I was driving to the metro station listening to my favorite music channel yesterday and a news flash that got me quite excited. It was nothing new, we’ve heard this before .. but apparently in today’s busy lifestyle more and more people are opting for 10 minute workouts. Works for me ! Of late, my work schedule has become so busy that it’s becoming impossible to fit in a complete workout through the day. 10 minutes sounds perfect ! What is recommended is 3 short 10 minute workouts. Apparently short workouts can be more effective at burning calories and blasting fat. Lets see…am planning : I can just wake up 10 minutes earlier or spend 10 minutes less on dress and make up in the morning . Easy ! Through the day I can spend 10 minutes less on lunch break and in the evenings I can spend 10 minutes less on my laptop social networking 😉 Heres’s what I decided . Starting tomorrow (I am blogging about it so I am more likely to keep to it) I am going to do the Jorge Cruise’s 8 minute weights work out in the morning , get off a stop earlier in DC so I can walk 10 minutes to work and try to fit in another 10 minutes in the evening. The evening part is going to be the most challenging piece for me. I come home and am swamped with kids stuff, cooking , mothering, wifeing etc … but am making a commitment to try.
Some Easy Do- able Ten minute Workout ideas
8 minutes in the morning : A really good quick and easy workout routine incorporating weights by Jorge Cruise which focuses on different weight moves. I have had great success with this in the past, so this is going to be my first 10 minute round #Keeping Fingers Crossed !
Other 10 minute strength training workouts . Click here for some great ideas or just make up your own kind. You could keep an extra set of weights at work to do a quick-lunch break workout.
Walking your dog or using your at-home treadmill for 10 minutes before work.
At work you can do push-ups against your desk…(and) squats, coming down and going up.
In the evening, de-stress yourself. Do 10 minutes of yoga or pilates.
Burn 100 calories in 10 minute workout : Focuses on intensity, cardio and weights. I may give this a shot myself some evenings . Its quite an intense short workout.
Walking the stairs – Run or walk up a flight (or more) and recover by slowly walking back down. You could do this at work. Real calorie and fat blaster !
Any gym machine – hop on any cardio machine for a 10-minute blast. Try something different–the Versaclimber and the rowing machine are two tough ones.
High intensity moves like jumping jacks, squat hops, step jumps, kickboxing, jumping rope, vigorous dancing. It’s much easier to do these for 10 minutes at a time.
Dancing around the house and singing into a fake microphone.
Cycling with both speed and high resistance for 10 minutes.
Walk during your lunch hour for 10 minutes. Get some fresh air and get energized.
Skipping in one spot for 10 minutes. Not as easy as it seems but a good fat blaster. Not recommended if you have weak knees.
Cycling with both speed and high resistance
For some other great 10 minute workout ideas click here
Another thing you can do is get a pedometer that counts your steps. You should be taking about 10,000 steps a day, not including your workout.
If you have a busy lifestyle and are not used to making time for exercise like myself, It may be tough to commit to three sessions/day but just think of it as doing yourself a huge favor. Block that time out as ” Me Time” I am actually psyching myself here since am about to start tomorrow 😉 If you can’t do all three sessions / day don’t beat yourself up ! Even 10 minutes a day is great for a start ! Wish me luck since am starting tomorrow and All the best if you plan to do this too ! Those of you who are exercising … keep it going ! It is the best thing you can do for yourself !
Awesome ideas! I'm trying to squeeze in two or three 10 minute workouts a day. I lift some light weights in the morning and do more at night. If I'm lucky, I can escape to the gym over lunch but this is my "busy season" at work so that doesn't always happen 🙂
Well I am interested to see how this works. I do 50 minutes of yoga or a quick 20 minute cardio workout where the gal says the stairs are a bunch of hooey. But she is mean anyway. I don't think I could do (3) 10 minute workouts as something would come up or I'd get busy, so I just like to get it over in one shot. But if it works, I want to know!
This is Great!! We've finally been given permission to incorporate exercise into our schedule instead of the other way around!!
Cheers!