Wouldn’t it be great if you could get fit and tone up in only 10 minutes? How on earth can 10 minutes be as good as an hour in the gym? Many people think that to see results and get the benefit of exercise, they need to slog it out in the gym for an hour or run for miles and miles followed by intense gym sessions. If you really enjoy that, then it’s fine (just be careful not to overtrain) but for many people time is a big factor in how long they have to exercise.
Research has shown that short bursts of exercise are very effective, building muscle, toning, tightening and burning more calories for longer (you will carry on burning calories for up to 24 hours after exercising), than other types of exercise, often seeing results in a little as 3 – 4 weeks. It also helps with keeping your heart healthy, lowers blood pressure and boosts your mood due to the release of endorphins, the brain’s natural mood lifter. Other benefits include becoming stronger, sleeping better, balance and co-ordination, as well as an insurance policy for your health and fitness as you get older. We all still want to be able to do our normal daily activities as we get older. As it’s a short workout, you are also more likely to actually do it, as not having enough time is no longer an excuse. Think about the extra 10 minutes that you have in bed, the time that your tea takes to cook or the time that is wasted between doing other things – these are all perfect times for a 10-minute workout, and you will feel so much better afterwards.
A 10-minute workout can be a combination of repetition-based exercises that are done to a maximum effort for a set time, usually between 15 seconds and 3 – 4 minutes, depending on how intense the exercise is, with a short rest in-between. The overall time of the workout can be anything from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.
You are more likely to stay focused and have good technique when doing shorter workouts meaning that there is less chance of injury.
Try a 10 minute workout now!
Pick five exercises from the lists below and do each exercise for 45 seconds then rest for 15 seconds. Repeat so that you are completing the five exercises twice through. That’s your 10-minute workout done!
Don’t worry if you don’t have dumbbells. You can use tins of beans (or any tins) or bottles of water.
Abs:
Ab Crunch Twist (ab crunch, then hold and twist to each side before lowering back down)
Sit Up (lie with legs bent and gently raise up into a sit up using your core and return to a lying position)
Alternate Toe Taps (lie on your back with legs bent and off the floor – keep your knees over your hips – and lower one leg to the floor tapping it with your toes, then repeating on the other side)
Plank (make sure to keep your back straight and not raised or dipped)
Russian Twist (sit with legs bent and lean back to engage your core. Twist from side to side – with or without a weight)
Upper Body:
Bicep Curl with weights (hold a dumbbell in each hand and, keeping your arms close to you body and stable, curl up until hands are at shoulder height and return to start)
Kneeling Triceps Extension (kneel on all fours, hold a dumbbell in one hand and keeping the elbow to the shoulder still, extend the arm up and back)
Chest Press (lie on floor with arms out to the side and elbows bent. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, push up towards the ceiling. Lower back to the floor without touching)
Shoulder Press (stand with a dumbbell in each hand with arms bent at shoulder height, and parallel to the floor. Push the weights up until your arms are straight and then bring back to the start)
Pull Backs & Fly (stand leaning slightly forward with a dumbbell in each hand. Pull your elbows straight back, close to your body and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Then turn the dumbbells and pull your elbows out to the side. Still squeezing your shoulder blades together. Alternate these moves)
Lower Body:
Glute Bridge – with or without resistance band around your knees or a weight resting on your hips (lie on your back with knees bent and push your hips up to the ceiling until your body is in a straight line. Squeeze your glutes and return to start)
Curtsey Lunge (lunge backwards taking one leg behind the other like a curtsey)
Reverse Lunge (lunge backwards with one leg, return to start and repeat with the other leg, making sure that your knees don’t come forward over your toes)
Side Leg Raises (lie on side with or without a resistance band around ankles or above knees. Raise leg towards the ceiling and lower for a number of reps then change sides)
Donkey Kicks (kneel on all fours with hands beneath shoulders and take one leg back and up to the ceiling, keeping the leg bent, and return to start position. Repeat a number of reps on either side or alternate)
Fire Hydrants ((kneel on all fours with hands beneath shoulders and take one leg out to the side, keeping the leg bent, and return to start position. Repeat a number of reps on either side or alternate)
Squats (stand with feet parallel a little wider than hip width apart – everyone’s position will be slightly different – and bent legs until in a squat position, pushing the hips back and keeping the head and chest up. Make sure that the knees do not come forward over the toes. Come back up to the starting position and squeeze glutes)
Sumo Squat Pulse (wide squat position with toes facing outwards and staying in the squat position, pulse)
Rainbow Kicks (kneel on all fours and keeping one leg straight, raise over the other leg and back, keeping hips still and stable. Change legs halfway through the time)
Crab Walk (lower into a half squat position and walk sideways for 3 or 4 steps and then back the other way, staying in the squat position for the 45 seconds)
Cardio:
Burpees (stand and jump up, then place hands by feet and jump backwards into a plank position. Jump forwards so that feet are by the hands, then stand. Repeat)
Star Jumps (stand straight with your legs together, arms at your sides. Bend your knees slightly and jump into the air. As you jump, spread your legs to be about shoulder width apart and stretch your arms out and over your head. Jump back to starting position. Repeat)
Suicide Runs (side-step 3-5 paces quickly to the right and touch your right foot with your left hand. Repeat going to the other side and touch your left foot with your right hand. Repeat)
Skaters (stand with legs hip width apart. Bend one leg behind the supporting leg at a slight angle, whilst maintaining weight and balance on the supporting leg. Exhale and swing your arms and jump over to the other side. Shift your weight and land with the opposite leg behind you. Land on the ball of your foot with your knees slightly bent. Repeat the side-to-side motion, transferring your weight each time. Continue to alternate the arms and legs as you shift side to side in a skating motion)
High Knees (run on the spot bringing the knees up high)
Mix and match the exercises to give your workout different combinations and hit different muscles each day!
If you LOVED this short workout but struggle with motivation, why not follow along to our TonedIn10 workouts? We guide you through every exercise and make the time fly by even quicker! Find out ore over on our Tonedin10 site, here.
Much Love
Caroline & Hannah xx