Exercise, Keep it Short and Sweat

For more than 20 years I believed that when working out in the gym more was better. I still see people in the gym for hours believing that this is what is needed to achieve results.

The problems with this approach seem obvious to me. First of all if you think that each time you exercise it needs to be this long drawn out event than it is inevitable that your workouts will be less frequent. Because how many of us will have that kind of time each day to spend in the gym? So you will find yourself working out less often because of time constraints. You will also find yourself working out less often because you don’t feel up to it. If you think that each time you walk in the gym you need to be there 2 hours and have the best workout ever you will refuse to go when you don’t feel perfect, and how many of us feel perfect everyday? Most people can get motivated for a few weeks and workout 5 days a week 2 hours a day, but this kind of schedule is not maintainable, and you will burn out quickly.

The key is consistency and frequency. That means that you will exercise 5 days a week religiously, but these workouts will only be 30 to 40 minutes max. What will this accomplish? First, you will be able to find the time because your workouts will be short. Also, when you don’t feel 100% you can still find the energy for only 30 minutes. You will be amazed how much better you feel if you practice this approach. On days I feel no energy and don’t want to exercise I go and get a little blood pumping for 30 minutes and I always feel so much better afterwards.

Just do a little exercise 30 minutes 5 times a week, for the rest of your life. The results will amaze you.