It’s easy to assume you need to spend hours in the gym to get fit but according to ACE-certified health coach and personal trainer Araceli De Leon just 10 minutes a day is all you need to get fitter and stronger.
This bite-sized approach is known as exercise snacking—short bursts of focused physical activity performed at maximum effort. This can be just as effective as longer training sessions and can be done at home. The secret to seeing results is building a habit.
“Don’t underestimate the power of consistency,” says De Leon. “A few 10-minute sessions per week can really add up. And if you work from home, use mini workouts as breaks to boost energy and focus.”
Here she shares how to create your mini workouts, including the best way to warm up and cool down, and progress over time.
How to make your own mini-workout
De Leon says you don’t need a ton of fitness equipment to get started with short bursts of exercise. If you’re a beginner, she recommends picking three to four bodyweight exercises and doing them as a circuit.
“If you are a real beginner, start with bodyweight exercises to build a safe and strong foundation. My favorites are exercises like squats, lunges, planks and push-ups (from knees if needed).
“As you get stronger, equipment like resistance bands, mini loops, dumbbells or at-home suspension trainers are great, too.
“When you are choosing a weight, 5–10lb dumbbells are a safe range for most beginners. The ACE Exercise Library is a great place for creating workouts or getting ideas, and this can be filtered by muscle group, equipment and goal to build your mini workouts.”
How to warm up and cool down
If you’re doing a five to 10-minute workout, De Leon says to incorporate a warm-up and cool-down into your session, rather than adding extra time.
“If it’s an upper-body workout, focus on two minutes of arm movements like arm circles and other light, dynamic moves like marching in place and gentle squats, to get blood flowing and prep your joints.
“Your mini two-minute cool down could involve focused breathing and gentle stretches like forward fold, chest opener or seated twist to bring your heart rate back down.”
How to progress
Once you’ve got the hang of your mini workouts, there are various ways you can level up, says De Leon.
“Other than adding equipment, progression and variety can happen by increasing the sets (the number of groups of repetitions for a specific exercise), repetitions (the number of times you perform an exercise in a row), intensity and adding intervals.
“Alternating between cardio, strength and mobility-focused mini workouts is another approach,” she says.
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