When you are short on time, you have to have the motivation to take that time and make the most of it! Quick lunch break, a half hour before you have to get ready to go to work or after the kids go to sleep? You are responsible for maintaining your fitness level and only you can be the one to make the choice every single day to put in the effort required to have the body of your dreams. Nothing can stop you from reaching your goals if you have your mind set on it. 

Not Enough Time?

You can make progress even if you only have fifteen minutes, some time spent being active is always better than none. You can take that time for high intensity cardio, a tough ab workout, or a quick full body or specified muscle group workout. The key is to get your heart rate up and to work hard the entire time. 

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the best training techniques that you can use when you are in a time crunch. The goal is to work really hard and enjoy short rest periods in between each sprint of vigorous activity. This training style has been proven to yield “an increased capacity for whole‐body and skeletal muscle lipid oxidation, enhanced peripheral vascular structure and function, improved exercise performance as measured by time‐to‐exhaustion tests or time trials and increased maximal oxygen uptake” [1]. This means that you will burn fat and build muscle at a faster rate while building endurance. Typical sessions are 1:4 work-to-rest ratio, while others choose a 1:1 approach. It is up to you to decide what feels right, you will learn how your body responds to each over time.

Basic cardio HIIT routine:

For a quick and intense challenge: 1 minute full sprint followed by 1 minute walk, repeat 8 times (16 minute workout) OR

If you are a beginner: 1 minute full sprint followed by 2-4 minute walk, repeat 6 times (18-30 minute workout)

This same routine can be applied to other workouts as well. You can bike, run, do jumping jacks or jump rope – whatever you enjoy best. We would encourage you to try it if you haven’t already! Like we said, there are no excuses when short workouts can be even more effective than traditional-style routines and high intensity training can be the most invigorating!

References

  1. Hawley, M. J. (2012, January 30). Physiological adaptations to low‐volume, high‐intensity interval training in health and disease.The Journal of Physiology, 1077. Retrieved from The Physiological Society: https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/jphysiol.2011.224725