One of my pet peeves is when people tell me they do not have time to work out. It’s right up there with people hogging a squat rack. I work out at least a total of an hour every day and often longer. But that doesn’t mean that it is the only way to properly fit a workout in. Sometimes life does dictate how long you can spend on your fitness. As a new parent I can see how hard it is to committ an hour to working out when sleep is at a premium and your house is a disaster. Or for anyone with a full time job and a family, time is always at a premium. That does not mean that you can’t incorporate exercise and workouts into your daily life. Before I continue I do want to reiterate that in an ideal situation the plan I am going to share with you would be used to supplement 2-3 full workouts a week. What I am sharing with you is what I give me clients to do at home on off days. That being said this plan of attack will get you through the busy times until you can get back into your routine.
So here we go…
You are going to pick 5 exercises that you can do at home. Then pick a seemingly large number of repetitions. Your goal is to complete said repetitions before the end of the week. That’s it. Super simple. So for a starter let’s pick: squats, push ups, jumping jacks, planks and crunches.
The only difference is reps will be that the plank will me measured in seconds.
So here’s a break down:
300 squats
100 push ups
500 jumping jacks
5 min or 300 seconds plank
300 crunches

That might seem like a lot of repetitions, but the idea is to break them down over 7 days. There is no set way to break them down but I will give you a few ideas on how and when to fit them in.

1. Meal Times
Pick 2 exercises for before breakfast, 1 at lunch and 2 before dinner. I like a combo of jumping jacks and crunches first thing in the morning to get the metabolism going and to shake the morning cobwebs. Pushups are great at lunch because if done controlled you should not work up too much sweat at work. Planks and squats are great before dinner to really get your body ready to absorb the nutrients and use the calories from dinner. Be creative with combos. Feel free to use 3 exercises and do a quick 3 exercise set.

2. Commercial time
Everyone has something they watch on TV. Even if it is the evening news, here is a perfect opportunity to fit in some sets. Generally in a 30 minute program there are 3-4 commercial breaks. That gives you 3-4 chances to workout.

3. Workout Game
This is my favourite. For you sports fans out there, this is perfect. Whatever sport you are watching, everytime a team scores a goal, touchdown, run etc do a set of 10-20 reps. If the game is a little slow, use penalties or big hits or plays.

4. Dinner Prep
Dinner always has to be made. In between stirs or flips slip in a set of push ups or squats. Better yet hold a plank for the last minute of a timer.

So as you see it is pretty easy to fit exercise into your day. You just have to be flexible and ready to go at a moments notice. Once you get into a good rythm you will be doing sets without even thinking.

Just because I like you all here is a list of exercises you can work your way up to and add to your daily routines:
1. Jump squats
2. Reverse lunges
3. Split squats
4. Burpees
5. Clapping push ups
6. Side planks
7. Mountain climbers
8. High to low planks
9. Laying Leg Raises
10. Single Leg Hip Bridges
If you have any questions, I’m always here to help!