Quick and Easy Workouts That Can Be Done During Your Lunch Break

With everyone trying to pick up speed and get more done during the day, I have a lot of clients at Prime Fitness in Totowa, NJ, asking for some quick and easy workouts to use on those days when there’s more work than hours left to do it. It happens and as I always say, “something is better than nothing, even though a complete workout is best.” If you don’t have the time for that complete workout, here are some exercises you can do when you’re rushed.

You don’t have to do everything at once.

Is your workout 30 minutes or longer? Break it down to several sessions throughout the day. Studies show that doing three 10 minute workouts are as beneficial as one 30 minute session. In fact, there was a study that put people into four groups. One group didn’t exercise. One group did a half hour a day all at once. The third group broke their routine down to two sessions of 15 minutes each and finally, the last group broke it down to three 10-minute sessions. Three of the four groups had the same benefits for weight lost and improved endurance. The group that didn’t exercise was the only one that didn’t benefit. Use smaller windows of time and get the same benefits.

Boost your intensity or weight to make workouts shorter.

You can cut your workout time when you increase your intensity. You can make it harder on yourself and workout less. By increasing your pace and/or amount of weight you lift, you cut your workout time. In fact, it’s imperative that you do to avoid overworking muscles. Pushing yourself to the max means workout time is shorter. Reducing the rest time between sets on interval training is another way to get more for your exercise time.

Do the four-minute nitric oxide dump.

What is nitric oxide? Nitric oxide is a vasodilator. That means it helps to increase the blood flow by relaxing the blood vessels, causing them to widen. That lowers blood pressure. Nitric oxide is boosted by exercise, and there’s a specific four-minute workout that you can do several times a day to help. It’s perfect when you just have a few minutes. Do it three times a day. It was created by Dr. Zach Bush and includes four simple moves, squats, arm swings, arm circles and overhead presses. If you’re trying to lower your blood pressure, combine it with your regular routine.

• Compound moves ensure you workout more of your body in far less time. Compound moves involve several muscles and joints and can be just one exercise, like a basic squat or a combination of exercises done together, a lunge combined with a tricep extension.
• Whether you’re breaking up your workout into sections or just trying to cut back time, writing the workout on paper so you have it in front of you is one way to do it.
• Turn your chores into a workout. Speed up your workout. Do it with vigor. Exaggerate the workout to get more movement into it. Do deep knee bends as you’re washing the wall or march in place when doing dishes.
• If you still don’t have the time, make sure your day is more active by taking the stairs, walking to lunch or parking further from the store to walk more.

For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness