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If being fit and trim is a high priority for you, but you don’t have the time or just don’t
want to go to a gym to work out, here’s some good news: you can get fit and trim
without joining a gym or without practicing Taebo three hours a day. Recent studies show
you can have a short but effective exercise plan that fits into even the busiest of days.
More Frequent but Shorter Workouts More Feasible
One study compared several short sessions of brisk walking to one longer session, examining
their effect on improving cardiorespiratory fitness and promoting weight loss in large
women. One group was told to walk briskly for three separate 10 to 15 minute sessions each
day, and the other group was told to walk continuously for 30 to 45 minutes a day. After
five months, both groups lost weight and both groups improved their fitness level. However,
the women in the “short session” group continued to walk after the study was over because
they found that shorter, more frequent workouts were more feasible than one longer one.
The key finding is: Women were able to lose weight and become fit with two to three
separate, short bouts of brisk walking. Thus, on days when you just can’t carve out
30 minutes for a workout, maybe you could find 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the
evening for a brisk walk/jog around the park. Pretty simple—and it’s just as effective as
a half-hour workout all at one time.
“Lifestyle” Activities Just as Good
Another study found that “lifestyle” activities, such as gardening or vigorous housework,
were just as good at improving fitness levels in “couch potato” folks as working out at
the gym. The men and women in this study were assigned to one of two six-month programs, a
traditional “structured exercise” program or a “lifestyle activity” program. The people in
the structured exercise program exercised at a fitness club four to five times per week,
and the people in the “lifestyle” group added various lifestyle activities to their daily
schedule. These activities included gardening, parking their car further from their
destination and walking, hand-delivering memos at work instead of using email, or any
physical activity that was convenient for them, as long as they accumulated 30
minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity four to five days per week.
After six months, both groups lost weight and improved their fitness level, but the
structured group increased their fitness level more than the people in the lifestyle group
did. However, after two years the researchers went back to see if either group had
maintained their improved fitness level and found that most of the people in the
structured group had stopped exercising whereas people in the lifestyle group continued to
be active and had maintained their fitness level. Their conclusions? In the long run,
lifestyle activities may be easier to fit into a busy schedule and, for some people, may
be less intimidating than going to a gym to work out.
The next time you hear yourself saying, “I don’t have time to exercise,” think again.
Chances are you could fit in a 15 minute brisk walk twice a day or, if you can’t get out
to do something fun, make your work day a play day by adding short bouts of physical
activity wherever you can.
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