Fitness in Fifteen

Today’s Tip: Fitness in Fifteen

If time is what is stopping you from becoming physically active than let go of having to set aside an hour to workout and start thinking in 15 minute increments. Everyone has 15 minutes to spare during the day. Sometimes you just need to get creative to find them and incorporate fitness in a productive manner.

Where can you find the time? What can you do in 15 minutes?

Here are 4 suggestions to find the time with some workout ideas to get you started:

Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier and do morning yoga poses and gentle stretching.
It will change your entire day by giving you more energy.

Use 15 minutes of your lunch hour to take a one mile walk after eating a light lunch. It will help speed up digestion and keep you from craving an afternoon siesta.

Keep a resistance band in the desk of your home or work office. Take a15 minute break from the computer and build some muscle by using the band for bicep curls, triceps extensions and more. You can search the web for resistance band exercises that will strengthen muscles and loosen stiff joints.

Use your kitchen counter as a ballet barre while cooking dinner. It takes 15 minutes to boil a pot of water for pasta. While you wait do knees bends(plies), lunges, squats, leg kicks, back stretches and push-ups using the counter for support and stability. These multi-joint exercises tone the body fast.

These four “Fitness in Fifteen” workouts add up to one hour and work your body in different ways. You can do one or all of them. It’s a great way to get started on a regular exercise regime if time is tight. Once you see how exercise fits into your busy day and discover how good you feel, you’ll always find the time.

Remember, finding those spare 15 minutes during your busy day to get active will spare you a lifetime of medical ailments due to living a sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary lifestyle is equivalent to smoking 1 pack of cigarettes a day in terms of health risk. Our bodies were meant to move so set your clock and get moving.