How to Lose Weight by Exercising 5 Minutes at a Time

When you're embarking on a weight-loss journey, you won't do any harm by starting out small. If you only have five minutes at a time to exercise -- or that's all you're capable of doing -- it's certainly better than doing no exercise at all. Losing weight this way may take you longer, but the end result can be the same: a new, more healthful, lighter you.

  1. Exercise Guidelines

    • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, which breaks down to about 22 minutes each day. According to the CDC, you should be doing aerobic exercise for a minimum of 10 minutes at a time, so if you can muster just a few minutes more, you'll be better off. If you're not able to do it though, that five minutes of exercise is better than none. Exercise is part of the equation, but so is calorie reduction. People are more successful with dieting when they exercise and cut calories, instead of doing just one or the other. You need to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume to lose a pound of fat.

    Create a Plan

    • Create a daily schedule that makes time for four to five rounds of exercise of five minutes or more. Ideally, you'll do some heart-pumping exercise such as jogging or using a stationary bicycle, but you'll also do strength-training exercises that help build muscle. Break your five-minute sessions into chunks, such as morning, midmorning, afternoon and evening chunks, and then come up with a few ideas for each session. For example, bike to work to exercise your legs in the morning, then do bicep and triceps curls for your arms in the midmorning, a quick jogging session over lunch and crunches to work your abs in the evening.

    Daily Exercise

    • While activities such as jogging or cycling are great, don't overlook simple things you can incorporate into your daily routine. If you work in a tall building, the walk up the stairs to that 10th-floor office will take you five minutes or more. If you commute to work, park five minutes -- by foot -- from the building. If you take public transportation, walk to the next bus or train stop down the line. In a pinch, simply running in place or jumping rope can get your heart pumping, which will burn calories.

    HIIT

    • As long as you're not a total newbie to exercise, you have another, potentially effective way to be active. High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a form of intense exercise that can give your metabolism a boost all day long, advises the American College of Sports Medicine. It works like this: do a short warm-up such as walking or jogging for two minutes, do any type of exercise at near-maximum intensity for a short period, recover for short period and then go back to your near-maximum level, completing several rounds. Try sprinting or cycling for 30 seconds at your maximum rate, then slow to 50 percent for another 30 seconds. Within five minutes, you'll be able to complete a few rounds of this intense form of exercise. The final round of recovery will serve as your cooldown.