No Excuses Fitness Routines You Can Start Following Today

No Excuses Fitness Routines You Can Start Following Today
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As fall and winter turn a corner, it's easy to get lazy and fall back into a routine of eating on unhealthy and not working out, after all, for many -- bathing suit weather ends.

I admit it -- I'm one of those people who feels a little less guilty about having way too much dessert and skipping work outs when I'll be wearing sweaters, only hurting myself.

Lagree Fitness Megaformer instructor Elizabeth Murphy says strengthening your muscles, joints, and heart is the key to longevity. Exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle can both cure health problems and prevent others.

Fitness Magazine notes: within one year of regular exercise working out is easier and you're adding years to your life.

If you are the type of person who tends to make every excuse under the sun for not working out, consider these 'no excuses' fitness routines that are easy and free to do.

Red Bull Big Mountain Freeskiing athlete Michelle Parker practices what she calls "active meditation" she told us in an interview.

"Active meditation is when you're using your body physically, but you can find that peace of mind," she says. "I participate in active meditation when I'm hiking up mountains, skiing, practicing yoga, climbing, running, and so much more."

In practicing it, Parker advises focusing on being in the present and clearing your thoughts.

"Studies have shown that even if you just try to meditate for 10 minutes and you don't feel like you are really all that great at it, you can still benefit from the practice," she added.

Surf strength coach Cris Mills makes surf fitness and training as accessible as possible, writes the surfing blog Drifting Thru: "I take the realm of fitness, health, training and rehab, and try to make it digestible for the average person, to explain what they can do to help their body for surfing." A typical surf fitness routine may include using an Indo Board to plank and do pushups.

Professional dancer and personal trainer Katia Pryce has created the below workout routine exclusively for The Meatpacking District's Sweat Sessions by incorporating its fundamental two component dance cardio class into a sweat inducing 30-minute routine that you can do anywhere, anytime.

Component 1: Sculpt

1. Ballerina Lift: Extend one leg out in front of your body, turning the knee to the side while standing. Extend your opposite arm straight to the sky. Make a connection so that you're pulling one hand to opposite side of the foot, as your knee stays bent to side. Repeat 30 times.

2. The Inner Thigh Obliterator: Lay with your working leg extended on the bottom and your opposite arm extended to the sky. Keep your heel on the ground, pushing all your weight into the heel that is on the ground and your opposite forearm. Hovering your body midair connect the opposite arm to the opposite leg. Repeat 30 times.

3. The Summer Stomp: Set your foot out to the side, knee turned out with your opposite knee on the ground. Squeezing your abs, you're going to lift the leg you're kneeling on to do a donkey kick to the diagonal corner behind the foot with the knee turned out. As you place the knee back down, you're going to kick the opposite leg directly back with a flexed foot. Try this move vigorously on one leg. Repeat 30 times and then switch to the opposite leg.

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DanceBody courtesy of the Meatpacking District's Sweat Sessions.

Component 2: Cardio Moves

1. Heart Pumper: In this two-part move, think up, up, down, down. Jump on to the right leg with your left arm in the air, transferring your weight to the left leg with your right arm in the air. Then jump back to the right leg letting your left arm touch the ground, transferring your weight to the left leg with opposite arm to the ground. Repeat for one minute.

2. One Shot: Reach hands to one side of the ground, bending the knee of the side you start with. Using your obliques, reach your hands to opposite upper corner simultaneously jumping in the air. Remember to jump from both feet in the air splitting them apart midair. 30 seconds right, 30 seconds left.

3. Rockettes: Starting on two feet, jump up extending your right leg in front of you. As you place the right leg back to the floor, extend the left leg behind you. Try this patter 30 seconds on the right leg, and then switch to the left, if you're feeling the challenge, try alternating legs for one minute.

If your fitness goals include improving size, strength, and performance, Muscle and Strength offers a four stage, 12 week football and diet plan which includes: hang cleans, swiss ball roll-outs, farmers walks, deadlifts, and more.

When you combine working out with a sport you love, it feels less like something you "have to do" vs. something you "want to do."

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services notes that at least 30 minutes of physical exercise each day is needed in order to reduce the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood, writes Web MD. Who always has the one thing we as humans never have enough of ... time?

Murphy notes that if you can't get full workouts in, try for 10 minutes each day.

"Working out for 10 minutes is better than not working out at all. Your muscles have no idea how many reps you perform. They respond to intensity and time under tension," she says.

Try her full-body routine with dumbbells and gliders (or use hand towels on a wood floor). Perform each exercise for 60 seconds. Move from one exercise right to the other to minimize rest time. Repeat this circuit three times.

1. Mountain Climbers: Start in a pushup plank with one glider under each foot. Alternate pulling each knee towards your chest using your core.

2. Hip Thrusters: Stand with one slider under each foot. Squat down, put hands on the ground and slide feet into plank position. Slide feet back into a squat and stand all the way up. Bonus: use dumbbells to add a shoulder press.

3. Knee Tuck with Pushup: Start in a pushup plank with one slider under each foot. Pull both knees towards your chest and add a pushup when you return to the start position. Bonus: use dumbbells to add single arm rows.

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