I love 12 minute workouts.
12 minutes.
Workout.
What's not to love?
Not that I think 12 minutes a day is enough -- but couple a few a week with running/walking and I am a happy camper. No excuse for not enough time - 12 minutes!?! Little to no equipment necessary (this one requires a chair). And not a lot of space. But wear shoes. Even if you work out on carpet - be nice to your feet and knees. 12 minutes - long enough to break a sweat and rev your metabolism but short enough that you know you can finish.
I use http://www.bodyrock.tv/ for inspiration and then build my own. I like all 12 exercises to be different. I print them out. I put them in page protectors. I have a binder of them. I know. I'm ill.
I play loud music. And I use the app A-HIT Interval Timer on my phone. It's great because you can build your own customized workouts. The timer counts down, gives you a 3 second warning, and is loud enough to hear. Highly recommend.
I use 12 rounds: 50 seconds of work, then 10 seconds of rest. Not that you're really resting during those ten seconds - you are setting up for the next exercise. But it does allow you to catch your breath. Work as hard as you can during the 50 second work phase - the more reps the better!
So here goes:
1.Prisoner Jacks: jumping jacks in a slightly squatted position with hands behind your head, like you are too tall for your cell and will bump your head on the ceiling if you stand up all the way
2. Push Ups: do as many as you can on your toes, then go to your knees if necessary; long strong tight body, lead with your chest not your forehead
3. Squat Jumps: wide legs, squat down and touch the floor with fingertips then jump up while reaching both hands towards the ceiling, land in squat position (try not to bend over too far on the squat, don't let knees go forward but rather stick your bum back)
4. Triceps Dips: sit on the edge of a chair with legs out straight, resting on heels, scoot bum off chair and bend elbows, lowering your bum towards the floor, then straighten arms (try to keep your elbows pointed behind you)
5. High Knees: just like it sounds, run in place with really high knees, pull abs in tight, use your arms
6. Step Ups, right: step up on a sturdy (non-padded) chair with right foot leading, up up, down down -quickly
7. Sit Ups: lying down with knees bent, arms crossed over chest with fingertips on shoulders, crunch up until elbows can touch thighs
8. Step Ups, left: step up on chair with left foot leading, up up, down down -quickly
9. Plank alternate knee to opposite elbow: on hands and toes with hands under shoulders, alternately bring knees to opposite elbows. These can be done really fast -- like oblique mountain climbers.
10. Box Jumps: with both feet together, jump forward, then to the right, then backwards, then to the left, then forward again, like you are tracing a box or a square on the floor. Use your arms for momentum to make the jumps bigger.
11. Triceps/ side push ups, alt 8 on each side: lie on your side, hips stacked, knees stacked, ankles stacked, arm on the floor wrapped around your rib cage, other hand on the floor just in front of your shoulder. Press that hand against the floor and lift your upper body up off the floor as high as you can (look forward with your eyes, not toward the ceiling)-feel it in your triceps and your obliques, after each set of 8, quickly roll over, set up the same way and repeat on the other side
12. Kayaks: seated with knees bent in front, lean back to engage belly, lift feet off floor, lace fingers together. Row side to side, trying to touch knuckles to the floor, pull abs in hard
Phew. Done.
Now wasn't that fun?
... On days you have more time, and access to a treadmill, it's REALLY fun to combine a treadmill workout WITH a 12 Minute Workout.
Warm up on the treadmill for about 5 minutes as you slowly increase the speed to a challenging yet do-able pace. I like to set our treadmill on 7 (like that means anything- every treadmill is different - for ours, that is about an 8:34 minute mile). Then start your timer. At the beep, you'll jump off the treadmill onto the sidebars (be careful kids) then hop off completely and do the first exercise. Keep the treadmill going so there is no time wasted building your speed again. The 10 second rest is spent getting back on the moving treadmill to run for 50 seconds. You get the idea. On and off the treadmill, alternating each of the 12 exercises in between a bout of running. You'll reset your timer to do the 12 minute workout twice or build a new workout in your app that is 24 rounds of 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest.
Double the fun.
***Be sure to hold on to the hand rails while you carefully get on and off the treadmill!! :)
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