Time is a commodity. No matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day. With only so much time to devote to the non-negotiable stuff (like work and sleep), and the rest being absorbed by familial obligations, finding time to exercise is wistful.
When the desire to exercise is there, but you can only sneak a short 30 minutes out of the 1,440 minutes provided every day, you may wonder – can you get fit with only 30 minutes of exercise a day?
The answer is an absolute YES. You CAN indeed get fit with just 30 minute of exercise a day and there are a variety of ways to make that happen.
Build and Tone Your Muscles
It’s not necessary to spend hours in the gym to build and tone your muscles. Weight training for 30 minutes a day, 2 to 3 times a week is enough to see results. For best results, you should aim to target all major muscle groups during each workout. This typically translates into a full body workout.
For these full body workouts or any strength training workout, your body needs a days rest in between to repair and rebuild muscle. After all, that’s how building muscles works – it tears and rebuilds.
I can definitely attest that full body weight training workout every other day produces muscle-building results. For the better part of two years, I engaged in a 4 day split weight training routine where I targeted specific muscle groups 1 day a week. I was spending a lot of time in the gym and not seeing the results I thought I should. When I switched to a 3-day full-body workout every other day, I started to see gains rather quickly.
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Add some HIIT to get Fit
Other than walking, I’m not a fan of regular or heavy duty cardio of any kind. I’ve got crunchy knees and a twice repaired hip. Running is not an option and the elliptical is boring. Stationary biking is okay and I do enjoy a rowing machine from time to time. By far my favorite exercise is weight training. So if I’m going to exercise, I might as well do what I enjoy.
That being said, I recognize that cardio is an important aspect of my overall fitness routine. Cardio strengthens your heart muscles so it pumps blood more efficiently, and it improves lung function. As an asthmatic, the latter is important to me.
To avoid spending hours in the gym to get both my strength training and cardio in, I combine some HIIT moves in with my weight training sessions.
What is HIIT, you ask? HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. In HIIT cardio exercising, the idea is to incorporate short bursts of very intense cardio activity throughout a 30 minute session. These bursts may be anywhere from 1 – 3 minutes. Some routines may specify more.
The benefits of HIIT training is that burns more calories in a short amount of time. Additional benefits include increasing your metabolic rate for hours after exercise, where your body continues to burn calories.
If any entire HIIT cardio session isn’t for you (as it isn’t for me) there are some great HIIT moves you can incorporate into your weight training routine. In between sets, toss in any one of these moves for 30 – 45 seconds.
- Side Shuffle Squat
- Jumping Jacks
- Butt Kickers
- Burpees
- Mountain Climbers
- High Knees
- Jump Rope
Walk, Walk, Walk
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans as published by the Center for Disease Control recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise per week is recommended for optimal health. Walking 30 minutes a day is easiest and most convenient way to achieve this, and the health benefits are overwhelming.
If walking is your exercise of choice, you’ll need to do more than just take a nice leisurely stroll to improve your fitness level. In order to qualify as moderate to intense exercise, you should be walking at a brisk pace for those 30 minutes.
What’s defines brisk? According to that same CDC guidance, a brisk walk is least 3.5 to 4mph. Unless you’re already familiar with what a walking pace of 3.5 to 4mph feels like from treadmill walking, it equates to 115 to 155 steps per minute. That’s a pretty good clip!
As with HIIT training previously mentioned, interval walking has greater benefits that just regularly paced walking alone. With interval walking, you alternate your walking pace with short bursts of a faster pace. By short burst, I mean 30 to 60 seconds, and by faster pace, I mean about 4.2mph or higher. Interval walking has the added benefit of supporting weight loss as it promotes fat burning.
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Conclusion
If you have a desire to exercise, but are short on time, you can get fit with just 30 minutes of exercise a day. There are a variety of options available and all can give you a great workout. The key to seeing benefits with any workout routine is consistency!