Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 08-10-2008, 03:12 PM   #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Loraloo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 177

S/C/G: 202/196/170

Height: 5'6"

Default Exercise Suggestions for a Busy Schedule - HELP!!!

Hi everybody,

I know it's the oldest excuse in the book to say, 'oh I didn't work out because I didn't have time' but I really do have a hard time finding the time to be active other than running. I was just wondering if any of you have some suggestions for 'at home' workouts that you do that you have found really work. Any suggestions would be helpful!!!
Thanks!
Loraloo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2008, 03:22 PM   #2  
Senior Member
 
heidelene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 120

S/C/G: 212/Ticker!/150

Height: 5'5"

Default

Even if you just do a few push-ups and crunches in the morning when you get up or right before you go to bed, it will help out a lot. Also, if I have a lot of cleaning to do or just stuff around that I need to accomplish, I put on the iPod and dance while I'm doing it. I figure being active is at least better than doing nothing.

As for specific at-home exercise stuff, there are a lot of great DVD's out there that offer 10-minute exercise routines. I've used a dance/aerobics dvd before, and it was a lot of fun and could do it right away in the morning and I did notice an improvement in my muscle tone and a slight weight loss - I did not use it as religiously as I should have, though.


Hope that helps!

Last edited by heidelene; 08-10-2008 at 03:24 PM.
heidelene is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2008, 03:34 PM   #3  
Maintaining :)
 
CountingDown's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,751

S/C/G: 215/117/120

Height: 5'4"

Default

Warning - thread crasher present. I'm hardly a 20-something, but I am a very busy person that used my schedule as an excuse for a long time. I have bought several of the 10-minute solution videos and use them several times a week. They help in 2 ways - first, they have 10 minute segments that you can use individually or together so that you really can do just 10 minute routines as often as you can fit them in. Secondly, since no time really was more of an excuse, I often said to myself - I will do AT LEAST 10 minutes and cue up one of the routines. Often, I had time to cue up one or two more and actually get a decent amount of exercise in.

Busy days - a routine or two in the morning, another couple after work, but before evening activities - and then end the day with a flexibility-stretching routine (found on almost all of their videos).
They have been a Godsend!
CountingDown is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2008, 07:53 PM   #4  
Senior Member
 
Quiet Ballerina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,007

S/C/G: 171/ticker/121

Height: 5' 1"

Default

This is from Smoothie King's website:

Anytime exercise
In the kitchen?
Do standing pushups while you wait for dinner to cook. Stand about an arm's length from the kitchen counter and push your arms against the counter. Push in and out to strengthen your arms and shoulders.

Waiting for an elevator?
Take the stairs when possible, and if stairs aren't an option work your abdominal muscles. Stand with your feet parallel and your knees relaxed. Contract the muscles around your belly button, then elevate your upper torso and release.

Watching TV?
During commercials, jog in place. A 150-pound woman can burn up to 45 calories in 5 minutes. During the show, do leg lifts with small weights.

10-minute workout
0:01 – 1:00 — Walk briskly in place to warm up your muscles.
1:01 – 3:00 — Perform as many squats as you can in two minutes.
3:01 – 4:00 — Rest for one minute.
4:01 – 6:00 — Perform as many half-squats as you can in two minutes.
6:01 – 7:00 — Rest for one minute.
7:01 – 9:00 — Perform as many lunges (both legs) as you can in two minutes.
9:01 – 10:00 — Cool down and stretch.

10-minute cardio exercise
Pick several of these and perform each for :30 – 1:00:

Jumping jacks
Jogging in place — lift your knees and pump your arms to get your heart rate up.
Plyometric lunges — begin in a basic lunge position. In an explosive movement, jump, switch legs in the air and land with bent knees back into lunge.
Ski hops — with feet together, jump from side to side, landing with knees bent. The wider you jump and the lower you squat into the jump, the harder you'll work.
Jump rope
Skipping
Step jumps — stand in front of a step or platform and jump onto it, landing with both feet (harder), or a staggered landing (easier). Step down and repeat.
Squat hops — stand with feet wide apart. Lower into a squat and hop forward 4 times, keeping feet wide, legs bent into squat. Walk back and repeat.


10-minute strength training
If you only have 10 minutes, focus on your large muscle groups to maximize your workout. Add weight and slow your reps down (i.e., 4 counts up, 4 counts down) to really challenge your muscles. Do these moves while you watch TV, before work or whenever you have the time:

Squats
Lunges
Deadlifts
Pushups
Tricep dips
Quiet Ballerina is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2008, 08:02 PM   #5  
Member
 
gmdavis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 47

Default

If you can't find time for formal exercise right now, then just look for ways in your day that you can be more active. There are some suggestions here:
http://www.easy-weightloss-tips.com/exercisetips.html
gmdavis is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:49 PM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.