Time Crunch / Best workout?

[Susan]

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).

[limewave]

Kettlebell swing.

[pll]

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.

[Veronica]

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

[Norse]

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.

[Melalvai]

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.

[tulip]

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.