Always wanting to take the easy way out… It’s called hard work!

Burpees.

If you can get away with it, do 20 burpees every hour on the hour during the workday.

Anonymous wrote:I need to exercise more. I’m pretty sedentary now and don’t have much extra time in my day. What’s your fastest most effective workout that you like do to regularly?

Ideally it would be something I could do at home/near home with or without a video. I’m going to try getting up a little earlier in the morning to get it done before my day gets away from me.

Thanks!

The biggest question here is what is your goal? Building muscle? Losing weight? Getting cardio fitness?

I'm going to 2nd the 7-minute workout. Do it 3 times. You've got a great workout in 20 minutes. Or the 100 workout
100 jumping jacks
90 crunches (or replacement of a 90 second plank or something, I'm not a fan of crunches)
80 squats
70 leglifts
60 Jumping jacks
50 crunches (see above)
40 squats
30 leglifts
20 jumping jacks
10 minute run.

That'll be 15-20 minutes depending upon how fast you can get through the calisthenics. No arm things, but maybe add some pushups.

I've had good results with my 20-25 minute strength training workout. I do something similar to this, except that I do 4 rounds of 5 reps and swap out the lunges for an abs exercise. At least 3x week. But same basic idea of picking out just 5 moves that give you a high rate of return for your effort and do them consistently.

https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/absolute-minimalists-strength-workout/

OP — Thanks for the quick responses! I’m not in great shape, but I could do a burpee without collapsing.

Time really feels like the issue. If I could say: I only have to get up 10-20 minutes earlier, I think I could do it. At least as a start…

Biggest bang for your time buck? HIIT/tabata. But you have to be honest with yourself about dialing up the intensity during the all-out phases. If you coast, the results will take a long longer to show.

Go to bed earlier, wake up earlier and exercise then. If you are sedentary, walking is a good place to start.

Walking is the best exercise for what you're describing. It feels so good to get out there in the sun and fresh air - so invigorating!

It's easy to ramp up or ramp down by adding hills and steps, or just walking on a flat terrain. It also doesn't require any equipment except for sneakers which you likely already own.

I love BodyPump classes. You can do them at home with Les Mill on demand.

You do not have to buy the weight set. You will need barbells though. I'd start with light, medium and a heavier set. I'd also add a mat.

https://www.lesmills.com/us/ondemand/

Is time REALLY your biggest limitation? Like really really? Because if it’s actually motivation/interest I would recommend something other than running. But if you’re highly disciplined and it’s really just time, well, the answer is running.

I do stair climbing but I go to the gym for it. But I used to do it on my lunch break in my work building.

Go outside and run as fast as you can for 5 minutes. Repeat 5 times or as many as you have time for.

How fit are you and how hard are you willing to work? Occasionally I get inspired to do 100 burpees, which takes me between 11-15 minutes, depending on how fit I am and how motivated I work. It's an incredibly good workout, but it's so hard that I rarely actually do it. (Really fit people can do 100 in 5 minutes or so.)

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/100-Burpee-Challenge-42535576

Google 7 minute workouts

I need to exercise more. I’m pretty sedentary now and don’t have much extra time in my day. What’s your fastest most effective workout that you like do to regularly?

Ideally it would be something I could do at home/near home with or without a video. I’m going to try getting up a little earlier in the morning to get it done before my day gets away from me.

Thanks!