Hi Hayley,

In the last 10 years I have put on 40lbs since University. I am a Type 1 Diabetic and all my doctors, nurse and dietician tell me is it's 3x as hard for me to lose the weight. Not helpful and very frustrating. I'm working on my diet but exercise is important too. I have signed up for a 10K race in May and I am running 3-4 times a week, however I would like to include some weight training to help with my weight loss, tone and benefit my running and overall health. Lunch is a good time for me to work out and I only have an HOUR for lunch, what is a good 30-45min max workout that I could do at the gym?

Thanks!

___


Here are a few tips when you are trying to cram in as much as you can into your workout in a very short time (a lunch time workout):

1 – Be Organized. Go to the gym with a plan and stick with it. Will you be lifting heavy or light that day? Will you focus on one body part over another? Will you be doing more core training, basic strength training or functional training? 

2 - Think about what you have done in your previous training days leading up to your workout as well as what you have to accomplish later in the week and plan from there. For example, if you have a longer run planned for the next day or two then you might want to lay off of your legs that workout.

3 – After a quick warm up (3 minutes of light aerobic activity) and before you start your strength training, do 5 or 10 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training to get the calories burning.

4 – Design your workouts so that you never need to stop for a rest. Workout one part of your body (pushing muscle group like your chest) then go right into another body part (perhaps a pulling muscle group like your back) and then go back to your chest exercise and then your back exercise without resting in between each exercise.  After 2 or 3 sets, allow the upper body to rest by doing a leg exercise, a core exercise or a quick stretch of the muscles you were just targeting.

5 – If possible have all of your equipment nearby so you do not waste time trying to find what you need in between exercises. And keep your workouts simple so the need for equipment is minimal.

Here is an example of a quick circuit that you can do on a lunch break. These exercises can be completed in repetitions or in timed intervals.  For example, you can do sets of 20 or do as many repetitions as you can in a minute.

Pushups
Bent over rows
(Repeat 2 times)
Front Plank

Lunges
Dumbbell shoulder presses
(Repeat two times)
V sits with Dumbbell Twists

Bicep Curls
Tricep Dips
(Repeat twice)
Jumping squats

You can see that this simple circuit requires minimal equipment and you do not need to take a break between the exercises.  

Come up with your own circuit each week and experiment with how you structure it. Variety is KEY! Do not let your body become used to what it is doing each workout.

Attached -- Nicole Richie heads to the gym.