Busy Guys Can Also Exercise Effectively

By Huang Zhengyu

Everybody should choose at least one kind of exercise that fits their lifestyle,but keeping persistent in sports is a hard job.I often hear people around me complaining about being too busy to spare time to exercise—I do too,to be frank.So all along I have been looking for a suitable exercise for myself that enables me to persist regularly despite my busy life,especially in the case of frequent business trips.Given only half an hour here and there,how can you do it with an ideal effect?

Question one: How can you squeeze in time for exercise?I have met many successful CEOs who have made it a rule to get up early in the morning to exercise so they won't have to worry about taking up their time for other affairs,and on the other hand they can keep themselves energetic for the whole day.Take my tutor,Sean Maloney,the former No.2 figure at Intel,for example.During his time in the Silicon Valley headquarters he often went rowing in the nearby lake around 5:00 am.Some people arrange their regular exercise time at night.But to someone who does not sleep well,it may put the brain in an excited state and make it difficult to fall asleep.

There is another way to squeeze in exercise: that is,do several things at once,namely,putting exercise into your work or life.For instance,I will do my exercises while listening to a conference call,or do a set of aerobic exercises during a short break.Although the result is not as desirable as when I do it wholeheartedly,it is,however,still a good way to save time.

When you really have no time available,there is another more efficient mode—high-strength motion within a short time.

A CEO friend of mine is an enthusiast of high-strength exercises.He takes part in exercises in three days each week,15 minutes per day.He is an adamant sprinter.He sprints for 30 seconds,rests for 15 seconds,and then sprints again for 30 seconds,going on like this in circulation.Once I followed the same procedure with him,I found my energy consumption was enormous,although it lasted only a short period of 15 minutes.

Question two: How do we carry out exercises in the absence of conditions for sports?

It was after my attendance to the lecture about “prison bodybuilding methods” that I found many methods worth reference,which I have applied to my life.

150 years ago,Gustav Zander,a Swedish doctor,invented the earliest health and fitness facilities.At the very start,those facilities that looked very much like implements of punishment were mainly used for physiotherapy.It was not until the 20th century that they began to be extensively applied in the field of fitness.

I leave a deck of cards in my suitcase and use them to do some so-called “prison body-building methods” if I don't have time to the gym.It is very simple.You can shuffle the cards first,then turn up one of them and the number on the card decides how many times you have to do an exercise(J,Q,K are all taken as 10).So,for example,when you are going to do push-ups,you can decide the number of actions that makes a set according to the number on the cards you have just turned up.It more or less takes me 20 to 30 minutes to turn up all the cards one by one,thus in total,340 actions are generated.That amounts to quite an intense workout! This method is fun in that you don't have to search for a gym here and there.A deck of cards is all you need.You can carry out your exercises any time in your room,doing push-ups,burpees,sit-ups,pull-ups,and full-knee bends in turns.The randomly drawn numbers make exercises seem less dull.

Every time before a drill,a few minutes of warm-up exercises are recommended to prevent strain.Drinking a cup of boiled water at the same time can help promote metabolism,as well.