In this busy day and age, time is precious, and deciding how you are going to spend the small amount of free time you do have is an everlasting battle. Boot camp or sleep in? Gym or work drinks? It can be difficult to manage how to fit it all in.
However, there is one slice of largely underutilised time most of us do have, and that's your lunch break.
Better yet? According to David McIlwaine, Managing Director of Fit4Dreams and Mums Squad, that's more than enough time to start pursuing some serious fitness goals.
"The key to lunchtime workouts is to keep them interesting and fun, with lots of variety and without the use of much gear, because nobody wants to be lugging gear into town," he tells HuffPost Australia.
"Even though, at around 35 minutes, they are quite short, the most important thing is to be patient and consistent. The more consistent you are, the less patient you will have to be."
In terms of motivation, McIlwaine recommends having an outside goal to work towards, such as a Tough Mudder race or a fun run such as the upcoming City2Surf.
"Have a goal outside yourselves," he says. "What you don't want to be thinking is, 'Oh my God I look fat, I feel uncomfortable, nothing fits'... have a goal instead. It helps you to start doing things rather than thinking things and judging yourself."
Not sure how to do a particular exercise? There are heaps of explanatory videos, like this one, available on YouTube.
To get you going, McIlwaine has provided HuffPost Australia with three workouts he has devised not only to fit into your lunch break, but to give you results you will be able to see and measure.
"The only thing is you have to do these workouts consistently, like three times a week, for six weeks," he says. "If you're really unfit, you can halve the numbers [of reps], but you need to be consistent and strict about it. Then keep going, and alter as you go."
So here they are: three FREE workouts you can do in well under 60 minutes...
What's your excuse?
Workout #1 - 21s
David says: "This is simple workout with five exercises. You repeat them and try to beat your time for the whole workout. So you build to a higher level of intensity training each time you do it and drive both your cardio and strength."
You'll need: Mat / towel.
Warm up:
Light jog, 10 x hip flexor walking lunges, 10 x bodyweight squats, 5 x walkout to push up, 10 x alternating toe taps.
The workout:
Complete the workout without any major breaks but take small water breaks as and when you need them. Time yourself to see how long it takes you.
- 21 x push ups
- 21 x walking lunges (each leg)
- 21 x sit ups
- 21 x squat
- 21 x mountain climber (each leg)
- 18 x push ups
- 18 x walking lunges (each leg)
- 18 x sit ups
- 18 x squat
- 18 x mountain climber (each leg)
- Then 15 / 12 / 9 / 6 / 3 of each of the exercises.
Cool down and stretch: To burn even more calories, add in a run after each set. Or if you're short of time, simply drop one of the exercises. Complete the workout two or three times a week and see if you can beat your time!
Workout #2 - Countdown circuit
David says: "You'll need plenty of stamina for this workout but you'll feel fantastic when you're done. Grab a partner to train with and you can encourage each other through the tough parts."
You'll need:
- Mat/Towel
- Skipping rope
- Bench or low wall
- Water
Warm Up: Light jog, 10 x hip flexor walking lunges, 10 x bodyweight squats, 5 x walkout to push up, 10 x alternating toe taps.
The workout:
- 100 x skips
- 90 x step ups (45 each leg)
- 80 x crunches
- 70 x squats
- 60 x mountain climbers
- 50 x push ups
- 40 x tricep dips
- 30 x jumping jacks
- 20 x reverse lunges
- 10 x burpees
Don't forget to cool down and stretch.
Workout #3 - Pyramids
David says: "Burn calories in this cardio builder that still works your whole body. It balances increasing intervals of work with increasing periods of recovery... so your fitness will improve."
You'll need:
- Stop watch or timer
- Mat/towel
- Plenty of water
Warm Up: Light jog, 10 x hip flexor walking lunges, 10 x bodyweight squats, 5 x walkout to push up, 10 x alternating toe taps.
The workout:
Interval 1:
- 5 x push ups
- 5 x squats
- 5 x jumping jacks
- 5 x mountain climbers (each leg)
- Fast run for 30 seconds
- Recover for 30 seconds (be accurate with this, it's important).
Interval 2:
- 10 x push ups
- 10 x squats
- 10 x jumping jacks
- 10 x mountain climbers (each leg)
- Fast run for one minute
- Recover for 45 seconds.
Interval 3:
- 15 x push ups
- 15 x squats
- 15 x jumping jacks
- 15 x mountain climbers (each leg) -
- Fast run for 2 minutes
- Recover for one minute.
Interval 4
- 20 x push ups
- 20 x squats
- 20 x jumping jacks -
- 20 x mountain climbers (each leg)
- Fast run for three minutes (you're looking to cover around 700m here)
- Recover for 2 minutes
After Interval 4, you've reached the top of your pyramid. Now you have to repeat everything on the way down, from Interval 4 and finishing with Interval 1. This workout should take you around 35 minutes.
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