Most of us have pretty firm ideas of what a typical 'workout' looks like. Some of the most common elements involve driving to a gym, changing clothes, working out with various equipment, sweating, burning and heaving and doing all this for a certain length of time, usually about an hour.
What happens when your life doesn't allow for all of these different workout elements? For example, say it's almost the middle of December and the holidays are coming and you're so busy and stressed that, when your trainer asks you how you're doing on your workouts, you scream, "How am I doing? How am I doing? How does it look like I'm doing? I am huge and I'm only going to become more elephantine as the holidays get closer!"
Not that I'm talking about anyone in particular.
Screaming at your trainer is certainly one way to handle things, but another is to try shorter workouts. Short bouts of exercise are just as effective as continuous workouts - if you work hard enough. The key to short workouts is to choose big, whole body movements that involve multiple muscles and work at a high intensity to get the most out of every single second.
So, let's take 10 minutes and figure out what we could do with that time. Some ideas:
- For a Cardio Blast: Choose 5 cardio activities and do each one for 1 minute, going all out. For example, sprint, run up and down a flight of stairs, jumping jacks, burpees and jumping rope. Repeat. Oh and make sure you always warm up before your workout, especially when working at a high intensity. It adds time to your workout, but it's worth it to protect your body from injury.
- For a Strength Blast: Choose 10 different high intensity strength exercises, doing each for 1 minute. For example: bear crawls, squat, curl and press, deadlift with overhead press, lunge rows, step ups, power biceps curls, dips, triceps pushups, side to side lunges and planks with dumbbell rows.
Those are just a couple of ideas. What about you? What would you do with 10 minutes? Leave a comment and tell us how to get the most out of 10-minute workouts.
More About 10-Minute Workouts
I have been getting good results by using Body Blades. Short, ten minute, intense workouts, with little or no rest provide cardio benefits and toning of upper body, arms, and core. I am 60 years old and have abandoned traditional gym workouts!
I have an old exercise bike in the basement and if nothing else, I’ll go down and ride it for 10 minutes while the wash is finishing…it does something, not sure how much, but it keeps the muscles toned.
I think the ten minute workout serves a purpose but it’s probably not the end all and be all solution for people with time constraints. Realistically, shifting between mutliple exercises in such a short time might open up someone who is just starting out to injuries.
On my website, I suggest a 30 minute workout for people with busy lives. I mean, really, if someone doesn’t have at least 30 minutes of free time for a workout during the day that’s not good for their overall quality of life.