It is not uncommon to lack motivation to exercise in the last months of the year. There are fewer hours of daylight, temperatures drop, and the idea of going to the gym or going for a run can become less desirable. However, there is never a shortage of home workouts to do at your convenience and this Joe Wicks routine only takes 15 minutes.
Some may think that the only way to get a good workout at home is to have some of the best adjustable dumbbells or yours best treadmill. Exercise equipment like this can enhance your workouts, but it’s not essential. Sometimes all you need is a best yoga mat to protect your joints while you exercise and a motivating voice to guide you through a routine.
Fortunately, you have the body trainer (opens in a new tab) to guide you through this session without equipment. He will work through a series of bodyweight exercises, working on each movement for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest in between.
Watch as Wicks performs each exercise and mirrors his form. Proper form is what helps you avoid injury, can improve 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 more commonly known as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and has many science-backed benefits. A HIIT workout is typically only 30 minutes or less, however it has been shown to get better results than traditional steady-state cardio workouts.
For example, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (opens in a new tab) found that HIIT training burned 25-30% more calories than a consistent exercise session, such as riding a bike or running on a treadmill.
Additionally, other research (opens in a new tab) has found HIIT exercise to be effective at increasing your metabolic rate for hours after you’ve finished exercising. This means that your body can burn calories even while you are resting. If losing weight is one of your fitness goals, then HIIT is a great form of training to include in your regular training regimen.
Also, HIIT is suitable for beginners and more experienced athletes. If your fitness levels are quite low at the moment, you can adjust your activity and rest intervals to accommodate this. Just be sure to keep your active periods longer than your rest periods to get the most out of your interval training.
You may be looking for a training style that is even shorter than the 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 efficient.
If you complete the 15-minute routine above and feel like you could take on a bigger challenge next time, it’s worth 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 improve your muscular strength and endurance as you train.
Some of the best kettlebell are easy to work into common exercises used in HIIT and you can learn new moves like how to make swings with kettlebell.