10 Minute Workout

The main reason for a 10 minute workout is that people just don’t have the time to exercise. Everyone has 10 minutes in their day – this is the great thing about a 10 minute workout. If you can’t find 10 minutes to exercise, then you need to cut back on your schedule (10 minutes worth), because you are far too busy.

You could get more out of a 10 minute workout than you could in a 45 minute walk. The key is how hard you are willing to work, not how much time you put in.

I have seen people at the gym that make sure they put in an hour; but the trouble is much of the time is spent either socializing, going through the motions, or spending too much rest time between exercises.

Let’s face it, any exercise is better that none at all; and your 10 minute workout could be as simple as a 10 minute walk at lunch break, or 10 minutes of push ups and sit ups. Obviously the latter is going to give you the best overall workout simply because it takes that much more effort to perform such movements.

The best 10 minute workout

Depending what your goals are, a 10 minute workout could involve either strength or cardio training.

The problem with pure strength training is that it takes 10 minutes just to warm up before you even think about exercising with heavy weight. On the other hand, cardio exercise has a less chance of injury. Depending on your age or fitness level, you may still want to warm up before performing any intense exercise.

Full body combination strength/cardio exercise will give you the most benefit in a 10 minute workout.

To get the best benefit from your workout, you need to get blood pumping throughout your body. Here are a few examples:

1. Good old running. Again, if you want to get the most out of this in the short period of time, you want to involve you arms (pumping them), your core(tighten it), and of course you legs. Push yourself to run at a brisk rate for a minute then recoup for 10-20 seconds. This approach is called interval training and is much more effective than steady running, even at a fast pace.
2. Push-ups with an exercise ball under your feet (see picture above). Crunching your knees to your chest after each push-up. (more advanced workout)
3. Kettle bell exercises are a good way to incorporate many of the major muscles. If you don’t have one, fill up a duffle bag with some weight and do a few sets of swinging it up over your shoulders, making sure you involve your core and your legs.
4. Stair climbing or hiking is a great way to quickly get your heart rate up.

You could use a combination of any of these exercises or all four. Because of the limited time, rest between exercises (if you are performing more than one) should be limited to a few seconds.

It’s just a matter of using your imagination, and knowing that the amount of benefit you get out of it, boils down to the amount of effort you put in.

Finally, there is no reason that you can’t fit a 10 minute workout into your day, and any activity (even a casual walk or dynamic stretching) is better that no activity at all.

Author Bio: Cory Sandyke specializes in the health and fitness industry. He has over 40 years experience and promotes simple exercises you could do at home.