ways to add more density to your workouts.
If you don’t have time for strenuous exercise that will make you sweat (and clean up that sweat with a post-workout shower), just take a walk. Wear a weighted backpack or heavy hands if you want a little more intensity. But a normal walk is fine too.
A walk of any kind can show that you are committed to your daily physical activity. It’s a way to strengthen your physical identity. Exercise is just something you do. It’s part of you!
Carry that momentum into your next full-length workout.
Remember that doing something is always better than doing nothing!
