Now even the busiest of us have no excuse not to exercise.

In the time it takes you to moan that you never have any time on your hands you could have exercised most of your major muscle groups in the latest craze to hit health clubs - the ten-minute gym.

We've had power-napping and power walking - it was only a matter of time before the power workout.

The short, sharp training sessions are designed to keep pace with modern life, where we all want everything yesterday.

The ten-minute bursts can be individually tailored and include everything from weight loss and warm-ups to better legs and stronger abs.

The one-on-one sessions hit The Dolphin Health Club in Haywards Heath last month - the first place in the country to run the revolutionary routines.

And the whambam workouts are already proving to be popular, according to Alex Fuoco-Lang, health and fitness manager at The Dolphin.

"If someone is just running into the gym and they don't have much time, the ten minute gym is ideal," he says. "They can go in and know they are going to really work.

"The focus around the workout is that people don't have much time. Research has been done into the amount of time people really want to spend at the gym and it turns out most people are only really willing to give up about ten minutes. But this is ideal for an intensive workout."

Although the fast fitness sessions can be done on their own for those who want to work out and go, many incorporate them into a longer workout to break up the monotony of endless miles on a treadmill or enough heaves on a rowing machine to see you across the Channel and back.

"Gyms don't have the buzz of a class," Alex says. "So this is a way of doing something interactive on the gym floor that is motivating, energising and a quick hit.

"You can really get your heart going but without the monotonous exercise.

Some people spend an hour in the gym but they're not working out all the time.

With the ten-minute sessions you are working every second.

There is no taking a breather.

"By the time they've finished some people are literally crawling out of the door."

In keeping with 21st Century living the programme is designed to produce maximum results in minimum time, providing a workout that'll see you work up an impressive sweat in the time it takes to make a cup of tea.

For those who want to work out and waltz off, you can call to book a ten-minute session or just drop in on a casual basis.

The sessions, which work all the major muscle groups safely and effectively, are easily customised, allowing a trained instructors to tailor a programme to suit each individual.

The workouts are graded in intensity, so a press-up session may start with the usual up and down heave and move on to include twists and weights.

"It has been popular," says Alex. "As well as the time factor, another thing which makes it appealing is you don't need a lot of kit.You can get your heart going just as fast in a cardio and weighted workout, but without the machines.

"Just because you spend more time at the gym, it doesn't necessarily mean you are getting any fitter. It's what you actually do when you're in there that counts. It's amazing what you can achieve in ten minutes.

"Ideally people will integrate the ten minutes with, say, treadmill work or a normal gym session, to break things up and motivate themselves. But a few do just come for the session. The short blasts will make people realise they don't need to spend as much time in the gym to get the most out of it."

There are plans to roll the ten-minute workouts to the two other Mid Sussex District Council leisure centres - The Triangle Centre, Burgess Hill, and Kings Centre, East Grinstead.

  • For more details on the ten-minute gym call The Dolphin Health Club, Pasture Hill Road, Haywards Heath on 01444 447804. The sessions are only available to members.