Micro Workouts: How to Stay Fit When You Have No Time or Motivation
The past few months have been full-on with building work at home, all good things, but it completely took over life.
With the chaos, exercise slipped to the bottom of my list.
I missed the mental and physical feels that regular training gives me, but I just wasn’t managing my usual sessions.
So I decided to experiment with something smaller: micro workouts.
Time & Motivation
Time and motivation are probably the biggest hurdles to exercise.
They can stop us moving altogether.
But like most things, consistency is what really matters.
One perfect workout won’t give you the same benefits as moving regularly:
better energy
stronger muscles and bones
improved heart health
steadier hormones
sharper focus
long-term strength that supports you for years to come.
No Time to Work Out
Keeping fit does take time,
but it also makes everything else in life flow better.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect hour-long workout to count.
Moving often is what really improves your health, mindset, motivation, and results.
Micro workouts, sometimes called exercise snacks,
are short bursts of exercise you can do whenever you have some spare time: five, ten, maybe fifteen minutes.
And the science backs it up: even short sessions can boost fitness, build strength, and lift your mood.
Instead of waiting for the perfect hour that never comes,
you use the time you do have,
weaving movement into your day
wherever it fits.
Doing Something Is Always Worth It
I love a longer workout, but some days it just isn’t doable,
and skipping it completely can throw you off track.
When you’ve only got a few minutes, it’s tempting to think it’s not worth it.
But it is.
It’s still progress.
Progress not perfection.
Squats whilst brushing teeth - squeezing in movement where you can
Action Creates Motivation
When motivation does drop,
it doesn’t just come back on its own,
you have to take action to bring it back.
Getting started is the hardest bit,
so making the start easier is key.
That might look like getting your clothes out ready, arranging a walk with a mate or telling yourself you only need to do 5-minutes.
squats during a microworkout
My Two Week Commitment
With lots going on at home, I was short on time,
and not having the time to do my normal routine
knocked my motivation,
and I ended up not doing anything!
So, for two weeks, I swapped my usual workouts for micro workouts.
I wanted to know if they’d actually help me feel fitter, more consistent, and more energised… even with less time.
So, what exactly are micro workouts?
Micro workouts, sometimes called exercise snacks,
are short bursts of movement that can be done throughout the day
instead of one long training session.
They’re designed to make exercise more realistic for busy schedules,
think 5 to 20-minute sessions of strength, cardio, or mobility work,
that add up over time.
Research shows these smaller, consistent efforts can improve cardiovascular health, strength, and mood
just as effectively as longer workouts, when done regularly.
Marie Claire recently did a feature on micro workouts and how the short sessions can deliver big benefits for busy people.
My Workout Plans
Workout Planning
Before getting started, I planned all my home workouts, between 15-25 minutes, including warmup time,
so that no matter how much time I had, I could pick one and get straight to it.
My strength training focused on keeping me injury-free and strong for running.
I’ve shared the image above to show how I structured my workouts, but these are tailored to my fitness level and goals and are all the exercises I am used to.
Exercise Snack Jar
Exercise Snacks
To remove any chance for excuses during the challenge,
I made an exercise snack jar (shown above)
each post-it note had a quick exercise move written on it,
like 10 push-ups or 1-minute of squats.
So, even if I only had one minute spare in a day, I could still move my body.
I actually loved using the exercise jar whilst working at my desk,
I set an alarm every 45-minutes to pick a ‘snack’
it helped me mentally with focus and energy through the day by giving short energising breaks from concentration.
The Results
Micro workouts genuinely got me out of a slump.
I went from barely exercising (because of time and motivation)
to squeezing in movement wherever I could,
even though my circumstances hadn’t changed.
It was simply because I’d committed to the challenge and changed my mindset on what was worth doing and what could be done.
I actually went a bit overboard in the first few days and ended up feeling burnt out 😆.
Because each session was short, I kept adding extras:
two workouts a day plus some exercise snacks.
It caught up with me fast.
That was actually a good reminder of how much these short sessions can add up over the week.
After that, I built in rest days and took a more balanced approach, and that’s when I started feeling great again.
Running & Strength Improvements
Before starting, I looked back at my average training from the previous four weeks,
and by the end of this challenge, there were clear improvements.
I moved more, lifted heavier, and my running mileage increased without feeling forced.
Even my heart rate was lower at faster paces.
The short sessions absolutely made a difference.
What I’m Taking From This Challenge
I’ve got fitness goals that need longer sessions, like my 10K PB,
so now that life’s a bit more normal, I’m back at the gym and running longer again.
But micro workouts are here to stay.
They’ve helped me rebuild consistency and prove that less time doesn’t have to mean less progress.
On days when I don’t have time for the gym, I do a short home workout instead.
And if I can only fit in a 15-minute run, I’m out the door doing it!
No excuses
because doing something really is better than doing nothing.
👉 Watch the full video below to see how it went and whether microworkouts could work for you too!
Research Links
Sports Medicine and Health Science (2022) – Brief bouts of exercise: A viable, time-efficient strategy for improving health. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666827022000312
McMaster University (2019) – “Exercise snacks” can improve fitness in inactive adults. https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/exercise-snacks-can-improve-fitness-in-inactive-adults/
The Journal of Physiology (2020) – Breaking up sedentary time with short bouts of exercise improves metabolic and cardiovascular health. https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP278752 
British Journal of Sports Medicine (2022) – Time-efficient exercise snacks: small doses, big impact. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/5/237 
