How to get fit in just 7 minutes!

As a study finds half of women do NO regular exercise at all ...

We ALL know the feeling; you want to exer - cise, yet the idea of squeezing in a trip to the gym, or even going out for a run, feels all but impossible.

For so many women, exercise is something we know we ought to do but is always put to the bottom of the list when you have a job, home and often childcare to juggle.

So it was no surprise to me to hear that a study has revealed that 47 percent of women in the UK — almost half of us! — say they don ’t do any kind of regular exercise at all.

During lockdown, I posted a series of seven-minute exercise videos on YouTube all designed to be super easy and aimed at women of any age, shape, size and fitness level. To my delight, those videos went viral and got more than two million views — overtaking even Joe Wicks!

But that was when we were stuck at home with time on our hands. My worry is that now life is back to normal, exercise may have taken a back seat in so many women’s lives.

One problem is the official government recommendations. When you’re juggling the demands of work and family, the thought of 150 minutes of activity a week (30 minutes, five times a week) can seem ridicu- -lous. OK, so 75 minutes a week meets official health targets if you exercise ‘vigorously’ — but that sounds like a world of pain and sweat. Besides, it ’s quite clear that this kind of official advice has fallen on deaf ears.

In my 25 years as a fitness trainer , I’ve learned one thing , and that is women hate doing burpees — where you jump in the air , go down into a press-up and back up again; we’ll avoid high-impact exercise if we can and we’re not too happy about the idea of lifting weights, either.

For many, gyms can be very off - putting. Seeing physical perfection and bulging muscles can be extremely intimidating if you ’re a little overweight, you ’re not up to date with the latest trends in active wear, or don ’t know where the ‘on ’ switch is on the elliptical trainer .

And frankly, that’s most women!

AS FOR working out at home, all too often those ‘beginner’ online videos assume a level of knowledge or body awareness that many

people — particularly those who have never exercised — don’t have.

Take the ‘plank’, for instance. It may appear straightforward, sup - porting yourself on your hands and toes on the floor while keeping your body in a straight line.

But it is difficult to get right, and until you’re strong enough to hold the line, it can put pressure on your lower back . It ’s not even a good way to work your stomach muscles — standing exercises are much more effective.

I believe the key to getting eve - ryone moving is finding ways to build activity into your life.

That means upping your daily step count and getting into the habit of running through a few short routines.

At 51, this is how I’ve kept strong and healthy as I’ve got older. The most effective exer - cises are ‘composite’ ones, which work lots of different muscles at the same time.

I have discovered that seven minutes is the perfect amount of time to exercise (five minutes just seems too short, and ten minutes can feel arduous). I always say

that everyone can find seven minutes a day in their life, and it ’s enough time to get results.

If you do the right exercises in that time, you really can boost your fitness, build strength, lift your mood and even lose weight.

Take my single favourite exer - cise of all — standing leg kicks ( see above). It helps build strength in your arm and leg muscles, works your abdominals and

your buttocks, hones your balance and raises your heart rate to boost fitness and burn calories.

You can do it anywhere, any time, with no need for special equipment or unforgiving Lycra. It may look simple, but it is pow -

erfully effective. The key is exercising without even knowing you’re doing it. My motto is keep

it simple and keep it doable — just as long as you do something! We have to invest in our health — that has to come first.

I’ve had emails from people who started exercising only in their late 70s after finding my workouts,

and say they are feeling better than they have done in years. The minute you start moving your body, you ’ll feel better — and everyone’s got a spare seven minutes at some point in their day.

Here are two of my favourite workouts — one you can do sitting at your desk or in front of the TV, and another which will give you an all-body workout and raise your metabolic rate in just seven minutes.

Warm up before you start by marching on the spot for 30 seconds, then work through the exercises in order . Keep

going with each one for a full

minute, then stretch your muscles when you have finished.

For more information and to access free fitness videos, type Lucy Wyndhamread into youTube.