We all have heard the benefits of strength training. That strength training wards off brittle bones, promotes growth of muscle, increases metabolism, and lays the foundation for sport-specific training and other training modalities. We know this, yet we all struggle to find the time each day to invest in our strength, wellness and self care routines. I am frequently questioned by friends and colleagues about how I find time to exercise each day. With a full time job and a wife and four children, it is very easy to skip workouts. But I exercise every day – with a few sick-day and travel day exceptions. Even with extensive global traveling I maintain my daily workout blocks (more on that in an upcoming blog post)! Even if it is just five minutes, I know that something is always better than nothing, so I do it. This consistency allows great results without having to exercise as long.

You can accomplish this by setting a consistent block for exercise and be time efficient. This can easily be accomplished through a minimalistic approach by embracing Kettlebell and bodyweight exercises. Portable modalities allow you to opt-out of inconvenient gym trips so you can exercise anywhere.

One of the important principles is to shift your mindset from driving to and from a gym to exercise to a mindset where you move throughout the day as a way of living so that it becomes part of your lifestyle.

As an example, here is a typical workday for me; most days, I will hit multiple blocks of training:

• Wake up to 5-min stretching and mobility routine (see example video from Calisthenic Movement below)
• Bike 4 miles to work
• Run or walk 30-min during lunch break
• Bike 4 miles home
• After dinner, swim 30-min and strength train for 15 min afterwards

This is a more human approach to exercise where you stop relying on following a strict regimen and instead work on total body movements throughout each day.

Here are a few examples of exercises I rotate through each day:

Option 1

• 5R/5L KB 1-arm swings
• 3/side heavy KB strict press
• 5/side heavy 1-leg KB RDL
• 5 Toes-to-Bar

Repeat as many rounds as possible in 10 min

Option 2

• 5 Ring pull-ups
• 5 Ring dips
• 5 KB Goblet Squats
• 5R/5L KB 1-arm Snatch

Repeat as many rounds as possible in 10 min

Option 3

• 5 KB Clean and Press
• 5 Push-ups
• 5 KB Sumo Deadlifts
• 5 Ring Rows

Repeat as many rounds as possible in 10 min

The principles of this approach are simple and allow busy people to get an effective training dose despite busy work and life commitments. It is better to move a little bit throughout the day than to get it all in one clump and spend the rest of the day in a sedentary slump. The optimal lifestyle would be doing this intermittent strength program along with active daily habits like taking the stairs, parking at the furthest spot, and biking to work. After you see the results of these short habitual patterns, you’ll start to see the world and movement differently.

The reality is we all have time to work out. We just need to start looking at our workouts a different way.