Every Minute Counts With Fitness

Got a minute? If you want to get in shape but just can't find the time to work out, fitness guru Minna Lessig may have a solution for you — a one-minute workout.

Her new DVD, "1 Minute Workout," has a database of 125 total-body toning exercises, each just one minute long. They can be done in any order, and can be programmed for three minutes or up to 72 minutes of exercise. A variety of one-minute warm-ups and cool-downs are included, so a complete exercise program might be as little as three minutes.

Lessig, former fitness contributor to The Early Show, is a mom to two little girls and runs a personal training studio. So she knows from personal experience how hard it is to meet the standard recommendation for fitness from the American College of Sports Medicine: 20 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five days per week, plus strength and flexibility training three to five days per week.

The good news, she says, is that recent research suggests that short bursts of activity — as little as five minutes, adding up to 30 minutes per day — can improve the cardiovascular system and body composition. She designed her DVD so that people can fit those short bursts of activity into an already-packed schedule.

"Every minute counts," said Lessig in a visit to The Early Show.

Click on The Early Show video to see Lessig demonstrate a few of her one-minute workouts.

For more about the "1-Minute Workout," click here.