We all know those gym-goers that bounce into the gym, bright-eyed and energetic, excited to start their workout. And then there is you: the person that wants to slap the grin off their face and the six pack off their abs.
Not everyone loves to workout, but everyone needs to workout, so I’m not going to waste my energy trying to use the benefits of exercise as motivation for you. Your body doesn’t know if you loved your workout, it just knows if you did it or not.
Lazy folks usually hate exercise for 2 reasons: the physical exertion of it all and the time it takes up. These aren’t an excuse anymore. While the definition of exercise is making your body do work, you can make the work less obvious, and that it-just-takes-too-long excuse doesn’t fly when you- get this bomb I’m about to drop on you- speed it up.
Here are 5 exercises that even the most blase about fitness can do in 30 minutes or less.
Recumbent Bike You get to sit and still do cardio- what could be better? Cardio is the bane of a lazy person’s existence, but the recumbent bike is the closest thing you can get to sitting on your butt and doing nothing. You aren’t even vertical- a position I am sure you are uncomfortable with. Sit on the bike, turn on the TV or flip through a magazine, and pedal for 20 minutes.
Next comes strength training. Sorry, but you gotta.
Bridges Again, horizontal is the indifferent exerciser’s best friend, and bridges, when combined with your bike workout, hit all the muscles in the lower body- while flat on your back. Perform 2 sets of 20 bridges. Once they get too easy, raise one foot off the ground, and perform 15-20 reps on each leg, or hold a weight on your hips for extra resistance.
Standing Core Contractions Crunches are pretty uncomfortable anyway, so get your core workout in with as little movement as humanly possible. Planks are always a good option, but even the fittest of people loathe them, so let’s find something else for you, shall we? Standing core contractions are an effective exercise that hit every muscle in the abs and core, if your focus is right.
Think of your core as being divided into 4 planes: front (abs), back (back, duh), right (obliques), and left (obliques). Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands on your hips, belly button pulled into your spine. Start with your front, contracting your abs, with the intention of bringing the top of the front plane to meet the bottom- like a standing crunch. Move to the right side and do the same, trying to bring your top obliques to meet your bottom. Repeat with your back, and then the left side. Continue this for one minute, and your whole core will be screaming, even if you do look a bit like a malfunctioning robot.
Push-Ups Push-ups are the greatest time saving upper body exercise around because they hit so many muscle groups at once. In one exercise, you hit your chest, triceps, shoulders and even your core, eliminating the need to do multiple exercises for the same results. Aim for 2 sets of 25. Regular push-ups too hard? Drop to your knees. Too easy? Pop your feet up on a sturdy chair so they are over your head. The higher your feet, the harder the push-up.
Standing Bicep Curl to Row This exercise fills in the missing upper body muscles that aren’t targeted by push-ups. Combine a standing curl with a dumbbell row to hit your biceps and back. Grab some dumbbells, heavy enough that you can do this exercise 15 times with good form, but no more. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, elbows tucked into your sides. Perform a bicep curl, return the weights to your sides, then hinge at the waist, keeping your back flat, and let your arms extend down towards the floor, where they naturally want to hang. Keeping your elbows at your sides, pull your elbows towards the ceiling, squeezing your shoulder blades to hit your back muscles. Straighten back up to standing to complete the rep.
Remember: the less you rest, the shorter your workout- and, the higher your heart rate stays so you burn more calories.
If you really just aren’t into fitness, the key is to not realize you are doing it. Distraction is key: Blast music, watch TV, talk on the phone, do a few strength training moves between chores- anything that takes your mind off the torture you are enduring workout you are rocking through.