The #1 excuse for why people don’t exercise is that they don’t have time. But to me, that’s an excuse that makes me roll my eyes. HO HUM! Excuses never get you anywhere, they just roll your eyes. You know you need to exercise and you may want to exercise more, but some days it’s hard to fit in a full hour of exercise. But the good news is that even doing small, quick, high-intensity workouts or workouts will keep you motivated, keep your metabolism going, and keep you focused on a fitness lifestyle.

Some of the BEST moves you can do are short bursts that get you into an anaerobic state. Training anaerobically is when your muscles switch to using the fast-twitch portion of the muscle fiber, which draws on glycogen stores to fuel exercise. This is a short-term exercise, one that your body can’t handle at this rate of intensity for very long. Think back to when you had to run track in PE class or even for sports season. When told to run 2 times around the track, you jog and speed up your run at the end. Primarily, that run was aerobic, using the endurance portion of your muscle fiber, the slow-twitch fiber. But when you were marked to run the 100 meter race, you did everything as fast as you could! Because the finish line was RIGHT THERE! You knew it would end as soon as possible! That’s anaerobic when you push as fast and hard as you can, tapping into your fast-twitch muscle fibers.

slow muscle contraction fiber training is when you train primarily for endurance. Lift light weight for many many repetitions. Or stay in the aerobic zone. When you primarily train this muscle group, you create a flat, lean, strong muscle. Think about the body type of a marathon runner.

fast muscle contraction Fiber training is when you train primarily for power and strength. Lift a lot of weight, slowly and with few repetitions. Or training bursts in the anaerobic phase. When you primarily train this muscle group, you build a thicker, stronger and more powerful muscle belly. Think of the body of a sprinter at the Olympics.

Muscle burns fat. So if you work hard training both fibers, you will better balance your body. Building more muscle will allow you to burn more calories at rest.

So let’s go back to not having time to exercise. Fit in short and fast anaerobic bursts! You can spread this out throughout the day, or just pick 15 minutes at a time and PUSH!

Here are some examples of some exercises:

  1. jumping jacks- vary the tempo, look for the time, look for the speed, look for the depth.
  2. squat jumps– Pick up your abs, power your legs and win time!
  3. High knee sprints– Go for the time! Run your arms as fast as you can to your side. Alternate with fast football feet, wide knee runs, mud runs
  4. suicides– touch the ground as fast as you can from side to side
  5. skater jumps – vary the speed, vary the amount of side to side (singles, doubles, 4 steps, etc.) jumping on an object.

You don’t need equipment, a gym, or even a trainer to work out. You can drop down and do some push-ups! Put on something to keep your body revved up!