We all know the feeling of not having enough time in the day. Whether that means you have to sacrifice productivity in the office, valuable moments with family, or time taking care of yourself, being short on time often means we’re missing out on an important piece of life. While we don’t have a solution to buy more time, we do have the helpful advice of Mayra Escobar, our talented personal trainer at Bay Club San Francisco—and time saver extraordinaire. We asked Mayra for some ideas on how to squeeze in a good workout on days when we’re pressed for time, but really don’t want to sacrifice our physical health. Mayra provides us with 3 brilliant 10-minute (yes, 10 minute) workouts that are designed to fit the workout you’ve got in mind. Below you’ll find a heart-rate accelerating cardio workout, a fat-burning strength workout, and a low-impact—but still challenging—circuit. Like we said, the best part is that each of these exercises are just 10 minutes long, meaning you can fit them into any busy day.
Suggested warm-up for all 3 workouts: 30 seconds each of below exercises
Fast Feet to bear crawl
Fast feet to crab walk back
Frontal lunge to core rotation
Squat to overhead reach on toes
Hip Circles
High Knees
A body weight workout is a great way to build muscle, tone, and burn fat throughout the day…even at rest. Give the circuit below a shot for a great burn that you’ll feel longer than the 10 minutes it takes you!
BODY WEIGHT
45 secs Inch Worm to Push Ups, 15 secs rest
45 secs Spider Crunches increasing speed every 10 seconds, 15 secs rest
45 secs Single leg deadlift to shoulder pull (switch legs), 15 secs rest
45 secs Pike to floor superman
60 secs staggered push up to regular push up (right hand in front, push up, then regular, then left hand in front, then regular), 30 secs rest
45 secs Hip/Glute Bridge to Single Leg Hip Bridge (right leg), 15 secs rest
45 secs Hip/Glute Bridge for glute to Single Leg Hip Bridge for hamstring (left leg), 15 secs rest
45 secs Crunch with a pull through with legs to a full sit up, 15 secs rest
60 secs Staggered lunges to squat (frontal lunge, to squat, to reverse lunge) 30 secs rest
A cardio workout is a perfect way to get your blood flowing first thing in the morning, or after a long meeting. This cardio workout will elevate your heart rate and build stamina.
CARDIO
45 secs Lateral Ski Jumpers (or jump over something if advanced), 15 secs rest
45 secs Side step two times to Jump squat back and forth, 15 secs rest
45 secs Jumping Jacks to press-up, 15 secs rest
60 secs *Side low 2 step shuffle to burpee, 15 secs rest
45 secs High Knees, 15 secs rest
45 secs Fast feet squat, dropping 2 inches every 15 secs, 15 secs rest
45 secs 4 Toe Taps to reverse crab walk, 15 secs rest
45 secs Pop Squat/Touchdowns, 15 secs rest
60 secs 4 Sprawls to 4 Mountain Climbers
30 secs rest
Don’t mistake low-impact workout for an easy workout. You can get all the same cardio and strength benefits from a smart workout routine that doesn’t damage your joints. Try this 10-minute workout for a full-body exercise.
LOW IMPACT (you can use a resistance band, dumbbells, or just body weight)
45 secs Reverse lunge to knee drive *slow and controlled (Right Leg), 15 secs rest
45 secs Reverse lunge to knee drive *slow and controlled (Left Leg), 15 secs rest
45 secs Curtsy Lunge to squat (Right Leg), 15 secs rest
45 secs Curtsy Lunge to squat (Left Leg), 15 secs rest
60 secs Bicycle crunch (can use a resistance band around feet), 15 secs rest
45 secs Stay in a low squat and bicep curl 4 times. Pulse 4 times, 15 secs rest
45 secs Chest Press while in a stationary hip bridge, 15 secs rest
45 secs Hip Bridge up and down 4 times. Option one: Resistance band around thighs for abduction. Option 2: would be to come up for 4 Russian twists, 15 secs rest
45 secs Bent over rows to Arno press up, 15 secs rest
60 secs V-up sit up. Keep legs at a V and reach for the right foot, reach for the center, reach for the left
Save these effective 10-minute exercises for a busy day! For more workout tips, follow us on Instagram.