My high school friend, Peter, is a very busy parent and attorney. And very recently, we were talking about ways that we could get more exercise. Now, I didn’t decide to go the parenthood route like he did so I can use all of the time that my kids would be demanding my attention to do things like writing this blog post and getting a minimally acceptable level of exercise.
And I can imagine up silly answer to questions like this:
How does a person who thinks he has no time to get to the gym manage to get more exercise?
Normally when I try to brainstorm these sorts of things, I end up with a list and most of the things I come up with are obvious or not too helpful. One idea was so interesting though, that I have started using it each morning. It came from a thought: what if you could use that time you are catching your breath between sets. And what if you don't like getting dressed in gym clothes to work out?
As with many of my brilliant ideas, the ones born of laziness are the most amusing and the most useful. So it was that I gave birth to a workout designed to be done at home in any clothes and also doesn't require that you shower more than once a day. This works by interleaving the preparation for your shower into your workout.
Here’s what I imagine:
- Workout Set I:
- 50 jumping jacks and 30-40 air squats
- Gather your clothes and put them in the bathroom
- Workout Set II:
- 20-30 Pushups
- Brush your teeth
- Workout Set III:
- 20-30 Chair Dips
- Shave
- Workout Set IV:
- 7-10 Pullups
- 30 steam engine
- Shower
- Final Set:
- 3 Sun Salutations
The sets can be just about anything and all you have to do is lengthen your shower routine a bit. I have tested this out for a few weeks now and, even though Liz laughs at me when she hears me doing my jumping jacks, I love that I still have time for everything else I want to do. Like writing blog posts.
Give it a try! And see if it adds nicely to what you’re already doing to keep yourself in good shape. Let me know how it works out for you on twitter @francisluong.