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watching sport on television versus engaging in sport yourself.
Exercise not only gives you strength, flexibility and endurance but it also strengthens one’s immune system, enhances energy, restores appetite and allows for improved sleep patterns. When you are HIV positive you may be suffering from many of the side effects of no exercise. Exercise may not be a treatment of HIV but it allows and encourages your body to heal and function at a greater level.  
Type of Exercise Matters
The term exercise has become a dirty word. When one mentions exercise it commonly results in one of the following adverse reactions.
1) I don’t have time to exercise
2) Exercise is boring
3) I don’t have a gym membership
4) It costs too much
5) I don’t know what to do
Healthcare professionals commonly encourage aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is the type of exercise that requires a minimum of 20 minutes to one hour of exercise. Unfortunately, science shows that this form of exercise is good for your heart but bad for your body.
Long duration, low intensity exercise causes hormonal imbalances, promotes muscle wasting, encourages fat storage and creates the stress response that produces irritation and inflammation on bones, joints and organs. High intensity, short duration exercise has been found to be the ideal form to create all positive effects on one’s heart, lungs and immune system.
I don’t have time to exercise
High intensity, short duration exercise can be done in 12 minutes or less per day. The key to this form of exercise is the intensity. High intensity means that you need to perform the exercises as quickly as possible. When you exercise as fast as possible you will tire yourself out quickly. The purpose of this form of exercise is to challenge your body. Everyone has 12 minutes, not everyone has 1 hour. Get out of bed!
Exercise is boring
Walking, running, biking and other long duration exercise is boring. Long duration exercise is repetitive and one will do the same thing for one hour. High intensity, short duration exercise will vary exercises every 20-30 seconds. This type of exercise keeps it fresh, new and fun.
I don’t have a gym membership
Many of us have two feet and two hands with a beating heart. High intensity, short duration exercise requires no equipment — just the willingness to get fit.
It costs too much
High intensity, short duration exercise boosts one’s immune system, balances hormones, encourages muscle growth and allows one to avoid common side effects of medications. This type of exercise can be done at home with your family and friends for free. Medical bills are expensive without the correct form of exercise or no exercise at all.
I don’t know what to do
Take it easy when you start exercising, it will take time for your body to adjust. One of the most important factors to achieve desired results is to exercise a minimum of three to four days per week. Science has proven that any less will not benefit you.
The first step is to set small and achievable goals.  This new exercise programme will be shortlived if you do not create goals.
One needs to prioritise exercise and healthy lifestyle factors into your schedule or something will always come up. Excuses do not work here.
Find an exercise buddy; health is an important aspect in everyone’s lives. If you do alone, you will end alone.  Exercise can be a new social activity that will create healthy meaningful relationships.
If you fall off your plan, get back onto the plan. It is not about how many times you fall down; it’s about how many times you get up. Do not punish yourself or feel guilty — focus on constant, continual improvement.
The programme
Exercises can be as simple as getting in and out of a chair for a beginner to doing advanced exercise moves for the established athlete. If you have bad knees, you can exercise your arms right? If you have an injured shoulder, you have another arm and lower body right?  Exercise is right for everyone; it will need to be modified to best work for you and your situation.
Upper body exercises
Pushups — The beginner can do push-ups on your knees or even against a wall to help build strength.
Dips — Move to the edge of your chair and grasp onto the seat. Move your feet away from the chair.  Beginners will have their feet closer to the chair and advanced will have straight legs with their feet far away from the chair. Bend your elbows and lower yourself towards the floor and then raise yourself until your arms are  straight.
Helicopters — Bring your arms straight out from your sides with your palms down and arms parallel to the ground. The movement is making circles in the air in the clockwise direction first and then counterclockwise. The goal is to keep the circles small.
Straight Arms — Bring your arms straight out in front of you with your palms down. The movement is similar to making up and down alternating scissor actions.
Lower Body Exercises
Squats — Start with your feet shoulder width apart.  Bend knees, push butt out and keep your shoulders back. The key is to keep your knees over your feet and bend down to approximately 90 degrees and then come up.
Jumps — Start by standing and bend your knees to prepare for a jump.  Jump off the floor.
Running — Run in place.
Circle Run — Place a towel on the floor. Run around the towel in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. The key is to always face one direction and just move your feet.
High Intensity, Short Duration
Ensure that you stretch and warm up the areas that you are going to work out. This will reduce your risk of injury and improve the response to the work out. Never exercise without a minimum of a two minute warm up and cool down after.
Twenty seconds of full-on exercise to get your heart rate up. Twenty seconds of rest. Repeat three times per exercise. Take a one minute break in between the different exercises. Lower and upper body exercises should be done on different days. Do a minimum of four times per week.  
You may be think that this exercise programme sounds easy — I challenge you to do three 20-second exercises as fast as possible. If you are not dead tired, you are not working hard enough. This form of exercise saves times, saves money, gets you fit and restores your health.

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