If you have ever been stressed for time and wondered how to get the most effective use workout from the few precious minutes you have during lunch, then the Smart Fitness Blog on MSNBC Health has a few quick tips for you. In answering a question posed by a mom of three kids about maximizing her gym time during her lunch break, contributing writer Jacqueline Stenson explains that intensity is the thing to focus on.
Instead of steady cardio for the time you have in the gym, she recommends using intensity changes to vary your workout:
For the cardio portion, aim for high-intensity interval training on a treadmill or bike, for instance, at 65 percent to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate, says Anderson. Work at that pace for three to five minutes, then lower the intensity to allow yourself to recover briefly, and then go for another high-intensity burst. As your fitness level improves with time, you can try to push yourself harder. [MSNBC Health]
Of equal importance is weight/strength training (in fact i would say this is even more important than cardio). With only a few minutes for this, it’s better not to focus on the etire body at once:
When hitting the weights for only about 20 minutes, you may not have enough time to work all the major muscle groups in one day. So target a few muscle groups, such as chest, back, shoulders and abs one day, and then other groups, such as triceps, biceps and legs, on another. [MSNBC Health]
Some other topics covered in this useful Q&A includes nutrition pre- and post-workout as well as more cardio-information.
How do you maximize your gym time?
