It’s huge, when you get over the idea that it has to last a certain amount of time or it’s not a workout, or if it’s not what you do on your main days it’s not a workout. The approach that works today is to take every opportunity that helps you put exercise into your day. Lunchtime works for a lot of people.

The benefits go way beyond its being a major psych move on business associates or particularly on competitors. When you work out at lunchtime, you’re likely to make yourself more effective in the afternoon, in addition to the expected exercise benefits you put in the bank. It’s just a good idea. But what can you get done, in limited time, with limited disruption of your day? Plenty.

In Half an Hour without Equipment

Anybody who scoffs at a half-hour workout probably hasn’t felt the effects of the workout we’re about to suggest. In fact, it is designed for you to complete it in 20 minutes, so you can build in the bathroom break or even return a phone call. This workout is designed as a circuit of repetitions for cardio-vascular benefits, and it uses your own body weight to build and tone muscle.

In the first five minutes, do as many rounds of these three exercises as five minutes allows:

• 10 bodyweight squats
• 10 sit ups
• 10 bench or chair dips (not with the rolling office chair!)

Those dips involve propping your heels on the floor – or even on an elevated surface – and then flexing and extending your arms as your hands press the table or chair you are using.

For the next five minutes, here’s the circuit:

• 30 bicycle kicks
• 30 lunges (looooong steps that bring your front leg to a right-angle)
• 30-second plank (hold still in a pre-pushup position, and feel that core)

In the third five minutes, repeat the first circuit. In the fourth five minutes, repeat the second circuit. Too easy? Not likely. What makes this idea fit any athlete is to get as many sets of the three exercises into each five minutes as you are able to do. The difficulty expands to meet the ability.

With Access to Equipment

If you can get to the gym, or if your workplace is enlightened with equipment, Self Magazine has no fewer than 10 workouts you can complete in under 30 minutes.

Whichever route you choose, there’s no reason to skip lunch altogether just because you’re exercising. We suggest you snack that lunch on the job, about 30 minutes after you complete your workout, so your nutrition arrives at the best time for your body to accept it.

At Eclipse 1-on-1, each of our personal trainers is as invested in your success as you are. We see it every day, and it makes us different. We think it can make the rewards of your fitness program different, too. Let’s get acquainted.