It’s likely that the most common excuse people give for not working out is that they just don’t have enough time. This is not unreasonable. Many people live busy lives and working out often gets eliminated from to-do lists as a result.
Time can be especially limited during the holiday season. With shopping, family gatherings, office parties and other activities to partake in, it can be difficult to find the time to use the bathroom, much less exercise!
Fortunately, workouts don’t have to be very long. In fact, experts say that doing as little as 15 minutes of uninterrupted physical activity is enough to get the heart pumping and the metabolism revved up.
With that in mind, here are some 20 minutes workouts that you will be able to fit in, even during the busy holiday season.
How to Get the Most Out of Short Workouts
When doing shorter workouts, you will want to use movements that work as much of the body as possible while providing optimal intensity. Here is what is recommended.
- Compound Movements: These are movements that utilize multiple muscle groups. Push-ups and squats are great examples.
- Explosive Movements: Explosive movements require power. Also known as plyometric movements, tuck jumps and long jumps are powerful movements that will get your workouts into high gear.
- Full Body Movements: Full body movements like burpees and mountain climbers get the cardiovascular system pumping.
The Workouts
Now that you know the rules, here are some great workouts you can do.
Workout 1: Lower Body
Time is tight and everyone goes at their own pace. To make sure your workout does not take too long, set your timer for twenty minutes and do as many of these as possible before time runs out.
Alternate between lower and higher intensity to make incorporate HIIT into your workout.
- 50 air squats
- 20 jump squats
- 50 alternating lunges
- 20 alternating jump lunges
- 50 cossack squats
- 20 tuck jumps
Workout 2: Full Body Cardio
This workout can also be done to a twenty-minute timer. Do as many exercises as you can within the 20-minute time frame.
- 50 high knees
- 50 Russian twist
- 50 jumps
- 50 mountain climbers
Workout 3: Upper Body and Core
Set your timer for four minutes and complete as many rounds of the following:
- 10 push-ups
- 10 plan shoulder taps
Set your timer for the next four minutes and complete as many rounds as possible:
- 5 burpees
- 5 v-sit ups
- 5 Supermans
For the next four minutes, complete as many rounds as possible of:
- 10 downward dog push-ups
- 30 second planks
Workout 4: Lower Body
Rotate through these on the minute going through 4 rounds for a total 16-minute workout.
- Minute 1: 40 second wall sit (squat hold if you don’t have a wall)
- Minute 2: 40 seconds of alternating single leg deadlift hops
- Minute 3: 40 second glute bridge
- Minute 4: 40 seconds of alternating lunges
Note: Even though you might not have a lot of time, warming up and cooling down is important. Doing some quick stretches before and after your workout will help you get the most out of your movements while minimizing the chances of injury.
It’s also a good idea to plan workouts early in the day. This way, you are sure to get them in before the day starts getting away from you.
Now that you know some great twenty-minute workouts, you can blow through these a couple of times a week to make sure every body part gets some action. We guarantee that by devoting just a few minutes a day to working out will get you the results you’re looking for. With no more excuses, you can look forward to achieving your fitness goals, even during the busy holiday season.
