Quick Workout Routines

A Fifteen Minute Aerobic Workout

A quick way to raise your heart rate and get a healthy sweat in is to hop onto a treadmill or perform a circuit around the block. This is probably one of the easiest ways to squeeze a workout into your packed schedule, and gives you a quick burst of energy to boot. If you are lucky enough to have access to a treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike, simply set aside fifteen minutes of your time and hop onto the machine when you get the chance. For many, waking up fifteen minutes earlier than they normally do is easiest, and it’s a great way to start the day, giving you a full workout before you even step foot into the shower. Depending on your skill level, it's important to vary the level of intensity during your workout. You might want to start out with five minutes of brisk walking before you break into a run for nine minutes and give yourself a one minute cool down. Others may simply time themselves to take a fifteen minute walk around the block after they get home from work. This allows you to get some exercise in and relieve stress at the same time. Whatever type of cardio you choose to fit into this time period, fifteen minutes isn't too much to ask of your time, and can easily get squeezed into your schedule.

The Bodyweight Loss Exercise

If you are pressed for time and only have a limited amount of space to work with, you might resign yourself to saving your workout routine for the spring and summer. Fortunately, there are plenty of exercises that only require your body, a stopwatch, a good pair of shoes and a limited amount of space. If you thought exercises like pushups and sit-ups were for boot camp attendees, think again! One great routine involves several "boot camp" style exercises, and should only take you about twenty minutes. To start, set your stopwatch for thirty seconds, and perform as many pushups as you can until your time is up. Rest for another thirty seconds, and then perform as many sit ups as you can for thirty seconds. Use another rest period, and then do jumping jacks for a minute. This round of basic exercises can be considered one "circuit." After you complete your jumping jacks, rest for one minute and perform another circuit. Do a total of five to eight circuits, and you will have used only about twenty minutes of time. Of course, if time is at more of a premium, you can cut back the amount of circuits you do to three to five. These exercises are all fairly basic and won't exert you too much. After you start getting better at them, you can attempt to perform more within your allotted time, or even stretch out the length of exercise times that you perform.

Burpees: The Ultimate All-Body Workout

One of the most intense workouts around is called the "Burpee." Packing in several different workouts into a few moves, this exercise will work out nearly every major muscle group in an extremely short amount of time. To do one Burpee, start by standing with your feet about waist width apart. Next, jump down into a deep squat position and hold it for around three seconds. Next, drop your hands to the floor in front of you, and kick your feet out behind you to assume a standard pushup position. Perform one pushup, and then kick your legs back up into a deep squat position, where your knees are right below your chest. Next, you will need to jump from the squat position as high as you can, with your arms high in the air. To really get a great workout, try performing diminishing Burpee sets. In other words, do one set of ten Burpees and rest for one minute. Then, do one set of nine Burpees and rest. Continue the diminishing sets until you have only one Burpee left. This shouldn't take you longer than ten minutes, and the results will be phenomenal!