It’s not always about how long you are exercising. Instead, it’s the type of moves you choose to do.
On days when you’re really busy, it’s easy to give up on working out if you don’t have a good chunk of time to dedicate to exercise. However, a quick workout can still make a difference, and there are a number of micro workouts that are very effective. Some people believe you need to workout for a long period, but, it’s not always about how long you are exercising. Instead, it’s the type of moves you choose to do. In fact, short intense bursts can end up being even better for you than steady-state exercise for a longer period of time.
Research has shown that even just an 11-minute workout that contains one minute of high-intensity, all-out effort is just as effective as a 45-minute-long workout at a moderate pace, according to a study in the journal PLOS One–so you have no excuse next time you’ve only got 30 minutes between work and happy hour. Here are a couple of micro-workouts. Let us know if you give them a go.
1. 4-Minute Butt Kicker.
This quick, 4-minute workout involves 40-seconds of all-out movement followed by 20 second restes. Here’s how it goes:
- Squats for 40 seconds
- Rest for 20 seconds
- Pushups for 40 seconds
- Rest for 20 seconds
- Mountain climbers for 40 seconds
- Rest for 20 seconds
- Put it all together: Squat, push up position, push up, left leg, right leg
Repeat 3-4 times for a full workout.
2. 4-min Tabata.
This Tabata workout involves alternating compass squats and sprawlees for 20 seconds each followed by 10 seconds of rest in between. Remember this is only 20 seconds, so bring your intensity and give it all you’ve got. Here’s what you do:
- Compass squats for 20 seconds
- Rest for 10 seconds
- Sprawls for 20 seconds
- Rest for 10 seconds
Repeat 4 times for a full workout.
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