No More Excuses - A 13 Minute Work Out

Everyone has a busy schedule, and the most common excuse for not exercising is, “I don’t have enough time.”

Well, that isn’t an excuse anymore.

You do have time. How about when you’re watching TV? Or when you’re taking a quick break from the computer? Or when you wake up?

We plan, we schedule, we work, we cook, we do chores, we care for family and friends, but when do we have time to spend on ourselves?

I’m not asking for you to spend hours each day or any given day, but exercise, especially regular exercise, can and will change your life.

You can take a few minutes each day to tone and tighten your muscles.

To help you do that, below I’m highlighting 13 exercises you can do in one minute. You can do these all at one time, with rest in between, or you can spread them out through out the day.

What’s great about these is that you know most of them, and they are very effective:

1. Lunges – A great exercise to tighten your upper legs and butt. It’s one of my favorites.

2. Squats – Another exercise for your butt and upper legs. If you do a minute of these or a few minutes, you’ll feel it.

3. Push-ups – Great for the upper body; chest, arms, and shoulders

4. Jumping Jacks – Good aerobic exercise, works your legs, arms, and lungs

5. Toe Touches – In this case, I’m not talking about how many you can do in a minute, but holding the touch for 20 seconds each. You can do three of these in one minute, and the stretch will feel so good.

6. Side Kicks – To start, hold on to the back of a chair and pretend you’re kicking a target waist high on your left or right. Then, side kick and knock the bloody thing over.

7. Sit-ups – An oldie but a goodie

8. Bicycles – Taking sit-ups to the next level, you can pretend to ride your bike while working your abs

9. Squat Thrusts – Do you remember doing these in school? They work!

10. Running in Place – An excellent aerobic exercise that will get your heart moving.

11. High knee raises – Instead of just running in place, raise those knees up a little higher

12. Hamstring Stretch – Sit on the floor, with your legs straight in front of you, and try to touch our toes with your fingers while keeping your legs straight. Hold it for 20 seconds.

13. Rest and Breathe – Rest, breathe deeply, and empty your mind.

It may take time to build your endurance, but because they are each in one minute sequential segments, they will help to improve your body and mind.

Since the longest journey starts with the first few steps, who knows, maybe after you complete this 13 exercise program each day will encourage and inspire you to do another 13 minute set, and another. Is this something you can do?

Soon, you could be training for a marathon, because

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

© Iowa Avenue

Photo courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik