Micro-Workouts for Busy People

So it’s a new year, fresh start, and time to make healthy changes, right?! I think most would agree that exercising and optimal nutrition are on the list of 2022 resolutions.

We all want to see growth, improvement, results, and overall feel healthier, happier, and higher quality of life.

As we all know, exercise, workouts, and daily movement play a role in this goal.

This all sounds great as we plan out the new year, but how does this actually pan out on a daily basis when we are busy, stressed, sleep-deprived, and have a full plate of obligations?!

For me, the answer to this question has always been micro-workouts! These short movement sessions are just that…short, lasting from 30 sec to 5 min, filled with functional movement (keep it simple at first…push-ups, squats, planks, or even just walking..), vary in intensity, and flexible (as in not burdensome, no pressure, I can do this anywhere kind of exercise).

So a question might immediately come up on your mind saying..so can this replace my workout each day?! And the answer is yes..and no..it all depends.

These micro-workouts can be an addition to your normal training sessions, a substitution when short on time, a consistent way of exercising, and/or just a first step to moving more from the couch! So you are probably saying yea yea..so what are the actual, practical steps to implementing this on a daily basis? So here you go. These are the steps to completing micro-workouts:

Observe

Take a look at your daily schedule over the course of a week, and highlight small increments of time (1 min to 5 min) where you have no obligations.

Choose

Think through movements or exercises that you feel comfortable and confident doing. The goal is functionality. So you want the movement (again think squats, pushups, planks, lunges, sit-ups, walking) to feel natural and also that you can do it anywhere (outside, in the office, on vacation).

Start

Start performing the pre-decided exercise at least once per day in the highlighted time block. Then, maybe it’s the next day or next week or next month, start completing the exercise in 2 block times. Continue this process until you consistently do this throughout each day.

Once you have this scheduled micro-session routine down and it’s a habit, start to incorporate other exercises into these time slots.

Before you know it, you have a variety of exercises at different times daily, and you start feeling more energized, mental clarity, stronger, and more productive on a routine basis.

So give this micro-workout process a try and let me know how it goes! As you follow this plan step by step, questions will come up! Let me know any questions, and I will create follow up posts with thorough answers!

2022 is your year, so start moving today!