Get Fit During Lunch

With all the obligations you have in your day to day life, you may think that it is next to impossible to find the time to get a decent workout in. You get up and get into work early, work through the day and get home late in the day. Add in the fact that there are a number of chores and errands to still be completed when you get home and it is easy to see how finding the time to workout can be hard.

For many people the lunch hour is a golden opportunity to get in shape without taking any additional time out of your day. You can significantly improve your health and general conditioning level with about 30 minutes of exercise three times a week.

Studies have shown that three workout sessions a week can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and weight while also preserving bone density while one weight training sessions a week is enough to strengthen your muscles. If you use your time efficiently, you can get a great workout in and still have time to get changed and have a good lunch.

The following tips will help you have a more effective lunch workout:

Raise Your Intensity
When you have limited time, work out at a higher intensity to burn more calories in less time. For example, if you typically walk on the treadmill at 3.5 miles per hour for 30 minutes, try raising the speed to 4.0 miles per hour and add a 3 percent grade to boost your calorie burn significantly.

Select Compound Exercises
By selecting exercises that use many different muscle groups at the same time, you will significantly increase the number of calories burned and overall effectiveness of your workout. You will also shape up those muscles in much less time. Some examples of compound versus isolation exercises:

· Pushups over Flyes
· Body Weight Squats or Lunges over Machine Leg Extensions
· Shoulder Press over Lateral Raises
· Pullups or Lat Pulldown over Bicep Curl

Use Circuits to Train Your Entire Body
Circuits are an excellent way to increase the overall intensity of your workout by doing more work in less time. By decreasing the amount of rest between sets, you will not only finish your workout quicker, but you will also simultaneously train your muscular and cardiovascular systems. In addition you will burn far more calories that a normal workout with regular rest intervals.

Use Higher Exercise Intensity
If circuits do not sound like your style then you could try using heavier weights to get a greater training effect. If you normally bench press 135 pounds for 15 reps, try using 155 pounds for 10 reps. By using heavier weight you increase the intensity of the exercise.

Walk, Walk, Walk
If you don’t have access to a gym, you can still get a decent workout in by getting in a quick walk. Walking is probably the most basic workout you can do and can help you burn a decent amount of calories when workout options are low. 30 minutes of walking can burn anywhere between 100-250 calories, depending on your size and overall pace. Throw in a few hills and you have a pretty good overall workout that involves no gym or any other kind of equipment. Something is better than nothing.

Break Up Your Workouts
Who says you have to do your entire workout at one time? At the beginning of your lunch hour, hit the gym for 30 minutes and then try for 10-20 minutes of walking/running either early or late in the day. You'll burn just as many calories, and studies suggest you'll get about the same benefits you would if you did all your working out at once.

By following these simple steps you will discover that getting into great shape does not have to consume hours of your day.