By MOVE MORE
Practice The “No-frills” “No-excuse” Anytime, Anywhere Workout
Here’s a 15-20 minute routine suitable for both beginner and advanced exercisers. You can do it anywhere; a gym with a treadmill is nice, but not necessary. A park or a city block in combination with four feet of space in a living room will do just as well. A little twiddling will let you customize it to virtually any combination of time slot and fitness level.
1)Â Â Â Run a mile
2)Â Â Â Do some squats
3)Â Â Â Do some push-ups
4)Â Â Â Do some crunches
The details: If you’re just starting, you might have to walk the mile, or “jog-walk,” and you might only be able to do a few repetitions of each of the three exercises. No problem. Do as few or as many of each as you can. But finish the circuit and you will have done a very effective mini routine.
Now, want to ratchet it up a notch or two?
Run the mile faster. See whether you can do it in ten minutes or under. Do a set of serious squats—twenty reps, maybe with dumbbells or water bottles for added resistance. Don’t rest. Go right to the push-ups. Try for fifteen. Do the crunches. Twenty-five, in perfect form.
You can stop right there or expand it even further by simply repeating the last three exercises: squats, push-ups, and crunches.
With a little imagination you can easily see how hard this workout can be (or how easy). Fitter folk can run the mile faster, do more reps in each of the three exercises, and add another “circuit” of the last few. Heck, if you’re truly a sucker for punishment, add another mile run when you’re done with your last crunch.
It’s simple, elegant and very effective.
