When the Royal Canadian Air Force went about setting up a physical fitness program in the years following World War II, it based its plans on three basic * physical fitness is a direct result of physical activity * physical activity leading to physical fitness must be vigorous and regular * and that people will accept challenge. After two years of painstaking research, an RCAF team of doctors, scientists, physical education specialists and artists produced the 5BX and XBX Plans for Physical Fitness. These five basic exercises for men and ten basic exercises for women were designed to provide everyone, no matter what age or physical condition, with the opportunity to achieve and maintain desirable levels of physical fitness. And it only required a very small portion of the day — 11 minutes for men, 12 minutes for women.
Ok that was a really good book. Disclaimer: I'm on day two of following it (overall it should take several months to get up to the top-level stuff), so I can't comment on the efficacy of the exercises. That said, I've read it through so cam comment on the book itself. It's a slim volume with diagrams of each of the exercises you're meant to do. Each workout should only take 11 minutes if you're male, or 12 if you're female. There are 4 workout charts, each getting progressively harder.