Embrace Your Weekend Warrior

by Valerie Nahmad — August 28, 2007

Exercising five days a week is great, but sometimes we've only got two to give. Work, friends, family, and the rest of life get in the way of gym—it happens to the best of us. Squeeze 150 minutes of activity into one weekend courtesy of this Self Magazine cheat sheet:

• Hop around between cardio, weights, and stretching. Swap 2 days of straight cardio for 40 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of stretching, and 20 minutes of weights on Saturday and 60 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of core exercises, and 10 minutes of stretching on Sunday.
• Pick a specific body goal and devote the bulk of your time to it. If flexibility is top priority, go heavy on yoga; if toning is most important, load up on strength training.
• Stretch your lower body. Sitting at a desk all week causes butt muscles (glutes, hip flexors, quads, and hamstrings) to tighten. Stretch them with this easy exercise: Lunge right foot onto a step; lift arms overhead; straighten left leg and press hips forward. Hold 30 seconds, switch legs