One of the biggest excuses for not working out is the lack of time. Unless you are one of the very select few that have avoided the addiction, chances are that you spend a considerable amount of time watching television. Wouldn't it be great if you could work out and not have to give up watching your favorite shows?

Here’s the idea. Every television show has commercial breaks. This is usually just wasted time when you either surf the other stations looking for something else to watch or you make a run to the kitchen for something to eat. What if you used that time to do something productive and healthy?

The following five exercises can each be done quickly and easily during the breaks. There is very little setup so you can jump right into the movement at each break. See how many reps you can do before your program returns. You can also increase or decrease the intensity as needed as your progress.

Squats – from a standing position, bend your legs like you are sitting down in a chair. Pause briefly and stand back up. Do these slowly to avoid excess stress on your knees. For extra intensity, hold a weight to your chest while performing the movement.

Towel Row – wrap a towel around the handle of a dumbbell or other such weight. Straddle the weight with your feet evenly spaced. Bend at the hip and keep your back flat and as near parallel to the floor as possible. Using only your arms and keeping your elbows close to your sides, pull the ends of the towel up. Pause briefly and lower back down.

Push-ups – these can be performed with your hands in narrow, shoulder width, and wide position. Each will work a different set of muscles and it would be a good idea to vary the position for even muscle development. If you can’t support your weight on just your hands and feet, you can drop to your knees until you get stronger.

Lunges – start in an upright position with your hands on your hips. Step forward with one leg, bending at the knee. Keep your back straight as you lower your body. Try to go down until your thigh is parallel to the floor. It is important that you not let your shin go past the vertical position to avoid damaging your knee. Push yourself back up using your front leg, butt, and thigh muscles. Repeat with the other leg to complete the rep.

Crunches – This is basically a half sit-up. Instead of coming all the way up until your elbows touch your knees, you keep your lower back on the floor and simply contract your abs to lift your shoulders up. You will not lift very far off the ground but you will definitely feel it in your gut.

So there you have five easy exercises to do for a TV workout routine. Since there is little or no setup, you can easily crank out a few reps during each of the commercial breaks. In a half hour show, there are probably five or six minutes of commercial time that you can be taking advantage of. You could do each exercise for one minute over the length of the show for your own high intensity training circuit at home! It may not seem like much, but consistently is the key to seeing long term results.