“I don’t have enough time” and “I’m too busy” are two very common (and very real) excuses when it comes to exercise or living a healthy lifestyle. And while you may have seen cute memes on social media touting ‘we all have the same 24 hours in a day’ or that ‘an hour-long workout is just 4% of your day’, the reality can feel a little different. Between long workdays, travel, driving kids to their activities, and managing a household, it can be difficult to fit in any kind of downtime, let alone time to work out. Or, by the time you’re done all your ‘to-do’s’ it can be a struggle to summon the energy and desire to move your body.
While the barrier might be very real (you actually might not have a lot of time), there is a solution. Like most topics related to health, fitness, and living your best life, it starts with your mindset.
We are conditioned to think that we need to work out for 45 to 60 minutes in order to get results or for it to count. I’m here to remind you that the 10-minute walk is better than the walk you didn’t do. The 5 sun salutations in your living room are better than the 90-minute yoga class you didn’t attend. Adopt an All or Something mindset for long term success.
If you want to take it a step further and get results in a short amount of time, simply increase the intensity (and yes, simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy). Done right, a 10-minute workout is an effective way to increase your fitness and is easier to fit into your day.
The key to making a 10-minute cardio session extremely effective is to increase the intensity. If you can talk, you’re probably not working hard enough. Short bursts of high intensity exercise will boost your metabolism and tone your muscles more effectively than steady state exercise at a lower heart rate. If you’re new to exercise altogether, it’s wise to start slow (at a pace at which you can carry on a conversation) and build over two to three months. However, if you’ve been working out for a while and have no contraindications to high intensity training, it may be time to pick up the pace and reduce your time on the treadmill.
I’ve put together three simple and effective 10-minute workouts you can try. If you’re not already warmed up, spend 2-5 additional minutes easing into your workout. End each workout by warming down for a few minutes.
- 1 minute blasts. Do this workout on a cardio machine or outdoors on foot or bike.
1 minute: moderate effort
1 minute: pick up the pace. You should be breathing heavily and definitely NOT able to talk.
Repeat for a total of 5 times. Try to increase the intensity of the hard intervals throughout the entire workout (for example, run faster, or increase your RPM on the bike).
- 30-second Ascents. Do this workout on a cardio machine or outdoors on foot or bike.
30 seconds: Easy to moderate
30 seconds: Hard
30 seconds: Very Hard
30 seconds: Very very hard (You can do it!)
Repeat for a total of 5 times.
- Full Body Burn
Warm up: 25-50 Jumping Jacks
30 seconds High knee running or marching
30 seconds Squats or squat jumps
30 seconds High knee running or marching
30 seconds Forward lunges or lunge jumps
30 seconds High knee running or marching
30 seconds Push-ups (knees, toes or on the wall)
30 seconds High knee running or marching
30 seconds Bicycle crunches (for abdominals)
30 seconds High knee running or marching
30 seconds Squats or burpees
Repeat for a total of 2 rounds.
If you have 10 minutes, you have time to fit in a workout. If you don’t have 10 minutes, find the time. You are worth it- and so are the results!
Tanja Shaw is a Certified High Performance Coach, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, host of the Fit and Vibrant You podcast and founder of Ascend Fitness + Lifestyle. She helps men and women transform their bodies and life, and to love the way they feel again with fitness, nutrition, mindset and lifestyle coaching. Learn more at ascendfitnesslifestyle.com. If you’re ready to start your journey to better health and fitness click the get started button at the top of this page!
