I have appointments
the whole day. I might injure myself. I have more important chores to
take care of.
These are but a few of the reasons we give whenever the idea of
exercising comes up in conversation.
Unfortunately, very few women see
the real benefits that they can get from exercise – it gives
them more
energy to accomplish more things and it keeps their organs functioning
at their peak.
The good news is that there
are workouts that even the
busiest women can do! Below are some suggestions:
1) Not all
types of cardio are structured routines.
If you really need
to pass on your morning or afternoon workout schedule, make up for it
by walking several blocks to a
restaurant on your lunch hour or taking
the stairs instead of the elevator.
If you do these "alternatives"
regularly, you'll find that they could add up to
about three hours of
cardio each week.
2) Before
going to work, do an imaginary
jump-rope routine in the
comforts of your own bedroom.
Turn on your favorite music or watch the
morning show while twirling your wrists as if they're grasping a real
jumping rope. You can work up a sweat just by
doing 10-15 minutes of
this.
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3) Make use of
a good ol' exercise relic from the Flashdance era – a
mini-trampoline!
Yep, this
inexpensive contraption can substitute for a
high-energy aerobic exercise without the risk of knee injury. Also
called a "rebounder," it can
easily be stored under your bed or in a
closet when not in use.
4) March in
place while watching TV, but make sure you do it continuously from one commercial
segment to another (normally, that
would take about 15 minutes).
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To keep from getting bored, alternate two
minutes of marching with thirty seconds of skipping. As you become more
fit, you can lengthen the skipping intervals.
5) Do your
treadmills or elliptical trainers while watching your
favorite DVD movies or listening to an audio book.
6) If you're a
frequent flier and flight schedules often get in the way
of your exercise routine, make the
airport your personal gym (don't be
too embarrassed; people come and go at the airport and the staff would
hardly remember that you're the exercise freak).
If you have some time
before your flight or if it has been delayed, do some power-walking
with your backpack and walk the length of the airport several
times.
You can even do some squats, lunges, and wall push-ups if you like.
7) Combine your cardio
workout with something you love to do. If you're
nuts about dancing, then take a ballroom dancing, hip-hop, or flamenco
class.
8) Set power workouts instead of power lunches.
Instead of meeting your
friends over coffee and sandwiches, set an exercise date such as a
brisk group stroll. In the winter, you can all go skating or sledding
while you catch up on each other's lives.
Now you’ve got some
exercise options to experiment with on those busy days ‘-)
