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My days are so incredibly full of stuff to do. I hardly have more than 20-30 minutes I can spend at the gym running on the treadmill, on the eliptical, weight training or on my trainer at home. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions to a good type of workout when you don't have much time? I like yoga and pilates too but have to be extremely careful about putting pressure on my neck due to crazy migraine issues lately.
womens health daily recently had some short sharp workouts that were mostly based on your own body weight and minimal equipment that were about half an hour long. Some of them looked very interesting. They had one which was 5 exercise (of which I can only remember squats, pushups and jump lunges.
check out their web site.
marni
I am not the type of person that can do an exercise routine on my own, I need someone/something to follow. Therefore I actually have done the Jillian Michael's DVD's when I'm pressed for time. The one I have has 20-30 minute workouts. I haven't done them in a while since I now try to bike for 30 minutes every day, but I remember they were very effective.
HIIT. I have done hill sprints in the past for 20 minutes (but I happen to live on a fantastic hill for this). For me that just really means running up the hill at a normal flatland pace and then cooling off with a walk down to the bottom, then up I go again.
Intervals of any kind. Hill walking, running/walking/or intervals on the bike. Even if I do just 20-30 minutes, those things will maintain my weight/fitness.
You can get a really good workout in 30 minutes by doing some sort of interval training.
I like the Bodyrock/Zuzana workouts on youtube - they are free, easy to follow and quite hard. (For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTZ5Voqp7Ys)
You could also do weight training if you already have a gym membership. I like the exercise instructions and workout ideas on stumptuous.com (http://www.stumptuous.com/category/t.../workout_ideas).
Kettlebell swing.
If you only have 30 minutes, I would vote for running outside, not on a treadmill. The fresh air and open space does wonders for your mind, especially if your schedule is hectic.
The "best" workout depends on what you are trying to accomplish:
cardio fitness
weight loss
core strength
muscle strength/endurance
power
So you could get at least 5 different answers. :)
Veronica
Spinervals does have a "Time Saver" video that has 3 different workouts all around 1/2 hour each. Sometimes when I only have 10-15 minutes I will do a combo of yoga and strength conditioning.
Depending on your situation, incorporating active transportation into your life can be extremely efficient. When I started biking it took me 15 min to drive, park, and walk to my office. It took me 20 min to bike. Round trip is 30 vs. 40 min-- only 10 minutes of my day and I get a 40 min workout.
If you live too far, replace part (not all) of your commute with biking, leave your car at a church or business (ask permission).
Or drive to work, leave the car at home and bike home, bike to work the next day, drive home with the bike.
Or if you have other constraints, people get really creative to make it work.
You can get a surprising amount of exercise by always taking the stairs-- even to the 7th floor, parking in the farthest corner, using a bathroom that is further away or on another floor.
As others have mentioned it depends on your goals. All of my solutions work if your goal is to be healthy, they don't provide for specific training to make you faster.
I second Melavai's suggestion to try to work in active transportation into your day any way you can.
There are some great suggestions here; I am looking forward to incorporating more movement into my day.
I agree with V. it depends what your goal is.
When I am super-crunched, I do kettlebell swings. It's aerobic and strength training. Total workout, 5 minutes or less.
If I have a full 30 minutes and I want it on the bike or run, intervals will give you the greatest benefit in the shortest amount of time.
Historically I do commute everywhere but recently I have been super sick. Likely stemming from a nasty sinus infection that I am after several weeks I'm just starting to fully kick. I am a bit apprehensive to ride in the cold right now til I feel 100% normal. This was why I was wanting to do indoor workouts for a while. With the load of work I have right now I cannot risk getting sick. I have been doing some intervals on my trainer. My main goal is not to lose the fitness I already have.