As the new year approaches you will be tempted to look at your expanding waistline and say, “I’m going to get in shape”.
The problem with information work is that it always takes longer to accomplish any task than you will admit. Your work day always intrudes on personal time. Personal time you would devote to “getting in shape” mysteriously evaporates.
What you need is a fitness regimen that takes little space, little time, and gets results. How does 11 minutes a day in the space of a yoga mat sound? This isn’t some expensive fad; it’s been around since 1960, it’s effective, and it’s free.
5BX
The program was originally developed as a fitness regimen for the Royal Canadian Air Force by Dr. William (Bill) Orban. The program was simple, took little time and was easily adaptable for everyone, from jet pilots to office workers. The 5BX (5 Basic Exercises) fitness plan debunked the notion that fitness requires sustained, rigorous exercise.
Today some of the most expensive exercise programmes, and one machine that sells for fifteen thousand dollars follow Oban’s fundamental principles.
The only change to 5BX that I would make is to use the abs exercises that I wrote about here to replace the sit-ups in charts 2 through 4.
When you start this don’t jump in with both feet and start on chart 3 or 4. Instead, start at the beginning and do it every morning. If you can’t do it every day due to soreness, then drop down a level or two until you can. Fitness comes from consistency and persistence. Put this in your Monthly Habit List.
You are welcome to download a copy of the 1986-1988 reprint (1.8MB PDF zipped up).
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