Have just 15 minutes? Can’t go anywhere? Great. Total body fitness is within reach. “It’s amazing what can happen in 15 minutes,” says Pauline Stafford, a certified personal trainer in Dallas. “People have this misconception that you need to go somewhere else to exercise, but exercise is right where you are.”
Mix these ideas up any way you’d like for 15 minutes:
- Stairs. Who needs a Stairmaster?
- Squats. Works one of the body’s largest muscle groups in a way that engages almost every part of your body.
- Lunges. Works your lower body and gets your heart rate up.
- Bridge. (Or sometimes known as a back-bend.) To mix it up, straighten one leg out, then alternate with the other.
- Jump rope. You can also get the same workout with the jump and without a rope.
- Push-ups. Modified or military style. Do sets of five until you can work up to 10 or 20 at a time.
- Abs. Bicycle abdominal crunches or 15-, 30-, 60-seconds of plank pose, where you rest in a push-up like position on your lower arms. Keep your tummy tight, pulling your belly button in toward your spine.
- Hand weights. Stick to under 10 pounds if you’re new to this. Mix up your lifting routine with bicep curls, tricep curls or chest presses.
