You see, there are several Craigs.

There is a terrifying thought.

There’s Craig the business guy.

Craig the exercise guy.

Block Craig the Coach, Teacher, Motivator, Mentor.

Craig the philanthropist, who wants to do something good.

Craig the Performer, who loves the audience.

And then there’s Craig the Creative, who loves to write… he’s been getting a lot of attention lately.

(And I won’t talk about Craig’s only child or Cheesecake Craig.)

And while all of the Craigs play well together (for the most part), Creative Craig and Exercise Craig have issues.
They disagree.

They really don’t like each other at all.

Exercise Craig wants to hit Creative Craig on the head… he’s not happy that they both inhabit the same body.

Exercise Craig thinks that Creative Craig is a fat, lazy pig.

If you’re like me, then sometimes you also have a hard time managing your physical, emotional, cerebral, creative, enterprising and practical.

Sometimes it’s hard work, but the one thing we can’t replace is our health…and if the physical ‘us’ isn’t working, the rest of us won’t be working for long either.

As I’ve said before, when it comes to exercise, there is no such thing as a ‘one program fits all’ fitness miracle.
Different bodies respond differently to different stimuli; what will make one person go full foam will barely raise another person’s heart rate.

But… that being said, we need a starting point, we need something to follow and ‘something’ is better than nothing (as long as that ‘something’ doesn’t kill us!).
We need structure, we need organization, we need a plan, and most importantly, we need to finish what we start (keep it up anyway).

As I said yesterday, this program will not make you an Olympian and should not be a replacement for an existing program…rather an add-on. Think of it as preventative physical therapy. Although, if done properly and consistently, it will improve your overall level of fitness and function and help you lose some fat at the same time (especially if you’re starting from a relatively low base).

General information:

1. Each workout should last seven minutes.

I know yesterday I said four to eight… changed my mind. Only children can do that: my training, my rules.

2. Each workout will consist of some cardio work (5 minutes), some strength work (1 minute), and a stretch (1 minute).

Guidelines and Suggestions:

1. Complete the workout every hour you’re on your computer… so if you’re on your computer for five hours a day, you’ll complete thirty-five minutes of exercise every day! Cool.

2. Have some kind of system (alarm, etc.) to remind you to do your workout.

3. If you are in a business environment, you may need to get a little creative and/or talk to your boss. In fact, it’s in their interest that you do this anyway. If you have any problem… call me, I’ll take care of it!

4. Obviously, I can’t prescribe specific intensities, workloads, reps, etc. for thousands of different people… so you’ll need to work at a pace that suits your current fitness level (which is why I’ve created the program). based on time). For some people, doing ten steps a minute will be comparable to another person doing fifty in the same amount of time… you’ll have to measure it yourself.

But I will say, start slowly and work your way up from there.

5. Virtually no rest between activities (cardio, strength, stretching)…unless, of course, you’re feeling awful.

I will also say that if you have a pre-existing medical condition or injury, if you have any questions or concerns about your health, or if you are an old fart (I love old farts – don’t get all fancy), you better go see your Doc. first.

The program.

So we already know the structure:

*5 minutes of cardio (heart/lung stuff)

*1 min of strength (muscle stuff)

*1 min of stretching (take care of your back and your posture).

Keep in mind that this program is somewhat of a compromise as we have limited time and resources and (mostly) no exercise equipment.

cardio.

To be honest, it doesn’t really matter which cardio you choose for the five minutes, as long as your limbs are moving (preferably nonstop), your heart rate is up, you’re getting a little (little) hot and sweaty, you’re a little breathless and the intensity is adequate.
If you are confused about heart rate (HR), here is a formula to calculate your maximum HR.

208 – (your age x 0.7).

So if you are forty years old, your calculation would look like this:

208 – (40×0.7) =

208 – 28 =

So your HR max = 180 (simple)

Now, we don’t want you to work at your max, we probably want you to work around 70-80% of your max HR if you have a reasonable fitness level. Closer to 60% if you are a fully qualified lounge lizard.

Some cardio options:

*Walking

* Climbing stairs

* steps

*Skipping

*Any cardio machine if you have access (bike, stepper, rower, strider, etc.)

I personally like stairs, step-ups and jumps because they are simple, practical, comfortable (usually) and very effective… do five minutes of step-ups and you will know it.

Strength.

The strength part of the program is easy; do two strength moves for thirty seconds each back to back…simple. Of course, you may need to modify those moves to suit your strength level: half push-ups instead of full push-ups… or maybe wall push-ups.

Some strength exercise options:

*Push-ups – full, kneeling, half reps, against a chair, wall…whatever is appropriate for you.

*Sit ups: face up, legs bent, feet flat on the floor, hands on thighs, slide fingertips toward knees, keep head in line with body (don’t strain neck).

* Tricep Dips: Sit on the edge of your chair (or desk) and lower your butt toward the floor using only the muscles on the back of your arms (triceps)…if you have wheels on your chair, you may end up on top on the floor! Your butt should move between two and six inches (not too deep, not too fast).

* Squats: A great lower body strength exercise, butt shaper, and a great calorie burner (because you’re using big muscles). Pretend you’re about to sit on a chair, stick your butt out, thighs down until they’re almost parallel to the floor, and come back up. Don’t bounce, control the movement. Two seconds down, two seconds up. Arms forward for balance.

* A bridge: supporting your body weight, parallel to the ground, resting (not so resting really) on your elbows and toes. Keep your body straight and flat…no raised buttocks or sagging hips.

Section:

There are a million legs we could do and many of them would be worthwhile, but we have seven minutes to complete our full program, not seven hours, so I’ve chosen a mandatory leg…but feel free to add a few of your own. .

* Sit very straight in your chair, put your hands behind your head (just like in school), lace your fingers together, arch your back a little, bring your elbows back as far as you can (without ripping anything!) and hold it’s. position for sixty seconds.
Simple and good for sore, droopy, and hunched backs.
If you don’t want to look like Quasimodo any time soon… make a habit of this.
It will be a bit awkward to start; it’s okay.

So combine a mixture of those ingredients and your program could look like one of these:

Sample program 1.

1. Step-ups – 5 minutes

2. Push-ups – 30 seconds

3. Crunches – 30 seconds

4. Stretch – 60 seconds

Sample program 2.

1. Jump – 5 minutes

2. Squats – 30 seconds

3. Tricep dips – 30 seconds

4. Stretch – 60 seconds

Sample program 3.

1. Stair climbing/jogging – 5 minutes

2. Bridge – 30 seconds

3. Pushups – 30 seconds

4. Stretch – 60 seconds

Sample program 4.

1. Exercise bike – 5 minutes

2. Crunches – 30 seconds

3. Squats – 30 seconds

4. Stretch – 60 seconds

A friend of mine has an 8 inch (20 cm) lift box in her office.

Every hour he’s at work, he does five minutes of walking (no strength or stretching).
She has been doing this for five weeks and has lost 13lbs (6kg) without changing anything else!
It works.

It’s almost too simple and practical, isn’t it?

Well guess what?

Most people who read this post and need to follow something like this (or similar), won’t.
However, they will have a very good reason.
They always do it.

Come on Groovers, show me the watch you got.