7 One-Minute Workouts For The Busy You

Remember the 80s when life was a little bit slower? During those years, afternoons seemed to last forever.

Nowadays, 24 hours don't seem to be enough to fulfill the day's tasks. Time is faster these days. Perhaps it's because of the advent of so many distractions, like cable TV, the internet, video games, and other developments in mass media. Or perhaps it's because of the bigger expectations of today, given the technology available to us. Or maybe, it's because of the obvious reason that we're getting older, and with the years come more responsibilities that eat away our time.

Regardless of the reason, one thing remains true: as the years go by, we find lesser and lesser time to invest on workouts.

Hence, here are 7 workouts that you can do in between the tasks you have to accomplish.

1. Take the stairs. In a hurry to go to the office? Use this as a way to burn some calories and increase the rate of your metabolism. Instead of waiting in line for the elevator to come down, work up those calves by conquering the flight of stairs. BURNS: 10 to 100 calories, depending on the number of floors involved.

2. Take the bottom of the stairs. Whenever you're facing a flight of stairs, remember that you don't have to climb it just to burn some calories. Place either foot on the second or third flight, with the other foot firmly on the base. Move your upper body towards the knee of the bent leg, with your hands reaching for the ankle of the same leg. Maintain that position for around 20 to 30 seconds, then do the same with the other leg this time around. BURNS: 10 calories.

3. Maximizing the queue. Whenever you find yourself falling in line for something, either for a side salad at Wendy's or for a ticket to the next state, try to clasp your hands behind your back and to move your shoulders inwards and your chest outwards. This move is taken from the pages of a Yoga book, and is known to increase the performance of your nervous system. BURNS: 3 to 5 calories.

4. Dinner burner. While waiting for your meal to be served, suspend one leg in the air, under the table. Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds, then do the same for the other leg. BURNS: 4 to 7 calories.

5. Bedtime elevation. As you lie in bed, before going to sleep, lay your legs flat on the bed. Then, slowly raise them up without moving your body from the buttocks up. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds, then repeat 5 to 10 times. Burns: 8 to 15 calories

6. Sing! Believe it or not, belting out a song is a workout! It has something to do with the energy needed by the vocal chords and the lungs, as well as the breathing demands of singing. BURNS: 4 to 7 calories, for every normal 3-minute song.

7. Commercial breaks. Here's the perfect routine for the couch potato. Whenever you're watching TV, make sure that the remote is clearly out of reach every time the commercials are on. Better yet, do away with the remote and simply strive to change channels manually. This way, you'll force yourself to extend your muscles by trying to reach the remote or the TV. BURNS: 4 to 7 calories for every full episode of Oprah.

These workouts may seem to have negligible effects, but if they are all done in a single day, you stand to burn 50 to 150 calories without exerting that much effort. Do these, and just these, every single day, with your diet being the same, and expect to lose 5 to 7 lbs. in a year!

Amazing right?

Best of all, you can accomplish this without adding more demands to your time.

Resources:
Fit Over 40
The Carb Rotation Diet
Workoutpass: Over 100,000 Workouts