20 Minutes of Cardio in Two Easy Steps

The reason that most people don't workout is because they think there isn't enough time during the day. Their excuse is "I can't go the the gym after work for an hour everyday..." To get an effective workout, you don't need to spend hours a day in the gym hopping from bike to treadmill to elliptical. 20 minutes of moderate to intensecardio a day is all that is recommended to help maintain health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

20 minutes of daily exercise can be broken into two 10-minute bouts throughout the day. The first one can be done after you wake up in the morning. If you normally wake up at 7am, set your alarm to go off 15 minutes earlier, and you can get your first part of the workout done before work. If you have a stationary bike of treadmill, take 1-2 minutes to warm up, and then for the next 10 minutes, continue at your desired intensity. Preferably in your target heart rate zone. Don't have a treadmill or bike? Walk up and down your stairs for 10 minutes. Don't have stairs in your house you say? You can take a brisk walk around the block, or jump rope for the 10 minutes. Not only will you have half of your workout for the day completed, you will also feel more energized as you take on the work day.

The next half of your workout can be done upon returning home from work. I know most people are exhausted after 8-10 hours of work a day, and the last thing they want to think about is working out, but it's only 10 minutes of running or biking. You want to take care of this right away, because then you might become too comfortable on the couch or at your computer. So do a quick, good 10 minutes of sweating, and you are done for the day. That's it, that's a workout. It's barely invasive to your normal schedule and the results will last you a lifetime.

A third option is if you don't want to exercise in the morning, which is understandable because many people can't think straight let alone run for 10 minutes at 7am, is use your lunch break. You can take an extra 10 minutes for lunch and before you eat, take a walk around the building or up and down 5-10 flights of stairs. When you drive to work, take the furthest parking spot and walking to and from your car each day provides benefits as well.

Make your workout enjoyable and fresh each day. You can out on your favorite radio station or television show when you are working out. Have the family join you on your walk or bike ride. The key is the make sure you keep it interesting. If you do bike in the morning, run in the afternoon. If you jump rope at lunch, take a walk with your wife after dinner. You don't want to get bored with the same thing every day.

There is no excuse for you to not get in a workout. Now get out there and stay healthy.