I regularly come across people who tell me that staying in shape only requires to go to the gym “for half an hour” every few days. Yet, they always conveniently forget commuting times that are a multiple of that. When I tell them how I stay in shape, they sometimes get annoyed and claim I am making this up.  

However, staying in shape doesn’t have to take much effort. One big aspect is nutrition, but I cover this elsewhere. Thus, I assume that you avoid fast food, chocolate and all the other unhealthy things you can buy. Further, I am not talking about bulking up but simply about staying lean and maintaining a bit of muscle. 

Almost everything I am going to tell you, you can easily add to your daily routine. One reason why people get fat is that they don’t move much, so a remedy is to use a bike for short distances, or use public transport and get off one or two stops before your actual destination, and walk the rest. 

Further, avoid elevators whenever possible! Climbing stairs is an excellent workout, not just for your legs, but in general. Once you’ve gotten used to walking up four or five flights of stairs several times a day, you may notice that you won’t easily run out of breath anymore, which will probably improve your quality of life considerably. (You’ll also perform better in the bedroom, by the way.) 

For the more adventurous guys among my readers who are not content with merely taking brisk walks or climbing several flights of stairs, there is even more you can do. For instance, you can do pull-ups. If you are not used to this kind of exercise, you will be surprised how difficult just one proper pull-up is. I actually do mine on a public playground near my apartment, and when I usually go there, there are no brainwashed mommies around either who think that you are a child molester if you enter a playground on your own. I do two or three sets of pull-ups, which takes just a few minutes, and then I head home. 

Lastly, I supplement my workouts with crunches to maintain my abs, and push-ups to train the upper body. I do them at home every couple of days, which adds some more minutes to my weekly work-out. The amount of time I invest may not sound like a lot, but it’s nonetheless a very effective workout, and if you doubt it, I’ll challenge you to do 20 push-ups in proper form. (I can do them easily.) This workout keeps me lean and healthy, which is all I want. I don’t care about bulking up, and obviously those exercises will not turn you into a contender for the Mr. Universe title. However, they will keep you in far better shape than the average person, and can even add a few years to your life expectancy. And this is worth a lot, don’t you think?