The next time you feel like skipping your workout, just remember: You only need 30 minutes for your body to feel the difference.
"The benefits of a quick workout are simple — it’s easy to fit into your day, energizes you, helps you build endurance and is a great place for beginners to start," says Eva Redpath, master trainer of Nike Training Club in Canada. "Being active will put you in a better place both physically and mentally, and will motivate you to stay on top of things at work and home."
Redpath says doing high intensity versions of simple exercises — like push-ups or jumping jacks — for 30 seconds two or three times each will give you a total workout while using your own body weight.
And if you think about it, 30 minutes isn't really a huge time commitment. Redpath says you can consider the time you spend doing unnecessary things, like watching a TV show just because it happens to be on, and see if you can fit in a workout before or after work. If your goal is weight loss, she says, reaching out to others with similar goals also helps.
"Find a community of like-minded people who share the same goal as you or choose an accountability partner, someone who you can talk about your goals and progress with."
Redpath's signature workout (which is described in detail below), involves doing 30 second high intensity intervals of each exercise two to three times depending on your fitness level. After you finish each exercise, make sure you take 10-second breaks to stabilize your muscles. The total time of this workout should be around 15 minutes, leaving 10 minutes for stretching before and after the routine.
LOOK — Redpath's effective workout you can do in under 30 minutes.
