Fat burning in five minutes

We all lead hectic lives these days and squeezing in a fitness regime may not always be possible. Check out our five-minute fat-burning strategy for busy bods everywhere!

By Fitness Expert Dax Moy

Interestingly, when asked, most exercise dropouts quote lack of results and lack of time as their primary reasons for quitting and yet, even with the most basic of physiological improvements, results are a function of time.

Perhaps it's a reflection of our 'instant society' that people expect immediate results from exercise. After all, we can get instant coffee, meals in minutes and scan the internet at the touch of a button, so why shouldn't we get the body we want as soon as we take out our gym memberships?

Well, I can't give you immediate results I'm afraid, but try following the simple ideas set out below and you'll be very surprised at the results that can be achieved in a very short time.

Each of the following ideas requires no more than five minutes to perform, so if you can't even find that amount of time you're simply not trying!

1. Use the ad breaks while watching TV to schedule a workout – the average break runs for only three minutes, allowing you a short burst of activity and plenty of time to recover in between. There is double benefit in this strategy, as most people use the ad breaks to make tea or raid the fridge - this way you won't be able to. And hey, you don't even have to miss your favourite programme.

2. Create a challenging circuit from body-weight exercises. Just by performing push-ups, pull-ups (from a table), squats, lunges and dips, you're training literally every muscle in your body and creating a huge calorie demand while you do so. What's more, you don't need any special equipment to do them.

3. Perform your routine on the hour every hour. Whether you're doing the dishes or hoovering the stairs (see our 20 anytime, anywhere exercises), stop what you're doing and perform your routine for three to five minutes. Change the exercises you do every hour so as not to overstress your muscles. For example, you might run up and down the stairs for three minutes this time, but perform squats or ab curls next hour.

4. Dance – hey, we all love music. Put your favourite CD on or turn on MTV and boogie along. Most tracks are three to five minutes long, so you can get a pretty good workout if you really go for it. It'll make you feel great, too!

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of these ideas. They may not involve fancy equipment, but they really do deliver the goods if you stick to them - and they can be great fun.

The key here is consistency. You really have to make a commitment to follow your routine every day. Even if it's only a single three-to-five-minute dance, you'll still be doing more than if you sat on your sofa watching TV. Ideally though, three to five (more if you want to) of these mini-workouts spread across the evening will yield the best results.

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