Time is a precious commodity during the holiday season. Shopping, family gatherings and helping out with school parties are fun and festive ways of ushering in the winter holidays, but may also wreak havoc with personal schedules…and that often means fitness take a back seat.

If you are facing the challenge of carving out time for the gym this month, the latest research may be just the thing to lift your spirits!  An intense, 10-minute workout once or twice (or more) times a day can do wonders for your health and your physique.

We are all familiar with the “high” that accompanies a long run or a tough spin class. Studies are now revealing that even an intense, 10-minute burst of exercise during the day is sufficient enough to signal the release of those endorphins, and create the highly desired sense of euphoria. What a lovely gift to give yourself in the midst of a hectic shopping schedule.

The news gets even better: according to data published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, individuals who engage in a mere 7 minutes of intense exercise each day are 45 percent less likely to die from heart disease. A corollary to this stunning fact is that those who maintained this exercise routine for six years or longer experienced the greatest health benefits.

“HIIT” exercise sessions (High Intensity Interval Training) are utilized by bodybuilders and cardio fans alike.  Classes such as Tabata make use of these short bursts of activity, and can be easily modified for 10-minute breaks during the day. The key to making these mini-workouts as effective as possible is to dial up the intensity in order to achieve a sufficiently high heart rate. Ten minutes of rapid rope-jumping, various running drills, even jumping jacks interspersed with push-ups will do the trick quite nicely while requiring a minimum of fitness gear.  

If you only have 30 minutes for a lunch break, this program may still work for you! Taking 2 minutes to warm up, 10 minutes for the workout, and 2 more minutes for a cool-down still leaves you enough time to freshen up and enjoy your very healthy lunch.  Try downsizing this meal, and having a small healthy snack 2 hours later.  This not only saves time but keeps your metabolism and energy high throughout the day.

Before the busy seasonal commitments tackle your time and threaten to sabotage the months of hard work and progress you’ve made in the gym, carve out one or two 10-minute bursts of fitness during each day. Physically and mentally, you’ll have a much happier holiday.