When you have the time to go all in on exercising, a good cardio and weightlifting routine is a great way to start your day. Then, end your day with a solid yoga session. If your time is limited, however, you can still fit in an effective workout.
Here are some exercises that are best for a person who has little time to work out.
5 Basic Exercises
Whether you have 20 minutes, three days a week to work out or you have three hours, five days a week to exercise, there are five basic drills that you should be executing. They are:
Push
Pull
Hip-Hinge
Squat
Plank
Researchers in the health and fitness fields believe that thanks to human evolution, those are the five basic movements. By mastering them, your body is more likely to be strong. When you get older, you are less likely to injure yourself by performing simple tasks like reaching or stepping up. So, if you put together a 20-minute routine that tackles each of those movements a couple of times a week, you’re on the right path.
Top Exercises
If you have no equipment, the push-up is the best exercise for the push movement. If you have easy access to equipment, the bench press is considered the best push movement. Others moves you can do are the dumbbell shoulder press or single arm kettle-bell press.
The top move to execute a pull exercise is the pull-up, which is challenging for most people. Alternatives to build up to the pull-up are the dumbbell row, cable row and lat pull-down. Chin-ups are also a good stepping stone.
To execute a hip-hinge movement, try the kettle-bell swing, Romanian dead-lift or trap-bar dead-lift. The best drill is the dead-lift. All these exercises are best executed with equipment. If you do not have access to equipment, you can always improvise with gallon water bottles.
Squats are a go-to for anyone who works out on a consistent basis. They’re also great for the casual person who has limited time. You do not need any equipment to execute a squat, which is the beauty of the move. Simply ensure that your knees do not go over your feet when you bend and bring your behind down. Once you have solid posture and form, the variations of squats seem endless. The split squat is considered one of the ultimate variations. If you have access to equipment, do the barbell squat and goblet squat. Lunges fall into the squat category, too.
Planks are another exercise that require no equipment. The bird dog and side plank are two variations to try. Just make sure your body does not sink into the floor and your behind does not point up.
Getting Started
The easiest way to get started even though you have limited time is to complete 20 reps of each exercise you pick. Then, go through the sequence again. Finally, do it one more time for ultimate saturation. Later, add repetitions.
