While I agree with the above -- if this is all you do, you're not likely to get fit -- if you're merely trying to augment an existing (perhaps less than stellar) routine, it offers helpful hints.

After years of nearly constant exercising, the combination of daddyhood, new job and being 40 has caused my exercise opportunities to decline and my weight to climb.

So now, at work, we (several of us) carry weighted medicine balls (the soft-rubber ones, 5-10lbs); whenever you leave your office, you must carry your ball. What happens is, you end up standing in the hall and a quick game of balltossing ensues. Drop the ball, pick it up, hey, look, a squat press... at one point, we had some 20 people carrying them, even women. One lass of 60, sitting in a meeting doing overhead triceps extensions with her 5lb ball, noted with pleasure how much less her arms jiggled. Small steps CAN work.

Plus, a few of us have added 100 pushups throughout the day. Just drop, do a quick 10, get back in your chair. Takes, what, 5 seconds? Quickly, that got too easy. We moved it up to 150. Then 200. I'm now doing, after just over two months of this, 250+ without appreciable effort (I try tossing some chins on my doorframe in but it's built such that I struggle with more than 5). This is easiest when you have a private office but noone blinks, now when they walk past my door and I'm on the floor hammering out a quick 20.

The point is, in 2 months I've seen significant size increase in my chest and shoulders and this has been the only change. Small changes, people, can make a difference.

gyffes

I love these little "fitness" routines, years ago when I was a bike messenger I used to do push ups in the elevator with my bag on while I went to my floor.

But the problem , especially in the headline for this post, is that it makes it sound like a person get get a real fitness result from doing house work or walking around the block like the article suggests.

However a Google Scholar search for Glenn Gaesser, PhD turns up this interesting piece of training info from the abstract:

It has also been shown that aerobic endurance training of fewer than 2 days per week, at less than 40-50% of VO2R, and for less than 10 min-1 is generally not a sufficient stimulus for developing and maintaining fitness in healthy adults. Even so, many health benefits from physical activity can be achieved at lower intensities of exercise if frequency and duration of training are increased appropriately. In this regard, physical activity can be accumulated through the day in shorter bouts of 10-min durations.

In other words you cannot get fit from doing these small activities, however if you have less than zero fitness meaning you are in terrible shape this can be a good way to accumulate enough activity to work your up to an actual fitness program.

The problem I generally see in my business (I am a trainer) especially since Phys ed has been removed from schools is such rampant deconditioning AND complete misunderstanding of what it actually takes to effect change in our bodies.

So people read a nice little article with some excellent references and think "oh taking the stairs is fitness and I walk to work so how come I'm not losing weight?"

Well my friend... it is because you are not working hard enough - which is what the abstract says.

So the headline should probably read: "You can't get fit in 10 minutes or less per day. But it will definitely do you some good to find ways to stay active."

Jasoncscs

suburban vs. urban living ... in the suburbs you need to drive everywhere, urban areas are compact and you can generally walk. even mass transit burns more calories than using your car in the suburbs "door-to-door".

in the city, i had a built in fitness plan. now.... in the suburbs and far from 'conveniences'.... i need to find an alternative...

needless to say i miss the big city....

fuzzymuffins

@TommySez: I think OKGO likes them as well.

Coming Into The Game, The Superstar Receiver, Of Your Upper Deck Torontooo BJsss

I love mechanized "moving carpets". I like to walk extra fast on them and make the 6 million dollar man sound.

TommySez

Manual labor. Can't avoid physical activity. I miss those jobs...

Jarick

I started working out in the summer for weight loss, did up a lifting plan, nutrition plan and did the odd bit of cardio.

However during the summer I had moved out from my house, to my school's campus where I worked as a summer employee, they gave me a room to live in. It meant I was within a 10 minute walk of downtown, 10 minutes from grocery store, 10 minutes from the bars.

Basically- I could walk everywhere I wanted to go. I was getting all sorts of cardio just through walking that wasn't plugged into my fitness "plan" but had a huge affect.

Taking every chance you can get to get even the slightest bit of exercise does make a difference, good article.

Autofac

I see posts like this all the time. Many of the suggestions are the same: walk up some stairs, park your car in the back of a parking lot and walk the rest, ect. These are fine suggestions, but I rarely see suggestions about instructional video.

So here is my suggestion: use [www.beYOU.tv] when you have a few free minutes. You can watch free fitness/wellness videos! I work at beYOU and I think people will find our service useful.

Take care,

Greg

TheSchnaz

It is certain that the exercises help, but I believe that to eat healthful and to make exercise walk of the hand to obtain the ideal weight

3typesofskincancer.info

@TommySez: LOL...I love them for the same reason (but without the sound effects).

Craig

As I'm becoming an ayurveda enthusiast, I'm now doing Sun Salutations (surya namaskar asana), several series pretty much every day. Takes about 8-9 minutes. Said to stretch, strengthen and harmonize all the major muscle groups. Afterward I usualy feel re-energized, yet balanced and also like a much more... er... normal (as in peaceful) creature than before, somehow. I also do that on the tennis court when I'm feeling tense in competitions. Works wonder, at least for me.

SamVed