I just signed up for a professional organization and they sent me a journal contain some great research that people have done. You know you picked the right career path when you truly get excited for reading research on the subject!

The article was something that I have heard before in school, but never seen the research. It finally hit me reading this research that I have to spread the word on it.

Most people that are overweight or obese cannot walk for 40 minutes consecutive. This is either due to joint problems, lack of cardiovascular fitness or an array of other issues. So they will get discouraged about trying to complete that exercise bout and more than likely won’t do it at all.

A study posted in the American College of Sports Medicine Journal of Health and Fitness says that by breaking that cardio up, you get the same exercise benefits as walking consecutively. So now you have no excuse. If you can’t muster up the energy for 40 minutes, or if your knee starts hurting after 10 minutes, doing four 10 minute bouts of exercise will yield the same exercise effects as walking continuously.

Now this isn’t a reason not to be lazy. If you can sustain cardio for the consecutive 40 minutes,  you will yield better cardiovascular endurance than only going 10. But if you are one of those people who need to start exercise because you need to change your life fast, but just can’t do the 40 minutes, BREAK IT UP!

One of the easiest, fastest, best workout you can get is at your home using your own body. Body weight workouts are a great way to get in shape. They are quick and easy and need no equipment. Here is a quick workout you can go that will give you great results.

WIth this workout, do about 10 reps of each exercise, moving right on into the next exercise as a super set. Once you finish all 5 exercises, rest for about 2 minutes then do it again. Depending on your fitness level, try to get 3-5 rounds of the super sets done for a workout.

Exercise 1: Tuck Jumps

To do this exercise, Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and  your knees slightly bent. Jump straight up in the air as high as high as you can and bring your knees toward your chest. Land on the balls of your feet with your knees slightly bent and quickly go into your next jump. Again, do about 10 of these then jump to the next exercise.

Exercise 2: Squat Jump

Stand with your feet slightly more than shoulder width apart and your finger laced behind your head. Bend at the knees to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, ten jump up as high as you can. Sink directly into the next squat without stopping. Do 10 reps.

Exercise 3: Power Skip

This is similar to your traditional skip, but you are generating more power and you are not moving. Propel yourself up as high as you can  with each skip by driving your knee up into the air. As you punch each knee up, swing your opposite hand upward t get as much vertical lift as possible.

Exercise 4: ZigZag Bound

Think about lengthening your stride as much as possible. Drive one leg into the ground to push of forcefully and lift your opposite knee high in the air as you surge forward. Propel youself upward, forward and slightly laterally o that you bound forward and to the outside.

Exercise 5: Stick Landing

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands beside your thighs. Jump and land with your knees bent and your butt and hips back. Try to land on the front two thirds of your feet, with your heels just off the ground. Hold for 2 seconds before standing to perform your next lunge.

Again, perform all the sets a few times and you have a great workout.

I saw yet another fact today on how America has a fast growing obesity trend. I don’t understand how this number is getting so out of control. Ever since grade school, everyone has had the same information drilled into their head: DIET AND EXERCISE. So why isn’t this working for America?

People think they need more that diet and exercise. People think they need the magic pill (I have yet to see one!). People think they need special diets. People think they need personal trainers. You don’t need anything except diet and exercise. Both works. I am living proof, and I have seen this work several times with people that I talk to that are not clients.

You have to make your diet stick. You can’t “go on a diet” for a week and expect to see results. You may results short term, but you need to make life long changes if you truly want to be successful. A diet is nothing more that WHAT you eat. A horse diet is hay. A lions diet is a gazelle. So for you to “go on a diet” you are basically setting yourself up for failure. Instead of trying out a new diet, change your diet. Create your diet. Put fresh, healthy foods into your body.

Then I get the question: Well, what is a healthy food? Again, you have been taught the food pyramid since grade school. You know healthy foods. You know fruits and veggies. You know limit carbs and fats. You know a salad is better than a pizza. You know that the fewer the calories you eat the better. Weightloss is not rocket science.

Now for the exercise part. Exercise does not need to be in a gym. Yes, a gym is a great place to have access to equipment, professionals and a load of other perks, but not everyone can go. And most of the time, if you don’t “GO” to the gym, you don’t work out. So in that sense, a gym may not be the best place for you.

Going for a nightly walk is a great way to get exercise. Parking far from the mall. Taking the stairs. Doing pushups every morning. Stretching while you watch TV. Doing jumping jacks during commercials. Doing lunges while you vacumn. Doing bicep curls with your grandkids. There are literally hunderds of things that you can do to get a workout outside of a gym setting.

The key to getting good exercise to make a life long change is consistency. Too many people start off strong, then don’t work out for a week. You need to make exercise part of your everyday routine. Walk the same time everyday. Go to the gym the same time everyday. Make it part of your life and get it consistent.

Diet and exercise has been instilled in us since grade school. Why we still have growing obesity trends is beyond me. If you want life long results, stick to the basic: Diet and Exercise. It’s easy. It’s simple. It works.