Get Fit in a Few Minutes a Day

Spending 1-2 hours at the gym every day is probably not the most exciting prospect for most you, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article. However, there comes a point in time where one realizes that they just need to exercise if they are going to stay healthy. Prior to moving overseas, I knew that I wasn't going to have access to gym and fitness facilities. My father shared with me a program that he had used 40 years ago in college that was produced by the Royal Canadian Air Force. He still had his old copy and we found another one for me online at Amazon.com. It turns out that this was a fitness program designed for pilots who were stationed in remote places and didn't have access to fitness facilities and were often shut-ins because of the weather in some of those locations. This program was designed to give them a basic level of fitness despite the conditions in which they lived. Later, it became well known throughout the United States and Canada and average people started using the program.

The best part of this program is that it only requires 11 minutes to complete. Secondly, the program is progressive, so you are able to build your strength gradually without getting discouraged. You also are told exactly what you have to do each and every time, leaving out the guess work of designing your own program, or the expense of paying a personal trainer. Thirdly, the exercises require no special equipment and you only need a limited amount of space. One of the greatest benefits I have noticed in doing the program is that, while in the beginning, you do not see rapid results, the ease of the exercises at this early stage allows for the establishment of a routine and a habit.

The exercises are extremely simple in the beginning stages. But, they very slowly and gradually increase in difficulty, allowing your body to adjust over time. If you are older, you are required to spend many days at each level, and this could be frustrating, but it's important, according to the writers, to do so, in order for your body to get used to the routine.
The program is divided into 6 charts, with each chart divided into 12 levels. Each chart contains 5 basic exercises, thus the name 5BX. You spend a certain number of days at each level, and then progress to the next level on the same chart. The number of days at each level is determined by age. Once you reach the top level (level A+) on the chart, you continue to the bottom level (D-) of the next chart and progress again. Each successive chart has more difficult variations of the original five exercises. As your fitness improves, the level of difficulty of the exercises goes up as well.

Some claim that the exercises become boring over time. While this may be true, we can all find 11 minutes a day to exercise. And, in fact, you will discover, if you are out of shape, that this 11 minutes is like gold and necessary to get through the day. You will get a small endorphin rush and find that your energy is increased and that some of the negative thoughts that have piled up will dissipate with a quick jolt of physical exercise.

The 5BX is old, but it doesn't mean that newer is necessarily better.
This program was designed for practicality when the culture began to change and people were working behind desks more and more often and not getting the necessary exercise they needed as a part of their daily life. If the exercises appear too simple in the beginning, look ahead in the book and see what's waiting. You will see that the exercises become very challenging. You may not notice big results in your external appearance at the start, but at this point you are establishing a routine, which will pay off down the road as you progress to the more difficult exercises and make the 5BX a habit.
You can find a pdf version of the program at http://wtl.wayfarer.org/images/e/ef/5bx.pdf. There is also a women's version of the program known as the XBX available here: http://www.corvedale.previewurl.com/5bx/xbxPlan.pdf