It's not uncommon to lack motivation to work out in the final few months of the year. There are fewer hours of daylight, temperatures drop and the thought of going to the gym or heading out for a run can become less desirable. However, there is never a shortage of home workouts to pick up at your convenience and this Joe Wicks routine only takes 15 minutes!
Some may think the only way you can get a good workout at home is if you own some of the best adjustable dumbbells or your own best treadmill. Exercise equipment like this can enhance your workouts, but they are not essential. Sometimes all you need is a best yoga mat to protect your joints while exercising and a motivating voice to lead you through a routine.
Fortunately, you have The Body Coach to guide you through this no-equipment session. You will work through a series of bodyweight exercises, working on each move for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest in between.
Watch how Wicks performs each exercise and mirror his form. Having proper form is what helps you avoid injury, can boost your performance, and leave you with stronger, more noticeable results after a workout.
Watch The Body Coach's 15-Minute Cradio Workout
This type of interval training is most commonly known as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and has many science-backed benefits. A HIIT workout is typically only 30 minutes or less, yet, has been proven to gain better results than traditional steady state cardio workouts.
For example, one study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that HIIT training burned 25-30% more calories than a steady-state exercise session, such as cycling or running on a treadmill.
Additionally, other research has found that HIIT exercise is effective at increasing your metabolic rate for hours after you're done working out. This means your body can be burning calories even while it is resting. If a fitness goal of yours is to lose weight then HIIT is a great form of training to include in your regular workout regime.
Plus, HIIT is suitable for beginners and more experienced exercisers. If your fitness levels are quite low right now then you can adjust the active and rest intervals to accommodate this. Just make sure to keep the active periods longer than your rest periods to fully benefit from your interval training.
You might be looking for a style of workout that is even shorter than Wicks' routine above, in this case, you should read up on what is Tabata to find out how you can make your workouts even more time efficient.
If you complete the 15-minute routine above and feel like you could take on a greater challenge next time, it's worthwhile switching to a high-intensity resistance training routine. Essentially, this is the same as a normal HIIT routine but you add weight to the exercise to increase the challenge and enhance your muscle strength and endurance while you train.
Some of the best kettlebells are easy to work into common exercises used in HIIT and you can learn new moves like how to do kettlebell swings.
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This low-impact, four-move workout will build full-body strength without jumpingWorkout You don't need any equipment to do this easy session
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