Three tricks to fit exercise into your busiest days

As a personal trainer for 25 years, I’ve heard some great excuses for why people don’t exercise. The most common, by far, is lack of time. I am self-employed and have two kids who dance competitively and play travel hockey. My wife has MS, which limits her driving, so I get it the time crunch. My days can fill up pretty quickly. I am proud to say, however, that I hardly ever miss a workout regardless of what’s going on in my life.

Here are my three favourite methods for sneaking fitness into my day when I just “don’t have time.”

1. Five Minute Blasters. Five years ago, I developed a workout for clients during the Christmas holiday crunch when they couldn’t get to the gym. The idea was to complete a thorough workout in as little as 5 minutes! With a “Blaster,” you choose two exercises that you can comfortably perform for at least 15 repetitions. Choose one for the upper body and one for the lower body. Pushups and squats work well together. Set a timer for 5 minutes and alternate between 10 pushups and 10 squats, non-stop, for 5 minutes. That’s it. Simple, effective and better than doing nothing.

If you have more than 5 minutes, pick more exercises and complete as many Blasters as possible in 5 minute blocks.

2. Tabata Training. Tabata is a high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout featuring exercises that last four minutes. Developed by Japanese exercise scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata, it was lab tested to provide superior results versus traditional long, steady state cardiovascular exercise.

To perform a four-minute Tabata routine, you would choose a cardiovascular exercise such as cycling, skipping, jumping jacks, running, marching, etc.

Perform 20 seconds of intense exercise with the movement of your choice, followed by 10 seconds of recovery at low intensity. Repeat this sequence 8 times for a four-minute workout.

The original study required participants to complete their 20 seconds of exercise at an incredibly hard, all-out burst of activity. Most casual exercisers will not push to this intensity level, but, pushing outside your “comfort zone” before the 10 second recovery will bring you many health benefits.

3. Fitness Snacking. If you don’t have time for a sit down meal, then you snack on nutritious foods throughout the day. Break your exercise into snack-size chunks and you will, at least, maintain your fitness level until you can get to your regular routine.

Here are some fitness “snacks” you can easily fit into your day.

• Take a 30-minute power walk instead of standing around waiting for your kid’s hockey game to start. When the game does start, stand instead of sitting and balance on one leg during every time out.

• While preparing dinner, do squats, chair dips or crunches for as long as it takes for your water to boil or for something to heat in the oven.

• Do crunches, chair dips or abdominal planks during commercials when watching TV.

• Contract your abdominal muscles for sets of 30 seconds at a time while you are stuck in traffic. (Don’t hold your breath!)

• Switch your office chair for an exercise ball and do crunches throughout the day.

• If an errand like mailing a letter or using an ATM requires less than 10 minutes of driving, run or walk to get it done.

• Criss-cross the grocery store from end to end as many times as you can while you place food items in your shopping basket.

Pairing a Blaster and a Tabata would give you an intense workout in 9 minutes. Add in 2 or 3 fitness snacks and your “super busy, no exercise” day doesn’t look so bad after all! As with any fitness program, check with your doctor to make sure that the methods described are appropriate for you … and then get creative in figuring out how you can stay fit during your most busy days.