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There’s a common misconception out there that to really be fit that you must spend hours upon hours a week exercising. It’s simply not true. In fact, many people buy into this concept so much, that they often over-train and sabotage their own efforts. Not only is working out for several hours a week usually not a good idea, but for most of us, it’s just not possible.

Let’s face it, we’re all extremely busy. Time is our most precious resource. We’re all struggling with multiple responsibilities. We barely have time to breathe. Who has time to spend an hour or more a day, four to five times a week exercising?

So what happens? Most of us skip working out all together because we have a preconceived notion that we must spend hours a week exercising for it to be effective. That’s simply not true. In fact, it’s just another excuse in a long line of excuses that people come up with to NOT exercise.

I can tell you that as a father of two with a demanding job and a host of other responsibilities, I have an acute awareness of how precious each minute of the day really is. There’s hardly a free minute in my day. Up at 6AM and asleep around 11:30, my days are jam-packed.

When I was younger (and less educated), I used to spend hours a week at the gym. Five days a week, 60-70 minutes a day working out. I’d follow the routines I’d find in the bodybuilding magazines I used to read religiously. That’s no longer possible. Not only is not possible, but it’s not the ideal way to build lean muscle and lose fat.

In recent years, my approach to fat loss and building lean muscle and specifically fat loss workouts has completely changed. Here are some basic concepts that I’ve learned in my years as a trainer and former personal training studio owner that should be helpful to any ultra-busy person that is looking to lose fat and build lean muscle, but has little time to commit to exercising:

Skip the gym. Save your membership and gas money and workout from home. All you need is a 10×10 space and your own body. There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of exercises you can do with either a simple pair of dumbbells or no weights at all. Most people completely underestimate the power of body-weight only resistance exercises.

Skip the social hour and shorten your workout. If you already have a gym membership and don’t want to “waste it” or have no room in your home, by all means, go to your gym. However, keep one thing in mind: shorter, more intense workouts are the way to go. Most people that go to the gym go for the social aspect. The gym is not a bar! Most gym workouts look like this: Do a set, walk around, do a set, talk to your buddy, do a set, repeat.

Stop wasting valuable time and get to lifting! If your goal is to perform a fat loss workout, you can be done in about 15 minutes! Stay focused and stay intense!

Anywhere, anytime. Being on vacation or on a business trip or at the park with your family is no longer an excuse for missing a workout. Learn how to do body-weight only workouts and you never have an excuse to miss one. I keep a set of workout clothes and sneakers in my trunk, so I’m ready to go whenever I need to get a workout in.

Remember, you can get a great, fat burning workout in under 15 minutes.

Dumbbells. Too many people, especially men, love to use barbells with heavy weights on them. I haven’t used a barbell in over two years (or a bench for that matter) and I don’t plan to. Dumbbells allow you to string together a range of movements in one exercise to make the most efficient use of your time (such as the squat-curl-press).

I recommend buying a pair of adjustable dumbbells for home. They take up little space and are sufficient for most people as they go from 5 to 55 pounds in one set of dumbbells.

Skip the long work outs. Make the most efficient use of your time. Focus on short, intense, full body workouts, 3 or 4 times a week and you’ll be amazed at the results you’ll get for such little time spent.

Even for the busiest people, the formula above will not only help you with your fat loss goals and build lean muscle, but it will save you time. Time you can spend NOT working out!

George is author of The BusyGuy’s & BusyGal’s Workout for Fat Loss, is a Certified Trainer with over 20 years of experience & a former multiple fitness studio owner who has taken his life’s passion for helping others achieve their goals online at and his blog, http://georgelouris.com