Ideally, we should all have sufficient time in a day to exercise, be it for aerobic fitness, flexibility, or strength. Unfortunately, most wage earners know that this is far from the case. Unless you have the luxury of delegating work to others, finding the time to build strength often involves serious commitment and strict time management.

Yet, this should not be the case. As with other aspects of fitness, a person should be able to work strength training exercises in to his or her daily routine without a noticeable “loss” of time.

For example, we all know the tip about taking the stairs instead of the lift, or parking further away from a building to build aerobic fitness. By the same token, you wouldn’t have to wonder where you’re going to find 30 minutes or an hour in a day to build strength if you can space out 15 pushups, a 1-minute plank, or 15 sumo squats throughout the day.

Personally, I favor doing a set of pushups after sitting for 45 minutes or so. Although the individual mini-sessions might not appear to have much impact initially, this has made a difference over time.

In addition to working out for short intervals throughout the day, try incorporating strength training moves into regular movements. For example, do lunges instead of walking down a corridor. As it would look strange, you don’t have to do them on the way back up the corridor. The key is to incorporate such exercises frequently enough for them to pay off.

If the “free and easy” approach appears too vague, then using resistance bands can provide more structure in addition to a flexible approach to time taken for strength training. These are easy to transport, and they can be used virtually anywhere and anytime, which somewhat negates the need to find a time and place to carry out strength training.