One Minute at a Time

More than a few times, I've had people ask me what I do for my fitness routine, or I've had folks read about my fitness regimen on BLWB, and they seem disappointed or discouraged sometimes when I say I work out 5-6 days per week for about an hour.

But I didn't always work out so much. I remember in college going s couple of weeks without hitting the gym, and there certainly wasn't any consistency in my exercise habits. I've been in that place where I felt too unmotivated, too tired, too busy to get a workout in. Once a few days slip by, it's so easy to lose the fire of all the hard work I may have put in before.

So maybe you're just getting started. Or maybe you want to start again. How do you do it?

Of course, there are countless ways to start, and of course you should consult a doctor before making major changes. But my recommendation is to focus on one minute at a time.

Maybe you haven't worked out in months or years. In that case, literally one minute at a time can benefit your health. Try one minute of walking, one minute of rest. Repeat for 5 or 10 minutes. Then try it again the next day. The same could be done with other low-impact cardio exercises that increase your heart rate without too much stress on the body--try the low impact jumping jack.

Maybe you're getting back into the swing of things after a little exercise hiatus. Try one minute jogging, one minute walking for 20 minutes. Increase your total time week by week, or consider increasing to two minutes running, one minute walking.

Maybe you already feel fit but are looking to up the challenge. Set a goal for a few new exercises you would like to try but have struggled with or shied away from in the past. In that case, challenge yourself to tackle that tough exercise for just a minute at a time. Hate burpees? Push yourself to complete as many burpees as you can in 60 seconds, then try to improve each time. Struggling to improve your flexibility? Try timing your stretches for 60-second increments. Looking to improve a yoga pose? Hold it for a minute!

The big idea is not to get discouraged. Every day should feel a little easier, and soon you'll be able to increase the challenge and improve your overall fitness. One minute at a time you can start getting fit, get back into the groove of going to the gym, or try something new.

And hey, you can do anything for one minute, right? Except watch this video, which is hilarious but seven minutes long.

What advice do you have for someone just starting? Getting back into it? Looking to increase the challenge?