Awhile back I was on this “Get in at least 15 minutes of exercise a day” kick where I was telling everyone from my boss to my mom to my sister-in-law… anyone who would listen. I was even so jacked up on it that I wanted to do a workshop called Fabulous in 15; so I got all my data gathered, made nice little postcards with all my info about how 15 minutes can make a difference and was scouting out locations that would host me. (Then I got pregnant and like most things, that little workshop idea never materialized. Ah well, win some, lose some!) Anyway, back to present day, I’m come across this short, little article (because that’s the only kind of article I can read these days, ones that are easily scannable, have minimum mumbo-jumbo, and I’m done with in under 45 seconds… otherwise I swear my eyelids start dragging after a minute—I blame this new phenomenon on our 5 am wake-up call from a snotty little baby… snotty because he is STILL oozing mucus from his tiny little nose. Where does it all come from?!) Anyway, so this short article says that short bouts of exercise is actually associated with longer life.
HA! I was right!
The article states that a study published in The Lancet monitored 416,175 men and women from 1996 to 2008 and found that for those in a group that exercised only 15 minutes a day, or about 90 minutes a week, had a 14% reduced risk of all-cause mortality and a 3 year longer life expectancy. They also found that the benefits only increase for every additional 15 minutes added on.
Need I say more? The bottom line is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with working out for 15 minutes a day. Nothing! Noting bad cancome from it. It’s all good! So hop to it and find yourself 15 minutes—you can find it, I’m very confident in your abilities! I’ll even give you a 15 minute workout because they’re my favorite. Hope you enjoy!
Fabulous in 15!
Warm-up – 2 minutes
30 seconds jumping jacks
30 seconds high knee marches
30 seconds jumping rope
30 seconds butt kicks (Think, kicking your own ass with the heel of your foot 🙂
Workout – 12 minutes
(Do as many as you can of each exercise below for 60 seconds. Once you have gone through the entire circuit, rest for 30 seconds and go through it again.)
Squats
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest up, bend your knees and lower your bum as if sitting in a chair. Try not to let your knees extend over your toes. Return to a standing position. Repeat for 1 minute.
Push-ups
On knees or toes, come down as far as you can, then push yourself up. Repeat for 1 minute!
Forward Lunges
Stand with feet together facing forward, hands on hips. Step your right foot about three feet in front of you and bend your right knee to a 90 degree angle, while your left knee bends towards the floor, getting as close as you can without touching the floor. Keep your chest up and try not to let your knee extend over your toes. Push into your right leg to return to standing position. Repeat with opposite leg. (Hold weights to make more difficult)
Table Tuck
Start on floor on all fours (hands under shoulders, knees under hips), holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. (To make it easier, do it without the dumbbells.) Bring right elbow and left knee toward each other underneath belly. Quickly extend right arm forward to shoulder height and left leg directly behind to hip height so that they are parallel to the floor.Bring right elbow to left knee to continue. Do 30 seconds on one side, then switch sides and repeat for 30 seconds.
Plank
Either from a full push-up position (on hands and toes) or modified (on forearms and knees), hold the position for 10 seconds, then release for a count of 3. Repeat this for the 60 seconds.
Reverse crunches
Lie on your back, lift legs so they are perpendicular to the floor, hands on the floor at your sides. From here raise your tailbone up off the ground and slowly bring back to starting position. Repeat.
Rest for 30 seconds and then repeat entire circuit
Cool Down – 30 seconds
March in place for 30 seconds
