Lunchtime Exercise: Your Power Hour

Your lunch hour is the perfect time to cram in a quickie workout, according to fitness expert Tamilee Webb, the original "Buns of Steel" trainer. When you move your body in the midst of a busy day, you avoid crack-of-dawn rush to the gym, you escape the office in search of fresh air and you can head directly home to your family after work. Research even shows that an afternoon fitness routine may improve time-management skills and significantly increase productivity.

Veteran instructor Tamilee Webb, creator of the DVD series "Tight on Time" designs several lunchtime routines for That's Fit in order to help with your New Year's resolutions. "It's pivotal to work within your environment and within your personal time constraints," Webb said. "If you work in an office during lunch, take advantage of on-site health clubs, a nearby park, a Pilates studio in the area, or maybe just take a yoga mat onto the roof or close the door to your office, and stretch for 10 minutes," she said.

"Aim for three to five days a week of exercise, but also throw in strength training and stretching to increase your metabolism, and improve flexibility and posture," said Webb. "Your lunch hour is the perfect time to fit it all in, even if you have to eat at your desk."

Here are Webb's three tips for making the most of your lunch hour:


Prepare and Plan!
Make sure you eat a healthy snack, like a banana and a handful of nuts or a smoothie at least 60 minutes before your lunch break (training session), and eat your full meal right after the workout, advised Webb. Plan ahead; bring your workout shoes, comfortable clothing and other workout accessories. Bring your lunch on days you plan to exercise, and make sure you've stocked your gym bag. Wear work clothes that make it easy for you to quickly change (wear pants versus tights and skirts, for instance) and bring a brown-bag lunch.

All You Need is Sneakers
Don't forget that lunch-hour workouts don't have to occur at a gym or fitness studio. Bike riding, in-line skating, hiking sets of stairs in your building or nearby park and even walking to and from a restaurant can all count as a lunch-hour routine, Webb said. "Ask an office buddy to join you for a brisk walk and you're likely to train longer and harder," said the trainer who has just relaunched her favorite Buns of Steel Workouts.

Tote Your Weights
Some gyms offer noontime classes that are ideal for a lunch break. Weight lifters might work a different body part at each lunchtime session, or alternate strength-training days with cardio days. Some excellent in-office strength moves using dumbbells or even a lightweight resistance band include: Squats, lunges, push ups, sit ups, triceps dips and a series of ab crunches you can do almost anywhere.

Here are other portable and affordable workouts that can fit into your exercise-based hour of power!

Fitness expert Nicole Dorsey Straff is a Los Angeles-based exercise physiologist and author, and frequently writes about diet, health and wellness.