Q: I care about health, but I’m so busy! What is the minimum amount I should exercise to be fit?

A: Most of us are pretty busy, but the trick is to consider exercise a priority and build your life around it. Still, I understand if you can’t fit in multiple hours of daily exercise.

If you simply want a healthy lifestyle, plan on exercising very hard at least three times per week for one hour each time. At this frequency, though, you must accept you probably won’t build massive muscles or rock solid abs. Also, each session must be a complete full-body workout with stretching, strength, and cardio components. If your time is limited, you’ll also need to utilize the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) method, rather than any type of slow-jog, or “slog,” no mater what equipment you do it on!

And of course, the last key is consistency.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver, B.C. For more info call his office at 604-420-7800 or visit KarpFitness.com. You can also find Karp Fitness on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.