You know you need to exercise. But with life going at 100 miles an hour and demands on your time coming from every direction, who has the time? Who really wants to go to the gym or work out when you get home? Let me ask you, are you up for a two minute workout?
Magazines and newspapers everywhere are picking up on research recently published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (in case you want to look it up!). If you haven’t heard about it, the research suggests that even light activity like walking two minutes every hour can offset the health hazards of too much sitting. A sedentary lifestyle is linked to many health issues, including increased rates of heart disease, diabetes, and premature death from chronic disease.
The US government’s guidelines for physical activity recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity (a fast walk, for example) per week or 75 minutes of high intensity activity (a run) per week for most Americans. The sad truth is that over 80% of Americans don’t reach this level of physical activity. And our coach potato ways are killing us!
This research suggests that getting up and walking, doing light gardening, or housecleaning for two minutes every hour reduces your risk of dying by 33%! Unfortunately, the researchers discovered that standing doesn’t seem to make a difference, so don’t bother buying a standing desk.
Anyway, I figured, why not take this one step further? Why not a two minute workout? If the vast majority can’t fit in 150 minutes per week, let’s just fit in two minutes, every hour! Over the course of the day, two minutes an hour adds up to about 32 minutes a day. Surely you can fit in a two minute workout an hour. The other advantage is that two minutes of exercise about every hour re-energizes you and gets your blood flowing. It also improves your mood and focus and reduces stress. Who knows, maybe you can inspire everyone around you at work to get up together and work out for two minutes!
Not sure what exercise qualifies? Just follow this workout and do one of these exercises for two minutes every waking hour. No sure what the exercise looks like? Just search for the name on YouTube and anyone of a dozen sites pop up with video examples.
For your lower body; do squats, lunges, and side lunges.
For your upper body, use small hand weights; do biceps curls, triceps extensions, elevated push-ups, and front and side shoulder raises.
For your whole body; do jumping jacks, frog jumps, and squat jumps.
So, there you have it, the healthy entrepreneur’s two minute workout. Don’t just sit there, get moving! And add many healthy years to your life!
See you next week.
About the Author
Tricia Braden is a Certified Wellness Coach, Personal Trainer, and Pilates instructor. You can find her teaching Pilates for both the mat and reformer at Pure Earth Pilates and Yoga in Hermitage, PA. She coaches individuals to achieve their own health and wellness goals. She’s spent thousands of hours in Pilates studios across the Midwest.
In her professional career, Tricia was a nonprofit leader and corporate executive in training and development. Tricia’s other interests include three adopted beagles and one Type A husband!
Tricia Braden – who has written 9 posts on Grow Your Future Leaders Today.