Moving your body is essential for your overall health, even if its a quick workout routine. However, when you’re busy, it’s easy to skip exercise. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a corporate professional, you’re likely scrapping for more time in your day.
Women’s health expert and founder of Gym Hooky Ariel Belgrave Harris shared “something is better than nothing” when it comes to exercising. Incorporating short exercises into a busy routine is key to improved health. Regular exercise decreases the risk of mental illness and improves your mental and emotional wellbeing. Studies show that even squeezing in three one-minute bursts of vigorous daily activity can increase life expectancy.
“Sometimes, life be life-ing, and it’s hard to get in a full workout,” Harris said. “Instead of throwing in the towel, focus on doing what you can do, as opposed to what you can’t.”
In an honor of National Fitness Day, here are five workouts to add to your routine for when you are short on time.
Full Body 20-Rep Workout
Belgrave Harris suggests a full body circuit workout. This quick workout routine incorporates five unique exercises of your choosing. Make sure to pick exercises that target the full body. You’ll do one round of the circuit and 20 reps of each exercise.
The fitness expert suggests using jumping jacks, squats, alternating reverse lunges, pushups and butterfly sit-ups to enhance this quick workout routine.
15-Minute KB Workout
For fitness trainer Julian “JT” Turner’s workouts, you’ll need a kettlebell and 15 minutes. The exercise consists of five rounds and 15 minutes of EMOM (every minute on the minute). This means you’ll complete a set number of reps within the minute and rest the remainder. At the start of the new minute, you would move onto the next exercise.
This 15-minute routine includes alternating reverse lunge and press, plyo split jumps and plank reaches.
Arms, Abs and Cardio Workout
This 30-minute quick workout routine focuses on the arms, abs and cardio. You’ll do 10 to 15 reps for two to three sets. With the addition of a set of light dumbbells, you are sure to work up a sweat. The 10 exercises in this workout routine are upright row, tabletop and glute core/ab thrust, squat jacks, medial deltoids/shoulders, hammer curls, tricep kickbacks, lateral hops, slow jabs with light dumbbells, cardio sidesteps and touch ground, and bicycles.
12-Rep Upper Body Workout
If you want a quick upper body workout, try out this 12-rep routine. Grab a pair of dumbbells and tone your arms, shoulders and back. You’ll complete 12 reps of each move for three rounds. The exercise combination includes the arnold press, eccentric bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, bent-over rows, reverse flys and upright rows.
Simple Leg Workout
This simple workout will get your legs and glutes fired up. With this quick workout routine, health coach and fitness influencer Massy Arias proves that less is more with an intentional workout.
“On days you have to cut your workout short, focus on doing less, but with intention and effort,” she said.
This routine consists of two simple supersets, which is one exercise followed by the next with little to no rest in between. After a quick warmup, you’ll do four sets of six to 12 reps of each exercise.
The first combination is a dumbbell step up, with four sets of eight reps on each leg, and a single leg barbell hip thrust, with four set of six reps. The second combination includes a barbell straight leg deadlift, with four sets of 12 reps, and a single leg ball curl, with four sets of eight reps.