Workout for 10 minutes a day, every day, for a month and feel the difference. Do you want to sleep better, have more energy, feel stronger and reduce the risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke? You can achieve this in 10 minutes a day. Exercise is about consistency and regularity and making this a habit makes it easy!

It’s easy to make excuses not to exercise such as you don’t have time, you’re too tired when you get in from work, you have to take the kids to swimming, football, dancing etc or you’d simply rather do something else. If you actually look at how you are spending all the hours in the day, it’s unlikely that you won’t be able to find 10 minutes somewhere, whether that’s first thing in the morning, in your lunch hour or before you go to bed. With a little discipline you can turn these 10 minutes into something that will impact and improve your health.

I try to work out throughout the day, but I know that things get in the way sometimes, so I always exercise for 10 minutes as soon as I get up, then I know that I am being consistent. I set my alarm 10 minutes earlier than I need to be up and I really don’t notice the difference apart from the fact that I feel awake and energised once I’ve finished. It’s become a habit now 😊

I like to include compound exercises (exercises that target multiple muscle groups at once) which is great when you’re short on time. They burn more calories, improve intramuscular co-ordination, raise the heart rate, improve flexibility and strength, and increase muscle mass.

Try the following 10-minute blasts and repeat the exercises through twice. There are two sets with five exercises in each so you can do them as they are, mix and match to keep it interesting or, if you have extra time, do them both! 😊 (If you don’t have dumbbells at home, you can use bottles of water or tins).

Perform each exercise for 45 seconds and rest for 15 seconds.

SET 1

Reverse lunge with bicep curl (glutes, hamstrings, abs, hips and biceps).

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms down.
Take a large step backwards into a lunge whilst at the same time performing a bicep curl.
Make sure that you step back far enough so that your knee isn’t falling in front of your toes.
Step back to the start position as you take the arms back down.

Squat with hammer curl (glutes, quads, hamstrings, adductor, calves, biceps).

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms down by your sides and your palms facing your thighs, so that the dumbbells are facing front to back.
Curl the weights up towards your shoulders and hold there whilst you perform a squat.
Hold the squat for a couple of seconds then push back up to standing and lower the weights to the start position.
Curl the weights slowly, both when lifting up and lowering back down.
Don’t rely on momentum to lift and lower the weights as this decreases your ability to build strength. Control the movement and don’t rush.
Make sure that your elbows stay close to your body and don’t drift out.

Front lunge with twist (glutes, hamstrings, abs and hips).

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and your arms out in front of you keeping them straight (you can hold a dumbbell if you wish).
Step forward with the right foot into a lunge position, making sure that your knees do not fall in front of your toes.
Whilst in the lunge position, twist your upper body to the right and then back to the front. Return to the start position and repeat with the other leg.

Plank with rotation (abs, shoulders).

Start in a plank position on your hands, with your hands under your shoulders, and your feet hip width apart.
Engage your core, squeeze your thighs and glutes and lift your left arm up whilst twisting your hips and shoulders towards the ceiling. Bring the left hand back to the floor and repeat with the right arm.

Dumbbell press (triceps, chest, shoulders, arms).

Lie on the floor with knees bent and hold two dumbbells at your chest (with the ends facing each other).
Push the dumbbells up towards the ceiling until your arms are fully extended.
Hold for a couple of seconds and flex your triceps, then lower the weights back down slowly to a count of 4, towards your chest.

SET 2

Burpees (Legs, hips, glutes, abs, arms, chest, shoulders).

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Lower into a squat position and place your hands onto the floor.
Jump your legs back into a plank position.
Jump your feet forward to return to a squat position. Stand up, jump and then repeat.

Lateral lunge with side bend (quads, abductors/adductors – outer thighs/inner thighs, glutes, hamstrings, obliques).

Stand with feet hip width apart and a small dumbbell in each hand.
Place your hands by your head.
Take a big step to the side with your left leg, bending your left knee and pushing your hips back and low until your left knee is bent at 90°.
Whilst in this position bend your waist to the left, taking your elbow towards your hip, and back.
Return to standing, making sure to push back up with your left foot.

Weighted walking lunges (legs, glutes, core, upper body).

Stand with a dumbbell in each hand.
Take a big step forward, lowering into a lunge and making sure that your knee doesn’t go in front of your toes.
Stand up from the lunge by pressing your front foot into the floor and pushing back up.
Repeat with the other leg so that you have a walking motion.
Keep your back straight, your head up and your core engaged as you lunge. Perform these slowly, concentrating on the muscles that are working.

Prone shoulder press (primarily spine, trapezius and rear deltoids)

Start by lying face down on the floor.
Lift the head and chest slightly off the floor and take your arms out straight in front.
Pull your elbows back and continue the motion of extending your arms forwards and then pulling your elbows back.
You can hold light weights for this if you wish.

Push Ups (triceps, pecs, shoulders).

Start on all fours, with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders.
Straighten your legs so that you are in a plank position on your hands.
Engage your abs and lower your chest towards the floor, until nearly touching the floor.
Hold for a second or two and then push back up.
You can do a modified push up by keeping your knees on the floor.

The above workouts are great as a regular daily workout, for when you’re on holiday, or if you can’t get to us as often as you’d like to. 😊

If you like the idea of quick yet effective workouts but don’t have the discipline to stick to it yourself, then we offer 30 minute workouts that fit into your day easily! Pop in after the school run, on your lunch break, or to de-stress after work and spend 30 minutes on YOU. Improve your physical and mental health, plus, to get results you only need to visit us 3 times a week!

Try our 1 month membership for yourself and see how much stronger, fitter and healthier you feel in 30 days!

Much Love

Caroline & Hannah xx