Give Me 10 Minutes

Good Monday to you all.  I trust you had a good, decent, possibly exciting weekend.  I feel like I was lazy this weekend, but that's because I slept in on Saturday.  I did eventually get up and started moving around.  I even went out to lunch, baked some cookies, made some hummus and had a game night.  That's productive, right?

Yesterday I ran five miles, so I was allowed to take a nap.  I'm training for a 10k that I'm not going to be able to run due to being out of town that weekend.  However, Robert is running in it and I don't like to feel left out, so I'm just pretending that I'm running in it too.

I Digress.

Give me 10 minutes.  Actually, give yourself 10 minutes.  All you need is 10 minutes a day for two (or more) days a week.  If you can't spare 20 minutes a week, you need to work on that.  No one should be that busy.  I'm just sayin'...

I think the number one excuse for not working out is the lack of available time during the day.  I believe everyone has at least 30 minutes to an hour available, but I'm not going to argue with you and your time constraints.

So here it is, a 10 minute workout.  This is not going to give you flatter abs in two weeks or build muscle tone in that same amount of time.  I promise, if used on a consistent basis, you'll see results and your butt will be ready for a swimsuit come May.  (April if you're from Texas.)

In 10 minutes, you will get in your warm-up, elevate your heart rate and improve your mood.  We all like some endorphins.  Endorphins are the equivalent to chocolate cake.  Do not keep a routine.  The best thing to do for results is to change routine and confuse your muscles.  Use this workout when you choose and break it out when that tiny voice in your head tells you "there is not enough time."

Let's start with the movements.  The first one is the air squat.  Place your feet shoulder-width apart.  Then shoot your hips back and down like you're going to sit on the couch.  Do not sit on the couch.  Keep you chest nice and upright - don't "fold yourself in half."  You want to look like this chick:

Add Jazz Hands

Then stand back up so your hips and knees are locked out and repeat.  Remember to keep a vertical flat back and stay on your heels.

The next movement is a Burpee - yes, a Burpee.  I don't know of anyone who thoroughly enjoys doing these, but stay with me.  If you're standing up, good, that's the first step.  Now drop down so your chest is on the floor.  Drop down as in kick your feet out from under you and behind and land in a push-up position.

What you do in the middle doesn't phase me.  I do a push-up, jump back to my feet and clap.  You can peel yourself off of the the floor for all I care.  Just don't lie there and take a nap.  Remember: Chest to the deck then jump and clap.

Add Jazz Hands

Last, but not least is the V-Up.  Lay flat on your back - this is not nap time.  Extend your arms over your head.  Now bring your feet and arms together over your body at the same time.  You should look like this:

Add Jazz Hands

At least that's what I look like.  Abs and all...
You can scale this movement as needed.

Now that you have the movements, on to the workout.  10 minutes.

You have two minutes to warm-up - light jogging or jumping jacks.  Just get your blood pumping a bit.

Eight minutes to go.

This is timed so get a stopwatch or your phone.  At the end of eight minutes, you will record what you have done.

The workout is:

• 20 Air Squats
• 10 Burpees
• 20 V-Ups

Do that as many times as you can in eight minutes.  At the end of eight minutes, record your score.  Your score, for example, could be two rounds plus five burpees.

Three important things to remember during this workout:

1. Breathe: During your air squats and Burpees especially.  It's a little more difficult to establish a breathing pattern during the V-ups, but try your best.
2. Keep an active core during your air squats.  It should be engaged and tight at all times.
3. Work as hard as you can for the full eight minutes.  These types of workouts are about breaking a mental barrier.  If you only get one round, that's OK, as long as you put forth your best effort.

It's important to record and track your progress.  Think of it like running a mile.  You want to get faster so you have to record previous times.  If the scale does not change, but you double your rounds, I guarantee you'll be looking and feeling better.

Another tip is to find a friend to workout with you.  Someone in your comfort zone but will push you, and you push them, to work harder.

The End.

I do this workout and then I saw it on Pinterest.  That means I have to share.