On the go, not much time for working out, can’t make it to the gym? These will all become lame duck excuses when you learn how to perform a simple and effective 5-minute workout. That’s right, a 5-minute workout. Yeah it sounds like an infomercial, but nothing is being pedaled here but an opportunity to improve your health.
No More Excuses Please
The number one reason for excluding the health enhancing benefits of physical activity, check that, deliberate physical activity is the infamous “lack of time” excuse. When polled, an overwhelming number of people responded that they just didn’t have the time to exercise regularly. Okay, now let’s look at what can be done to obliterate these excuses.
A Powerful and Effective Way to Train
The 5-minute workout is a powerful yet simple and abbreviated answer to inactivity. Select 5 exercises that allow you to work the major muscle groups. Include exercises that target the legs, back, chest, core, and shoulders. The exercises we have selected to demonstrate the 5-minute workout include squats or lunges for the legs, dead lifts or superman for the back, push-up for the chest, sit-ups or planks for the core, and downward dog push-up for the shoulders.
The Program
Begin by jogging in place for one minute to warm up. Following the warm-up perform each exercise for 30 seconds. After completing 30 seconds of all five exercises, perform a second round of each exercise for 30 seconds. So a workout following this format would look like this:
- do as many squats as you can for 30 seconds followed by
- as many deadlifts as you can in 30 seconds followed by
- as many push-ups as you can in 30 seconds followed by
- as many sit-ups as you can in 30 seconds followed by
- as many deltoid push-ups as you can in 30 seconds
This sequence of exercises should be done one more time (for a total of 2 rounds) to complete your 5-minute workout. Exercises can be interchanged to add variety to the workout. The number of repetitions should be kept at a level that matches the exerciser’s fitness level. For example, a beginner might only be able to perform 5 repetitions of each exercise, while an advanced exerciser may be able to perform 25 repetitions of each exercise.
You will notice that all of the suggested exercises do not require any additional equipment, which means they can be done anywhere and anytime. If desired you can increase the intensity of the workout by simply trying to perform more repetitions within the 30 second time frame. The use of weight such as dumb bells or bands can incorporated to increase intensity. Don’t forget to stretch after your workout! Good luck!
Consult a licensed healthcare professional before beginning or changing any fitness routine.
"Excuses are the tools with which persons with no purpose in view build for themselves great monuments of nothing." Steven Grayhm
Sources: Steven Grayhm quote, Quotegarden.com
Chris Christian - Chris Christian has been involved with fitness for over 30 years and personal training for 12 years. In addition he teachs fitness and ...
