In our very fast paced world today with many of us balancing multiple roles, as an employee or business owner, parent, spouse, household manager, and responsible citizen, finding time for exercise can be a real problem. As a result, our health and fitness goals often get put on the back burner.

Most of us realize that regular physical exercise is absolutely necessary for us to maintain our overall health and fitness, keep our weight down, to look and feel great, and to stay young longer. So what's the answer?

Well I have good news for you. Several studies, including one published in The Journal of Physiology, clearly show that short bursts of intense exercise, equivalent to only a few minutes per day, can produce the same or even better results than traditional cardio endurance training or spending hours at the gym lifting weights.

You may not have time to go to the gym, but everyone can find just 7-10 minutes per day to exercise at home. So time really does not have to be an issue, if you are really want to lose weight, get in great shape, and improve your health.

The key is to first make a decision to make taking care of your health and fitness a top priority, and then the taking steps necessary to fit a few minutes of exercise into your schedule at least 4-5 times per week. Once you've made that decision, you'll find there are lots of ways to accomplish your health and fitness goals in just minutes each day.

If you don't have time to go to the gym, get a small bench or fitness ball and a set of dumbbells for your strength training exercises. There are also many effective body weight exercises you can do, as well as short intense interval cardio exercises that will burn lots of calories, help you lose weight, and strengthen your cardiovascular system.

You could also find ways to include exercise as a part of your daily schedule. Go ahead and make a list of all the times, places and ways that you could fit in some kind of physical activity into your day.

Are there are there stairs in your office or apartment building? Go ahead, and climb them for five minutes a day.

When you go on a short errand, can you walk instead of taking the car? Do so.

Do you take a lunch hour? Use 10-15 minutes of it to walk, stretch, meditate, do push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges or dips.

The bottom line is that regardless of how busy your daily schedule is, a lack of time doesn't have to keep you from losing weight, and getting really fit, slim, and healthy. And, in fact, ongoing exercise research is clearly showing that short intense strength training and cardio exercise is actually far more effective than long slow cardio or spending hours in the gym.