The Lazy Exerciser Guide to Exercising

I have always wanted to have a six pack. I am talking about muscles, not beer. The problem is that I really hate working out. So much so, that I have come up with my own theory: If you really hate exercise it is very difficult to get into shape.

Theories, of course, can be disproved. Therefore, I am thinking that this is probably closer to a law, as I don't know many people that will themselves into doing things they hate. With that as a given, the major question becomes: How can I trick myself into getting into better condition?

For me, it became a matter of doing as little as possible as often as I could stand, while at the same time adding little quirks to exercises to them more tolerable. Let's take running. I hate it. It seems so pointless. Running around a track or even through the valley seems like a waste of time for me. In order make running seem a bit less mundane I added a basketball.

Now, I am not a great basketball player. I can shoot, dribble, and usually avoid falling on my face, but that is about it. There is no NBA contract in my future. The beauty of basketball is that it allows me to work on building a skill while getting exercise. I can work on my jump shot or ball handling while getting my heart rate up as well. At the end of a session I may have run a couple miles without even knowing it.

That is the key. Finding an activity that you enjoy can make running or jogging bearable, as the activity takes the focus off the exercise being done. Weight training wise, this is possible also, but I have found it easier to just schedule in daily workout sessions in ten minutes or less.

Let's say that I want to work out my upper body, but I don't really have the time or the desire. That's a problem, but it is not insurmountable, as I can just break up my workout into smaller bite sized portions. Instead of doing a 30-45 minute workout, I may decide to do a short 5 minute warm up while watching TV, followed by a set of pushups or pull ups. After that, I go on about my business. Later, during the day, I will revisit that work with another couple sets. Stomach wise, I will do one set of crunches to failure every morning before getting out of bed.

On my lower body days, I will do bodyweight squats, lunges, and calf raises though out the day. Generally, I will do about 3-4 sets of whatever I feel like doing. Usually, I go until I get a bit of a burn.

After each micro workout, upper body or lower body, I usually stretch the muscles being used no less than 30 seconds using static (stationary) stretches.

That's it. Will I ever win a body building contest with the workout? Probably not, but I will also not win a belly building contest. The bottom line is that for the first time in a long time, I feel good about my appearance, and my self.