Workouts When You're in a Time Crunch

When you're a busy person working full time, going to school, raising mini-me's, whatever your obligations and priorities are, it can be daunting finding time to workout. The thought of adding another hour of something to your to-do list may be overwhelming. But committing to a more active lifestyle does not require hours of your day, an exclusive gym membership or purchasing expensive machines for your home. You can get in high intensity workouts and build muscle tone using your own body weight. You can find resistance bands, free weights and weighted balls for cheap online or even listed on sites such as Offer Up and Craigslist. (I recommend taking a friend with you and meeting in a public place if you go this route) By taking away rest time between exercises, you can keep your workouts short and intense, burning more calories and saving more of your precious time. Alternate between periods of a plyometric movements such as a squat jumps, high knees, clap push ups etc with periods of a body weight resistance exercise like push ups, flutter kicks and lunges. The repetitions of the explosive movements will increase your heart rate quickly and get your body temperature up to give you the same effects as cardio but with the benefits of muscle toning as well. The resistance exercise acts as an active recovery period; you're able to catch your breath but you're continuing to work your muscles and burn calories. Create circuits alternating between 45sec-1min of exercises without rest in between. Do this for 12-15 minutes with intensity and you'll work a sweat, burn calories, and have time to enjoy your lunch break.