Weight gain for the 40+ crowd combined with an overly scheduled day can be a frustrating catch 22. You know you should exercise, but when is that supposed to happen? It turns out that if you have 2 hours a week, even if it’s spread out over three or four separate blocks of time, you can reap the benefits of a regular workout, including more energy, better sleep, more strength, and maybe even some weightloss.

Always check with your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

Heating
Start each workout by climbing stairs for 5 minutes. If you don’t have stairs at home, you can buy an inexpensive step at most discount stores. As you get in better shape or if you’re pretty good now, increase the intensity by going up and down the stairs faster or by skipping a step as you go up.

cardio
This workout turns cardio training into resistance training. After each 30-second resistance exercise, you’ll immediately switch to 15 seconds of jumping jacks and then move directly to the next resistance movement. Do three or four sets, depending on how much time you have. When you’re done, you’ll have completed your endurance and cardio. You should only rest between full circuits. An important note, don’t do jumping jacks if you have joint problems, instead just swing your legs and arms without the high impact jump. The important thing is to keep the blood pumping!

Resistance
You’ll notice that each resistance exercise is repeated for a specific 30-second period of time instead of a specific number of repetitions. Just do the exercise as many times as you can within the 30 second limit. For dumbbell exercises, use this rule of thumb to make sure you’re using the right amount of weight: If you can do 10-15 reps, your weight is right. If you can’t do at least 10 reps, switch to a lighter weight. If you can do more than 15 reps, switch to a heavier weight.

Poor form can cause injury, so check the website for correct and proper form.

Warm up by going upstairs for 5 minutes. Do each exercise for 30 seconds and 15 seconds of jumping jacks in between each exercise. The exercise is as follows; squats, push-ups, dumbbell rows, planks, bird dogs, and dips. You can stay long enough to catch your breath.

As you get stronger you can change things up by adding weight or harder cardio exercises and if you need further clarification feel free to ask.