With a day like yours, who has time to think about exercise? Did you know that getting active, even just for five minutes can vastly improve your mood and your body at the same time? Do yourself (and everyone else) a favor and try to squeeze just five minutes of fitness into your day - you'll be glad you did!

Here are some quick tips for 5 minutes of fitness and a lifetime of health.

1. Get out! Take a quick break, and get out of your office or house. Take a brisk walk around the parking lot or down your street. Getting out of a stressful atmosphere and to a place where you can think is a huge part of calming your mind and emotions. Plus, by walking fast, the excess tension in your system gets worked out so you return to work feeling relaxed and refreshed.

2. Take the steps. Hop in the elevator and ride to the bottom floor. Climb the stairs back up to your floor. If your building is less than four floors, do it again. Don't have steps in your building? How about getting an inexpensive workout stepper for the office or home?

3. Squeeze the tension away. Grab a tennis ball in each hand and squeeze as hard as you can for a count of eight. Release your grip, relax, and then repeat several times. You'll condition your forearms and strengthen your hands. You can also use tennis balls to massage your feet and back - pretty versatile tools for under three bucks!

4. Use resistance bands. When you feel stressed or irritated, grab the band with the highest resistance and use it for lateral raises. Place one end of the band under your foot, and the other in your hand on the same side (at about waist high against your hip). Lift straight out to the side, stretching the band for resistance and releasing your stress along the way.

5. Find some competition. Challenge a co-worker to a daily parking lot speed-walking event. Start the competition by walking down the stairs (vs. riding the elevator) and see who can walk the parking lot (or other course) the fastest - no running allowed! This is great exercise, and is almost certain to bring a laugh or two.

6. Don't be a dumbbell! Just use them! Grab a set of dumbbells you can keep at the office. These little babies are available just about everywhere in small sets with four or five weights up to 10 pounds. Use them for building arm or back strength, and for those really frustrating times, grab the heaviest one and do as many bicep curls as you can stand. It just might prevent you from blowing your top at some unfortunate co-worker.

7. Reach for the sky. Remember to stretch. Doing so will prove to be a tremendous tool for releasing tension and stiffness, and can even boost your energy levels. Keep a yoga mat or blanket in your office and you can even do prone stretching (but keep your door closed!).

8. Lean on me. OK, not me, but how about the wall? Try this: stand about eighteen inches away from the wall (or a door), then place your hands on the surface at about shoulder height, and do vertical push-ups. For a more challenging exercise, move away from the wall or try changing hand positions. When you feel confident, try one-handed push-ups - you may find yourself doing the real ones sooner than you think!

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Copyright 2005, www.easyfitnessinfo.com - All rights reserved. Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise or fitness program. This article may be freely distributed as long as it is not edited in any way.