If you’re worried about becoming frail in your later years, you need to start building bone strength decades in advance.

“Around the age of 40, our natural bone remodeling process shifts,” explains Mark Harris, a certified strength and conditioning coach and ambassador for strength training equipment brand Mirafit.

“The body begins to absorb old bone tissue faster than it creates new bone, leading to a steady decline in bone density.”

He explains that this loss of bone tissue continues to accelerate significantly as we age, particularly for women during and after menopause.

“If we do nothing, our bones become more fragile,” says Harris, who recommends regular exercise to combat this.

“Bones respond to two main things: mechanical tension—where muscles pull against the bone during strength exercises—and impact, where forces travel through the skeleton as your feet strike the ground,” he says.

“By including both in your training, you give your body the stimulus it needs to help maintain stronger bones.”

He has chosen the following three exercises because, when performed in sequence, they apply both mechanical tension and ground reaction forces.

“These physical stressors act as an alarm system, signaling the body's bone-building cells [osteoblasts] to spring into action, lay down new tissue, and actively reverse that accelerated bone loss,” he says.

The full workout should take around 15 minutes if you do three rounds of the three exercises:

• Kettlebell goblet squat x10-12
• Standing dumbbell overhead press x10-12
• Pogo hop x20-30sec

Below Harris guides you through each move.

1. Goblet squat

Rounds: 3 Reps: 10-12

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Hold a kettlebell by its rounded body, close to your chest.
• Brace your core, push your hips back and bend your knees.
• Lower yourself as deep as you comfortably can while keeping your chest up and heels flat on the floor.
• Push through your feet to come back to a standing position.

“The hips and femur are among the areas most vulnerable to bone density loss with age, so lower-body strength work should be a priority,” says Harris.

“Holding a weight close to your chest while squatting increases the load through these bones, encouraging the body to maintain bone strength while also building stronger legs and glutes.”

2. Standing dumbbell overhead press

Rounds: 3 Reps: 10-12

How to do it:

• Stand with a straight back and your feet hip-width apart.
• Hold dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing forward or slightly inward.
• Lift the weights overhead, keeping your back straight.
• When your arms are fully extended, the weight will put pressure downwards through the arms and into the spine, so pause here briefly.
• Slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.

“Bone health isn't just about the lower body,” says Harris.

“Pressing a weight overhead creates what's known as axial loading, where the weight travels down through the arms and into the spine.

“This loading encourages the body to maintain upper-body bone density while also improving shoulder strength and core stability.”

3. Pogo hop

Rounds: 3 Time: 20-30sec

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
• Bring your weight onto the balls of your feet and push off the floor into a jump.
• Do the movement rapidly, as though you are jumping without a rope.

“Impact is another key ingredient for healthy bones, but that doesn't mean you need to perform high-intensity jumps,” says Harris.

“Simple pogo hops—where you bounce quickly on the balls of your feet—create repeated ground reaction forces through the ankles, legs, hips and spine.”

The trainer says you should keep your movement rhythmic and low to the ground; the goal isn't to hit maximum height, but rather to create repeated ground reaction forces through the ankles, legs, hips, and spine.

You might not notice it, but you twist (and resist twisting) your body all the time in everyday life. When you drive and reach behind you (in my case, to pass snacks to my kids in the back), carry groceries or change direction while walking, you are performing spinal rotation.

This movement helps to protect your spine and keep your muscles flexible and resilient, reducing stiffness often linked to back pain.

Adding intentional and controlled twisting into your fitness routine through rotational and anti-rotational exercises is a fantastic way to strengthen your core and protect your spine for the long term.

In the workout below, the woodchop squat trains your core to generate power through rotation, while the dumbbell press-out works the opposite way—teaching your body to resist movement (anti-rotation) and remain as stable as possible.

Master both movement patterns and you won’t just build strength, you’ll boost stability, balance and resilience in your core. Rotation and anti-rotational exercises also target the deep core—often overlooked abdominal muscles that support and stabilize your spine, protecting it from injury.

Standing abs exercises—like the ones featured in the 15-minute workout below—are effective as they engage your whole body, forcing your hips, core and even your feet to stay stable as you move.

Over time, you’ll notice the difference in how well and comfortably you move through your day.

The workout

Perform each exercise for 30 seconds (changing sides halfway through for single-sided moves), followed by 15 seconds of rest. Complete each circuit twice and take 30 seconds of rest before moving on to the next circuit.

All you need is a pair of dumbbells at moderate-light weight (3-5kg). You want to feel your core working rather than your arms taking over the move.

Circuit 1:

• Woodchop squat
• Standing oblique twist
• Cross-body punch

Circuit 2:

• Dumbbell press-out
• Stir the pot
• Overhead press and single-leg balance

Circuit 3:

• Dumbbell halo
• Squat hold and punch
• Side crunch

How to do the moves

1A. Woodchop squat

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in both hands over your right shoulder.
• Move the weight diagonally down to your left hip, as you bend your knees and push your hips back to lower into a squat.
• Push through your feet to return to standing, lifting the dumbbell back to your right shoulder.
• Swap sides after 15 seconds.

1B. Standing oblique twist

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in both hands at chest height.
• Twist your torso to one side. Return to the center, then rotate to the other side.

Trainer tip: Move slowly and with control, avoiding jerky movements.

Make it harder: Perform the exercise with your arms held straight out in front of you.

1C. Cross-body punch

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding light dumbbells in front of your shoulders, palms facing.
• Turn your torso to the left and punch your right arm across your body to your left side.
• Then turn your torso to the right and punch your left arm across to your right side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

2A. Dumbbell press-out

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding the weight with both hands horizontally at your chest.
• Extend your arms forward at shoulder height.
• Bring the dumbbell back to your chest.
• Continue at pace.

2B. Stir the pot

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding the handle of a dumbbell in both hands, so the dumbbell is vertical.
• Move the dumbbell out to the left and forward, then back and to the right, keeping it at shoulder height and drawing an imaginary circle with the dumbbell.
• Change direction halfway through the set.

2C. Overhead press and single-leg balance

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in your right hand over your shoulder.
• Extend your right arm to press the weight overhead.
• Bend your left knee and raise it up to hip height, lifting your left arm out to the left side or placing it on your hip to balance.
• Hold for time, then switch sides.

3A. Dumbbell halo

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell horizontally in both hands just above your head.
• Slowly circle it around your head.
• Change direction halfway through the set, or alternate directions after each repetition.

3B. Squat hold and punch

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding light dumbbells in front of your chest.
• Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or as close as your mobility allows.
• Holding this squat position throughout, turn your torso to the right and punch your left arm across your body to your right side.
• Return to the center, then repeat on the other side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

Trainer tip: This move is more challenging than in circuit one as you’re holding a squat position throughout, challenging your core and leg muscles to maintain your balance.

3C. Side bend

Sets: 2 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells by your sides.
• Moving from your hips, bend to the left, lowering the dumbbell in your left hand down your left side, feeling a stretch in your left side.
• Using the muscles on the right side of your torso, straighten back up, then repeat on the other side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

Light dumbbells are one of the most convenient pieces of home workout equipment, but you may feel like you quickly outgrow them.

However, there are plenty of ways to use light weights so they still pose a challenge, such as this workout by Pilates instructor Bianca Wise, who recently launched a workout series on ALO Wellness Club.

“This program uses classic Pilates precision with circuit-style training,” Wise tells Fit&Well.

“The beginner-friendly workout builds strength, improves coordination and elevates your heart rate in under 15 minutes.”

Below, she’s shared a workout inspired by the programme.

Bianca Wise’s 15-minute dumbbell workout

The workout is a mix of bodyweight moves and light weight exercises, although all moves can be done without weights if required.

You’ll need a mat and a pair of light dumbbells: 3lb (1kg) hand weights are ideal, but you can even use a couple of water bottles or food cans if you don’t have dumbbells at home.

Start with Wise’s quick warm-up, then do two rounds of circuit one, followed by two rounds of circuit two.

Complete each of the moves for 45 seconds before moving straight onto the next move, taking a short rest between rounds as needed. Finish with Wise’s cool-down.

The workout should take around 15 minutes to complete, depending on how long you rest for between circuits.

Warm-up

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Take a few deep breaths in.
• Slowly roll down through the spine, letting your head and arms hang heavy toward the floor. Bend your knees as needed.
• Roll back up one vertebra at a time.
• Repeat five times.
• Finish with 10 gentle arm circles in each direction.

Circuit one

Complete each move for 45 seconds, moving straight onto the next move. Complete the entire circuit twice, taking rests between rounds as needed.

1. Modified reverse burpee

Time: 45sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart at the top of a mat.
• Push your hips back and bend your knees to sit on the mat, placing your hands on the floor behind you.
• Roll back onto your upper back and shoulders.
• Roll back up to standing and jump straight up.

2. Downward dog to plank

Time: 45sec

• Start in a high plank position, on your hands and toes, with your legs extended, shoulders directly above your wrists, and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Push back through your hands and lift your hips, keeping a soft bend in the knees, so your body is in an inverted-V shape.
• Slowly shift forward back to a high plank position, with your shoulders over your wrists.
• Alternate between these two positions.

3. Kneeling push up

Time: 45sec

• Get on your hands and knees, with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart and your body in a straight line from head to knees.
• Engage your core, then bend your elbows to lower your chest.
• Extend your arms to press back up to the start.

4. Kneeling arm pulse

Time: 45sec

• Kneel, holding light weights (or no weights) by your sides.
• Set your shoulders back and down.
• Move your arms backwards a few inches, then return to the start.
• Continue at pace, pulsing your arms, squeezing your triceps (the muscles on the back of your upper arms).

Circuit two

Complete each move for 45 seconds, moving straight onto the next move. Complete the entire circuit twice, taking rests between rounds as needed.

1. Standing leg kick

Time: 45sec

• Stand holding light weights by your sides (if you struggle with balance, place your hands on a wall instead of holding dumbbells).
• Shift your weight onto your right foot and slowly lift your left leg behind you.
• To make it more challenging, bend your elbows and lift your right arm in front of you and your left arm behind you in a running motion.
• Return to the starting position with control, then repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.

2. Seated abs twist

Time: 45sec

• Sit on the mat with your knees bent and heels on the floor, holding a light dumbbell in both hands in front of your chest.
• Engage your core and lean your torso back to 45°.
• Extend your arms to hold the weight in front of you.
• Rotate your torso slowly from side to side, keeping your hips and knees stable and pointing forward throughout.

3. Kneeling triceps kickback

Time: 45sec

• Kneel on the mat holding dumbbells by your sides.
• Hinge forward from your hips, keeping your back flat, and letting your elbows bend but keeping your upper arms pressed against your torso. This is your starting position.
• Extend your arms to lift the dumbbells behind you.
• Pause and squeeze your triceps.
• Slowly bend your elbows to return to the start.

4. Modified plank hold

Time: 45sec

• Lie on your front propped up on your forearms with your elbows directly underneath your shoulders.
• Engage your core and lift your hips so your body is in a straight line from head to knees. (For more of a challenge, lift your knees as well.)
• Hold this position, making sure your hips don’t rise or sag.
• Focus on your breathing and take breaks as needed.

Cool-down

• Circle your arms a few times, taking deep breaths.
• Lift your right arm, then bend your right elbow to place your right hand at the base of your neck. Gently pull your right elbow to the left with your left hand to stretch your triceps.
• Repeat on the other arm.
• Perform a few shoulder rolls in each direction.

Shop light dumbbells

Ankles and feet are often overlooked in strength training programs, but it’s worth making sure they’re robust enough to handle what life throws at them. A 1982 study estimated that ankles must cope with a peak force of up to 13 times your bodyweight when running.

If they’re not up to the task and things go wrong with your ankles, you can’t even take pain-free walking for granted, let alone running or any other kind of activity.

Dr Tom Walters, orthopedic physical therapist, certified strength and conditioning specialist and author of the Rehab Science series of books, is about to publish a new book dedicated to looking after your ankles and feet.

He’s shared a 15-minute resistance band workout from the book, which will help you keep your ankle joints and muscles in good working order, and reduce your risk of injury.

“This type of routine can be useful for improving ankle strength, restoring control after injury, and building resilience for walking, running and balance-based activities,” he says.

“This routine includes four foundational ankle strengthening exercises using a resistance band: plantarflexion, dorsiflexion, inversion and eversion. Together, these movements target the major muscle groups that control ankle stability and foot motion.”

All you need is a long resistance band for the four exercises. Walters warns against rushing through the exercises. “The goal is smooth, controlled movement rather than speed,” he says. “The resistance should feel challenging but not painful.”

Resistance band ankle workout

1. Banded plantarflexion

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 each side

• Sit with your legs extended in front of you.
• Wrap a resistance band around the ball of one foot and hold both ends.
• Pull the band to create tension in it while your foot is flexed.
• Extend your ankle into plantarflexion, pointing your toes away from you.
• Slowly return to the start position.
• Do all your reps on one side, then swap sides.

Trainer tip: Make sure there is no more than mild discomfort throughout the move.

2. Banded dorsiflexion

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 each side

• Attach a resistance band to a sturdy anchor point and loop the other end around your foot, just below your toes.
• Move away from the anchor point until there is tension in the band and your leg is extended.
• Flex your ankle as far as you can into dorsiflexion, pointing your toes toward you.
• Slowly return to the start position.
• Do all your reps on one side, then swap sides.

Trainer tip: Move with control when pointing your toes down to resist momentum from the band.

3. Banded inversion

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 each side

• Attach a resistance band to a sturdy anchor point.
• Sit right-side on to the anchor point and loop the other end of the band around the ball of your right foot.
• Move away from the anchor point until there is tension in the band and your leg is extended.
• Use your ankle to move your foot inward (inversion), to the left, while keeping the rest of your leg stable and your kneecap pointing up.
• Return to the starting position.
• Do all your reps on one side, then swap sides.

Trainer tip: Move slowly and with control to avoid your foot bouncing back to the start position.

4. Banded eversion

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-15 each side

• Attach a resistance band to a sturdy anchor point.
• Sit left-side on to the anchor point and loop the other end of the band around the ball of your right foot.
• Move away from the anchor point until there is tension in the band and your leg is extended.
• Start with your foot turned in (inversion), then use your ankle to move your foot ourt (eversion), to the right, while keeping the rest of your leg stable and your kneecap pointing up.
• Return to the start position.
• Do all your reps on one side, then swap sides.

Trainer tip: Move slowly and with control to avoid your foot bouncing back to the start position.

The benefits of this ankle-strengthening routine

"These four movements strengthen the muscles that help control ankle motion in every direction," Walters explains. "This is important not only after injury but also for long-term joint stability."

Even if you already do lower-body workouts, it's probably worth dedicating some extra attention to the ankles. "Many people focus only on general leg strength, but the ankle has smaller stabilizing muscles that often need direct training, especially after sprains or periods of inactivity," Walters explains.

"Resistance band exercises are effective because they allow gradual loading without excessive joint stress, making them appropriate for both early rehabilitation and maintenance work," he concludes.

Do this workout a couple of times a week to build strength in your ankles and reduce your risk of aches and pains.

Building a strong core is probably one of the most common goals among my personal training clients.

It’s a great goal to have. Strengthening the abdominal muscles supports the spine and pelvis and helps the body move effectively with less risk of injury.

And you don’t need to spend hours doing core exercises to see results. Just 15 minutes two to three times a week is enough.

To help you meet that target, I’ve created a 15-minute dumbbell core workout. It targets every layer of the core from the deep stabilizing muscles to the visible abs, while challenging your balance and coordination.

All you need are a pair of light dumbbells, a medium or heavy dumbbell, and a mat.

How to do my 15-minute dumbbell core workout

The moves:

1. Dumbbell dead bug
2. Kneeling front raise
3. Russian twist
4. Sit-up circle
5. Plank pull-though

Do each exercise for 40 seconds, followed by a 20 second rest. Complete three sets of each exercise before moving on to the next. The workout will take 15 minutes in total.

1. Dumbbell dead bug

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Lie on your back holding light dumbbells above your shoulders with your arms extended.
• Lift and bend your knees so they are directly above your hips and are bent to 90°.
• Engage your core, gently pressing your lower back into the mat.
• Slowly lower your right arm behind you while lowering and extending your left leg.
• Pause when your hand and foot are just above the floor, then return to the start with control.
• Repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.

Form tips: The movement should be slow and controlled. It’s important not to arch your back. If this happens, don’t lower your arm and leg so far. You can also do this move without dumbbells until you build up strength.

2. Kneeling front raise

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Kneel holding the ends of one dumbbell against your thighs.
• Engage your core and lean back until you feel some tension in your quads.
• Keeping your back straight and arms extended throughout, raise the dumbbell to shoulder height.
• Slowly lower the dumbbell to the start.

Form tips: Don’t use momentum to swing the weight up. Keep the movement slow and controlled and start with a light weight. If you can’t maintain a straight back, or you feel twinges in your back, don’t lean back until your core is stronger.

3. Russian twist

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Sit on the mat with your knees bent and heels on the floor, holding a dumbbell by the handle in both hands in front of your chest.
• Engage your core and lean your torso back slightly.
• Maintaining the angle of your torso, rotate your torso and the dumbbell to the right.
• Return to the center and continue to rotate to the left in a smooth movement.
• Continue rotating from side to side.

Form tips: Don’t round your back. Make sure you are moving your torso and not just your arms.

4. Sit-up circle

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, and your fingertips touching the sides of your head.
• Engage your core and lift your head and shoulders just off the floor and gaze at the ceiling, keeping your neck in a neutral position.
• Use your abdominal muscles to circle your head and shoulders.
• Change direction halfway through the 40 seconds.

Form tips: Don’t lift your head with your hands—the movement needs to come from your abs, not your neck. If this is too challenging to start, lower your head and shoulders back to the floor between circles.

5. Plank pull-through

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Get on your hands and knees, with a dumbbell just below your left hand.
• Engage your core and step your feet back so your body is in a straight line from your head to heels, and your shoulders are stacked over your wrists.
• Lift your right hand and reach across to pick up the dumbbell and move it to the right.
• Return your right hand to the floor and repeat on the other side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

Form tips: This is an anti-rotation exercise, which trains your body to resist being pulled out of position, so keep your torso and hips as still as possible throughout. Widen your stance to make it easier.

A strong core is about so much more than having visible abs. It supports posture, balance and stability—helping us to move more easily day-to-day.

Yet, even though I know how important core work is—especially for women as we move through different life stages—I must admit I skip core workouts.

The idea of doing crunches, mountain climbers or holding a plank at the end of my gym session fills me with dread. So, I just swerve core work altogether.

That was until a few weeks ago when I stumbled across this low-impact, equipment-free workout on Instagram—and I’ve been doing it at the end of (almost) every workout since.

It’s created by Ash Sewell, Pilates instructor and founder of Studio Ash.

“This mindful core workout is designed to strengthen the deep core muscles while also building body awareness and control,” Sewell tells Fit&Well.

“The goal is not simply to feel the burn, but to help women understand how to properly engage their core so they can move with more strength and confidence in everyday life.”

The routine includes a series of Pilates-inspired moves that are slow and controlled, with a focus on activating deep core muscles while connecting with the breath.

It’s only been a few weeks, but this routine has already earned a place in my workout rotation. I can’t wait to feel the long-term benefits.

How to do the 15-minute core workout

Sewell’s routine focuses on stability, control and coordination by connecting with the body and the breath.

For a follow-along version of the workout, you can sign up to Sewell’s Pilates platform Studio Ash. Or you can familiarise yourself with the moves below and do it under your own steam.

The workout includes six exercises:

1. Breath and body connection
2. Toe taps
3. Dead bug
4. Leg lowers
5. Scissors
6. Oblique twist

1. Breath and body connection

How to do it:

• Begin by inhaling through the nose, expanding your ribcage.
• Gently exhale to engage the deep abdominal muscles.
• Focus on length through the spine rather than collapsing or rounding excessively.
• Avoid gripping or straining as you connect with the core. The goal is supportive engagement rather than forcefully pulling the stomach in.

“Core work should always begin with breath and alignment,” Sewell says. “When these foundations are in place, the exercises become far more effective.”

2. Toe taps

Reps: 10-12 each side

Benefits: Builds awareness of the deep core while keeping the spine supported.

How to do it:

• Lie on your back with your hips and knees bent at 90° and your arms resting by your sides.
• Engage your deep core by gently drawing the lower abdomen in as you exhale.
• Slowly lower one foot, keeping the 90° bend in your knees, lightly tapping the toes on the floor, then return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side.
• Move slowly and focus on maintaining stability through the pelvis.

Trainer tips: Keep your lower back neutral and avoid arching away from the mat. If your lower back begins to lift, reduce the range of movement, stopping before your toes touch the floor.

3. Dead bug

Reps: 8 each side

Benefits: Improves coordination between the upper and lower body while strengthening the deep core stabilisers.

How to do it:

• Lie on your back with your arms extended straight up, and your hips and knees bent to 90° in the tabletop position.
• Keep your ribcage soft and connected to the mat rather than flaring upward.
• As you exhale, slowly lower one arm behind your head while lowering and extending the opposite leg.
• Stop just before your hand and heel touch the floor.
• Return to the starting position, then repeat on the other sides.

Trainer tips: Move slowly and with control to avoid rocking through your pelvis. Focus on keeping your torso stable while your arms and legs move.

4. Leg lowers

Reps: 10-12 each side

Benefits: Strengthens the lower abdominals and improves core endurance.

How to do it:

• Lie on your back with both legs extended straight up.
• Press the back of your ribcage gently into the mat to support your spine.
• Engage your core and slowly lower one leg, stopping before your lower back begins to arch.
• Lift your leg back to the starting position, then repeat with the other leg.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

Trainer tips: Lower the legs only as far as you can maintain core control. A slight bend in your knees can make the exercise more accessible.

5. Scissors

Reps: 10-12 each side

Benefits: Strengthens your lower abdominals, while also encouraging length through the hamstrings and improved core control.

How to do it:

• Lie on your back and extend both legs straight up.
• Lift your head, neck and shoulders off the mat, and interlace your fingers behind one leg, gently drawing it toward you.
• As you engage your core, lift your torso slightly toward that leg.
• On the exhale, switch legs, bringing the opposite leg toward you while maintaining the lifted upper-body position.
• Lengthen both legs as you move, one reaching toward the ceiling and the other extending away.

Trainer tips: Keep your core engaged to support the lower back as the legs switch. Lift your torso with your abdominals rather than pulling on the neck.

6. Oblique twist

Reps: 10-12 on each side

Benefits: Strengthens the muscles along the sides of the waist while also challenging rotational control through the core.

How to do it:

• Lie on your back with your hips and knees bent to 90° in tabletop position.
• Interlace your hands behind your head, with your elbows pointing out to the sides.
• Lift your head, neck and shoulders off the mat to engage the upper abdominals.
• Rotate your torso to the right, bringing your right elbow and left knee together, while extending your right leg.
• Return to the start, then repeat on the other side.

Trainer tips: Rotate from your ribcage rather than pulling your elbow across the body. Move slowly and focus on controlled rotation through the torso.

Now that spring has sprung, why not make a beeline for your nearest park bench—not only to top up your vitamin D reserves but to try this full-body workout too.

It’s a routine I used to program with my beginner-level senior clients because it’s simple and accessible.

It also demonstrates that you don’t need a gym or expensive equipment to move well and strengthen your body. And the routine can be easily adapted to make it easier or harder.

Plus, the bench can always revert to its original purpose of a seat where you can take a breather if the intensity of the workout ever gets too much.

How to do the 15-minute park workout

As well as a park bench (ideally one that isn’t occupied), you’ll need a lightweight, long-loop resistance band for the pulling exercises.

Perform eight repetitions of each exercise (on each side for the step-ups and mountain climbers) and keep rest to a minimum between each movement to complete one circuit.

Avoid rushing—perform each repetition with control.

After one round, rest for 30 seconds then repeat the circuit two or three times in total. Finish with some gentle stretching of your thighs, glutes, chest and back.

How to progress this workout across a month

If your muscles feel a little sore a day or two after the workout, keep moving gently to help ease any tension.

Aim to repeat the workout two or three times per week. Each week, increase the repetitions you perform to encourage your body to keep getting stronger.

So, in week two, aim for 10 repetitions per exercise, in week three aim for 12, and in week four aim for 14.

Workout overview

1. Bench sit-to-stand
2. Bench step-up
3. Resistance band Romanian deadlift into bent-over-row
4. Resistance band underhand pull-apart
5. Bench push-up
6. Bench slow mountain climbers

Exercise guides

1. Bench sit-to-stand

Reps: 8

• Sit on a bench with feet flat on the floor, knees bent at 90˚ and back upright.
• Cross your arms across your chest or extend your arms at shoulder height in front of you.
• Without using your hands, lean forward and push through your feet to stand upright.
• Without using your hands, slowly lower yourself back to sit on the bench, pushing your hips back and bending your knees.

Targets: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes

Make it easier: Sit on a bench with arm rest (as long as it is stable) and lightly use your hands to help push you up.

Make it harder: Tap your butt gently on the bench before standing up, rather than completely sitting down.

2. Bench step-up

Reps: 8 each side

• Stand facing the bench and step your left foot onto the seat.
• Push through your left foot to extend your left leg and bring your right foot onto the bench.
• Step your right foot down, moving slowly with control, followed by your left.
• Perform all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

Targets: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes

Make it easier: If balance is a concern, step your leading foot onto the seat, then back to the ground for each repetition, rather than stepping up onto the bench.

Make it harder: As you step down from the bench, step your leading foot back into a reverse lunge.

3. Resistance band Romanian deadlift into bent-over row

Reps: 8

• Stand on the resistance band with your feet hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees, holding the ends of the band by your sides.
• Engage your core and retract your shoulder blades to engage your back muscles.
• Keeping a flat back and neck neutral throughout, hinge forward from your hips and push your butt back to lower the ends of the bands.
• Bend and lift your elbows up past your torso to pull the ends of the band to your hips.
• Extend your arms with control to lower the ends of the bands.
• Push your hips forward to stand upright.

Targets: hamstrings, glutes, lower back, upper back, biceps

Make it easier: Only stand on the resistance band with one foot to reduce the tension in the band.

Make it harder: Perform two bent-over rows for every one Romanian deadlift.

4. Resistance band underhand pull-apart

Reps: 8

• Stand holding the ends of the resistance band with your palms facing away from you.
• Extend your arms in front at chest height, with tension in the band.
• Retract your shoulder blades slightly to engage your upper-back muscles.
• Pull the band apart, opening your arms out wide to your sides.
• Slowly return your hands in front of you to complete the repetition.

Targets: upper back, rear deltoids

Make it easier: Place your hands further apart so there’s less tension in the band.

Make it harder: Bring your hands closer together to increase the resistance as you pull the band apart.

5. Bench push-up

Reps: 8

• Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the back of a bench.
• Step back to straighten your arms and form a straight line with your body from your shoulders to your heels.
• Engage your core to keep your body stable.
• Slowly bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the bench.
• Extend your arms to push your body back to the starting position.

Targets: chest, shoulders, arms, core

Make it easier: Position your feet closer to the bench.

Make it harder: Move your feet further away from the bench or perform the move with your hands on the seat so you are closer to the ground.

6. Bench slow mountain climber

Reps: 8 each side

• Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the back of a bench.
• Step back to straighten your arms and form a straight line with your body from your shoulders to your heels.
• Engage your core to keep your body stable.
• Slowly bring your right knee toward your right elbow, then back to the start.
• Repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.

Targets: core

Make it easier: Bring your feet closer to the bench.

Make it harder: Move your feet further away from the bench or bring your knee toward your opposite elbow to challenge different core muscles.

Shop resistance bands

After 15 years as a personal trainer, I can confidently say that working out is possible for almost anyone—no matter your age or fitness level.

If you’re over 65, you may have valid concerns about beginning an exercise regimen. Stepping into a gym full of heavy weights and machines can be overwhelming, and balance or mobility issues may prevent you from performing certain movements.

I program the following 15-minute workout for my beginner-level senior clients, because it’s accessible, doesn’t require a lot of equipment, and can be easily adapted.

Even if you’re not a senior, these exercises can help build strength and move more efficiently.

How to do the 15-minute workout

For this workout, you’ll need a 10-20lb long-loop resistance band, like one of these, a light short-looped resistance band, like one of these, a chair and a section of wall.

Perform each exercise for 10 repetitions (or 10 seconds for the wall plank), then move onto the next exercise, resting briefly between each move. Perform all the exercises to complete one round. Complete two rounds in total.

Once you’ve gained more strength, aim for 12-15 repetitions of each exercise and repeat the circuit three times.

To perform the exercises effectively, make sure you’re familiar with how to engage your core muscles to help you maintain form and stability.

While this workout is appropriate for most, be sure to check with your doctor before you start. Meeting with a certified personal trainer is also advised, especially if you’re a beginner. They can help you perform exercises correctly and provide alternatives if needed.

1. Banded row

Reps: 10-15

• Loop a long resistance band around a strong anchor point, like a stair railing.
• Hold the ends of the band in each hand.
• Step back from the anchor point until the band is taut.
• Stand tall, engage your core and roll your shoulders back and down.
• Pull the ends of the band toward you with control, bringing your elbows to your torso, then behind it.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold this position for a few seconds.
• Slowly extend your arms with control.

Trainer tips: Avoid arching your lower back, and keep your shoulders relaxed and chest open.

Make it easier: If the resistance feels too strong, choose a lighter band or stand closer to the anchor point.

Make it harder: Choose a heavier band or stand further away from the anchor point.

2. Banded chest press

Reps: 10-15

• Loop a long resistance band around a strong anchor point, like a stair railing.
• Hold the ends of the band in each hand.
• Turn away from the anchor point and step forward until the band is taut.
• Step one foot in front of the other.
• Stand tall and engage your core.
• Bring your hands to either side of your chest.
• Extend your arms forward.
• Slowly reverse the movement.

Trainer tips: Avoid rounding your shoulders forward as you push the band in front of you. Squeeze your shoulder blades together as the band comes back toward you.

Make it easier: If the resistance feels too strong, choose a lighter band or stand closer to the anchor point.

Make it harder: Choose a heavier band or stand further away from the anchor point.

3. Chair squat

Reps: 10-15

• Stand with a chair behind you, with your feet hip-width apart.
• Engage your core.
• Raise your arms in front of you.
• Hinge at your hips to push your buttocks behind you.
• Bend your knees and lower your hips to tap your buttocks on the seat
• Push through your heels to stand upright.

Trainer tips: Move your hips before your knees and don’t let your bodyweight shift over your toes. Keep your entire foot on the floor throughout. Come to a full seated position on the chair if needed.

Make it easier: Reduce your range of motion by not lowering as far. Hold onto a solid surface for support, like a wall or another chair placed in front of you, if needed.

Make it harder: Hold light weights (5-15lb) while performing the movement.

4. Banded glute kickback

Reps: 10-15 each side

• Stand with a short-loop resistance band around your ankles.
• Stand tall, engage your core and bend your knees slightly.
• Squeeze your glutes and lift one leg behind you.
• Slowly reverse the movement.
• Complete all the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.

Trainer tips: Avoid arching your lower back as you lift your leg. Keep the pace slow and controlled throughout. Use a wall or a chair for support and balance if needed.

Make it easier: If the resistance feels too strong, perform the exercise with no resistance band.

Make it harder: To make the exercise more challenging, use a heavier band.

5. Wall plank

Hold: 10-15sec

• Stand an arm’s length away from a wall.
• Lean forward and place your forearms on the wall, with your elbows at shoulder height.
• Engage your core and keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Hold for 10-15 seconds.

Trainer tips: Avoid sinking or jutting your hips out or arching your lower back. Keep your shoulders rolled back and down.

Make it easier: If holding for 10 seconds with good form is challenging, try performing with your hands on the wall and your arms lengthened. Alternatively, stand closer to the wall.

Make it harder: Hold for a longer duration or place your hands on a lower surface, like a table or chair.

6. Wall march

Reps: 10-15 each side

• Stand an arm’s length away from a wall.
• Place your hands on the wall, keeping your arms straight.
• Engage your core.
• Slowly lift one knee to hip height, bending it to 90°.
• Hold for a few seconds.
• Return to your starting position and repeat on the other side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

Trainer tips: Keep your shoulders rolled back and down.

Make it easier: If balance is an issue, don’t raise your knee so high, keeping your foot closer to the floor.

Make it harder: To make the exercise more challenging, use a short-loop resistance band around your feet, looped around your midfoot.

Shop resistance bands

Whether you have a desk job or not, you’ve probably become aware of the stiffness and damage caused by too much sitting.

Over time, hours seated or hunched over screens can lead to muscular imbalances, poor posture and decreased mobility.

With this long-term risk in mind, I found Pilates instructor Lottie Murphy’s 15-minute routine for desk posture to use as a regular practice.

It was short enough to slot into busy work days, yet impactful enough to address imbalances and support my posture.

I committed to this routine for 30 days—here’s what I found.

The 15-minute Pilates for desk posture routine

What I discovered

My shoulders finally relaxed

I didn’t expect such a gentle routine to make a noticeable difference to my shoulders, but it did.

The windows move—lying on my back with my arms reaching upward, opening my elbows wide, rotating my palms upward, then sweeping my arms overhead—was the most effective.

At first, my shoulders felt stiff and awkward, but after a couple of weeks, I noticed a better range of motion. Thread the needle and cat-cow stretches contributed to this improvement as well, helping me move more easily through my spine.

By the end of the month, I realized I’d stopped rolling my shoulders to relieve tension—they felt looser naturally.

It woke up my lower body

Even though the routine isn’t intense, it switched on my hips and legs.

The glute bridge is not something I would usually think of doing to combat desk stiffness, but it was another standout move. Holding the lift and then lowering slowly made me realize how little I engage my glutes during the day while seated.

My hamstrings felt tight at the start of the month, but that gradually eased as I repeated the routine. Instead of leaving me feeling exhausted, the session energized me, and my lower body felt mobile and ready to move.

I became more aware of my posture

An unexpected benefit was how much more aware I became of how I sit and stand.

Exercises like the plank rock and cat-cow made me focus on spinal positioning—keeping my core lightly engaged and my shoulders stacked over my hips instead of collapsing forward.

Even the simple arm movement at the end of the routine made me notice how often I round through my chest.

That awareness carried over into my workday. I caught myself adjusting my ribcage when I was typing or softening my lower back when standing. These small alterations felt natural rather than forced.

By the end of the month, I was checking in with my posture more often and correcting it sooner.

Of everything I learned, this felt the most significant. After all, awareness of your body and posture is the first step to changing it.

Barre isn’t just something you do in a boutique studio—it’s a low-impact, full-body workout that can be easily done at home.

Barre instructor Tara Riley has created a 15-minute at-home routine that blends the precision of barre with the functional principles of Pilates and strength training.

“This routine focuses on coordination, control and balanced muscular development,” she tells Fit&Well. “It will help you build strength while maintaining mobility and flexibility.”

Move through each section with minimal rest, but take breaks if needed. A mat, sturdy chair or wall, and light dumbbells are all you need.

Warm-up A

Walk through the feet

Reps: 8-10 each side

• Stand with your feet together and lift your right heel. 
• Lift your left heel so you rise onto your toes, then lower your right heel to the floor.
• Repeat on the other side, and continue to walk on the spot, rolling from your heel to your toe, moving smoothly with control.

Standing abs activation with knee lift

Reps: 8 slow, 16 fast

• Lift your arms to shoulder height in front of you and bend your elbows to 90° so your forearms are vertical with palms facing you. Inhale to prepare.
• Exhale powerfully as you lift one knee and pull your arms down to your sides, keeping your elbows bent. (The exhale helps to activate your abs.)
• Inhale as you return to the start, then repeat on the other side. 
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.
• Speed up after 8 reps.
• As an optional extra, twist your torso as you lower your elbows, bringing your right elbow to meet your left knee, and vice versa.

Warm-up B

Second-position plié

Reps: 16

• Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, and your toes turned out.
• Bend your knees to lower, keeping your knees aligned over your toes and sweep your arms out to the sides and up to shoulder height while keeping your chest upright. 
• Reverse the movements back to the start.

Plié pulses with heel lifts

Reps: 16 pulses, then 12 heel lifts each side

• Pause at the bottom of the plié and rise and lower one inch, pulsing up and down 16 times.
• Lift your left heel and pulse eight times.
• Lower your left heel and lift your right heel, and pulse eight times. 
• Alternate lifting one heel than the other with each pulse, for eight pulses.

Arms series

Wide plié with biceps curls

Reps: 8

• Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out, holding light dumbbells by the outsides of your thighs, palms facing up and your upper arms pinned to your torso. 
• Bend your knees to lower as you bend your elbows to lift the weights to your shoulders. 
• Reverse the movement to the start.

If light weights aren’t available, you can do this with bodyweight, just make sure you are tensing the muscles throughout the movement.

Reach and pull arms with plié

Reps: 8 each side, followed by 8 together

• Pause at the bottom of the wide plié with the dumbbells held at biceps height. 
• Extend your right arm out to the side and rotate it so your palm faces back.
• Pull the elbow back to the waist, rotating so the palm faces up.
• Do eight reps on one side, then repeat on the other side.
• Do eight more reps where you extend your legs as you extend both arms simultaneously.

Arm pulses

Reps: 8

• Stand with your arms extended to the sides at shoulder height, palms facing behind you.
• Pulse your arms back eight times.

Isometric series A

Foot articulation in turnout

Reps: 8

• Holding on to the back of a chair, stand with your heels together and toes turned out.
• Bend your knees then lift your heels.
• Straighten your legs and lower your heels back down with control.

Heel lift

Reps: 16

• In the same position, lift and lower your heels.
• Spread your weight evenly through your toes throughout.

Isometric series B

First-position plié

Reps: 16

• Stand on the balls of your feet, toes turned out and your heels and legs together, holding on to the back of a chair with your spine tall.
• Keeping your heels together, bend your knees and move them out to the sides to lower into a plié position, keeping your spine straight as if standing against a wall.
• Return to the starting position.

First-position plié pulses

Reps: 16

• At the bottom of the plié position, pulse up and down, aiming to rise no more than an inch each time, moving with control and keeping your spine tall.

Abductor presses

Reps: 16

• At the bottom of your plié position, gently pulse your knees further out to the sides.
• After eight reps, rise and fall as you pulse your knees for eight more reps. 

Sideline squat series

Squat to side tap with ab crunch

Reps: 8 each side

• Stand left-side-on to the back of a chair, with your left hand lightly resting on the backrest for support.
• Bend your knees and push your hips back to lower into a squat.
• Extend your legs to rise and tap your right foot on the floor to the right side as you reach your right arm overhead.
• Leaning left slightly, towards the chair, bend and lift your right knee whilst bending and lowering your right elbow, bringing them to meet. Exhale to activate your abs as you crunch
• Return to the starting position.
• Do all your reps on one side, then swap sides.

Floor glute series

Glute lift and pulse

Reps: 8, followed by 8 pulses each side

• On your hands and knees, extend your right leg behind you and lower your left forearm to the floor so your left elbow is directly under your left shoulder and your left hand is under your right shoulder and next to your right hand.
• Lift your right leg, moving from your hip and keeping your torso still.
• Lower your right leg to tap your right big toe on the floor then go straight into the next rep. 
• After eight reps, pulse your leg while it’s in the air. 
• Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

Abs series

Seated roll back with arm press

Reps: 8

• Sit up straight on the mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Tuck your tailbone, rounding your lower back and scoop your abs as you roll back halfway. Press your arms forward as you do so. 
• Roll back up and press your arms overhead.
• To advance the movement, lift one foot off the floor and extend the leg in sync with your arms as you curl your torso back. Make sure to repeat on the other side. 
• To advance the movement further, lift both feet off the floor and extend both legs in sync with your arms as you roll back.

Shop light dumbbells

I’m a firm believer that any movement is better than none. On days when I’m feeling tired and lack motivation, I tell myself that I’ll just do five minutes and inevitably end up working out for longer.

I’ve found that just 15 minutes of strength training can help boost my energy, and contribute toward improving my fitness levels and building muscle mass when done consistently.

This kind of efficient and effective exercise is particularly helpful when it comes to easing menopause symptoms, from low mood to fatigue and brain fog.

Quick workouts like the one I’ve created below—that I do myself and recommend to my personal training clients—can leave you feeling more energized, clear-headed and hopefully, happier.

How to do the workout

1. Kettlebell Romanian deadlift
2. Goblet squat
3. Alternating kettlebell gorilla row
4. Plank shoulder tap
5. Kettlebell halo
6. Bird dog

Aim to perform each move for 40 seconds with 20 seconds of rest in between, and complete two rounds.

If you have more time, you can do four rounds for a 30-minute workout.

1. Kettlebell Romanian deadlift

Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees, holding a kettlebell with both hands in front of your thighs.
• Roll your shoulders back and brace your core.
• Hinge forward from your hips, pushing your butt back to lower the weight slowly, keeping it close to your shins.
• Pause, then squeeze your glutes as you extend your hips to return to standing.

2. Squat

Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand with your with feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing slightly out.
• Place your hands on your hips or in front of your chest, palms together.
• Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower.
• Pause when your hips reach knee height.
• Drive through your feet to stand back up, squeezing the muscles in your buttocks at the top.

3. Alternating kettlebell gorilla row

Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with a kettlebell on the floor in front of you.
• Hinge forward from your hips, pushing your butt back and bending your knees slightly. Your back should remain flat throughout.
• Take hold of the kettlebell in one hand.
• Keeping your torso stable, lift the kettlebell to your ribcage, drawing your bent elbow past your torso.
• Lower the kettlebell to the floor with control.
• Repeat on the other side, alternating arms with each rep.

4. Plank shoulder tap from knees

Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Start on your hands and knees with your shoulders directly above your hands and your hips directly above your knees.
• Engage your core.
• Keeping your hips stable, raise one hand off the floor and tap your opposite shoulder.
• Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

To make this more challenging, walk your hands forward until your torso is at a 45° angle.

5. Kettlebell halo

Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand holding a kettlebell upside down by the handle with both hands.
• Raise it to one shoulder for your starting position.
• Move it behind your head, over your other shoulder, then back round to the starting position.
• Change direction and complete another rotation.
• Continue, alternating direction with each rep.

6. Bird dog

Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Start on your hands and knees with your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees.
• Brace your core, then extend one arm in front and extend your opposite leg behind you.
• Keeping your hips and shoulders stable throughout.
• Pause, then return to your starting position and repeat on the other side.

If you’re brand new to exercise, knowing where to start can feel overwhelming.

That’s why I asked NASM-certified coach Danielle Legris, the owner of Thrive Era Wellness, to create a full-body workout that’s beginner-friendly and ticks off as much as possible in just 12 minutes.

The exercises are to be performed as supersets, which essentially means doing two different exercises back-to-back with no rest. This helps save on time because rest periods are limited.

Once you’ve completed both exercises back to back, take a short rest before tackling them again. Complete the recommended number of sets before moving on to the next pair of exercises.

Read through all the exercises before you begin, to see which exercises have been paired together (denoted as A and B).

You will need a mat, dumbbells and a bench for this workout, although alternative options are provided if you’re missing any of this equipment.

Legris has also provided a warm-up stretch and optional cool-down stretches.

“If you are planning to include cool-down stretches within the 12 minutes, I suggest two sets of [each superset],” says Legris. “If your cool-down stretches can be performed outside of the 12 minutes, I suggest three sets.”

Remember to listen to your body as you move, and adapt any exercise that doesn’t feel right.

Workout overview

• 1A. Side plank x 20sec each side
• 1B. Half-kneeling halo x 8 each side
• 2A. Squat x 8
• 2B. Single-arm dumbbell row x 8 each side
• 3A. Single-leg bridge x 8 each side
• 3B. Bench press x 8

Warm-up

World’s greatest stretch

Sets: 2 Reps: 10 each side

• From kneeling, step one foot forward.
• Place both hands on the floor inside your front foot.
• Lift the hand closest to your front foot towards the sky and rotate your chest upward—looking up at your hand.
• Return to start and repeat, then switch sides.

If you want more of a challenge. Lift your back knee off the ground.

Workout

1A. Side plank

Sets: 2-3 Time: 20sec each side

Try the different variations in the video, which run from easiest to hardest, to find the one that suits your ability best, and work up to more challenging variations as the weeks progress.

• Lie on your side with your hand or elbow directly under your shoulder.
• Lift your hips so your body forms a straight line.
• Hold this position for time, breathing steadily, then repeat on the other side.

1B. Half-kneeling halo

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8 each side

• Start in a half-kneeling position holding a light weight. If you don’t have weights, use a filled water bottle or small book.
• Circle the weight slowly around your head.
• Keep your torso tall and still.
• Repeat on the other side by switching knees and the direction you’re circling the weight.

2A. Squat

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8

• Stand with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart. Your toes, knees and hips should all be face forward.
• Sit your hips back and bend your knees to lower.
• Press through your feet to stand back up.

2B. Single-arm dumbbell row

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8 each side

• Place your left hand and left knee on a bench or other secure knee-high platform.
• Holding a light weight or a household object in the other hand, slowly pull the weight toward your torso, squeezing your shoulder blade.
• Lower with control.
• Complete all the reps on one side, then switch sides.

3A. Single-leg bridge

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8 each side

• Lie on your back with one knee hugged into your chest.
• Place the opposite foot flat on the floor.
• Press through that foot to lift your hips.
• Lower back down with control.
• Switch legs after completing reps.

3B. Bench press

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8

• Lie on a bench (or on a yoga mat) holding dumbbells (or filled cans or jars) above your chest, with your arms extended.
• Bend your elbows to lower the weights, allowing a 45° angle between your upper arm and torso.
• Press back up with control.

Cool-down

Figure four

Time: 30sec each side

• Lie on your back with your knees bent.
• Place your right ankle on your left thigh, just above the knee.
• Hold the back of the left leg and gently pull it towards you.
• Hold the stretch for time, then switch sides.

Chest stretch

Time: 30sec each side

• Stand next to a wall and place your forearm against it.
• Gently turn away to feel a stretch through your chest.
• Hold for time, then switch sides.

Hamstring stretch

Time: 30sec each side

• Place one foot on a slightly raised surface, keeping that leg straight.
• Hinge forward slightly if needed to increase the stretch.
• Hold for time, then repeat on the other side.

Lat stretch

Time: 30sec each side

• Raise your right arm overhead and then bend your right elbow so your right hand rests on your upper back.
• Use your left hand to gently push your right elbow down to increase the stretch.
• Hold for time, then repeat on the other side.

When you think of a workout for heart health, you might imagine pounding a treadmill or pedalling at high speed on an exercise bike—this is a common misconception. Improving your cardiovascular fitness doesn’t have to mean long sessions doing the same thing.

There are other ways you can get your heart rate up while also building strength—and having some fun—says Kyle Hoffman, head trainer at Alo Wellness Club New York.

Hoffman has designed a strength and cardio workout for Fit&Well with beginners in mind.

“The short work intervals and moderate pace are ideal for someone rebuilding their fitness base. It’s challenging enough to stimulate heart function but controlled enough to prevent fatigue.”

Why does heart health matter?

“A stronger heart pumps blood more efficiently, lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes,” says Hoffman.

“This workout combines compound movements that use multiple muscle groups, encouraging the heart to pump more efficiently and improving cardiovascular endurance. I prioritize sustainable progress over intensity for long-term heart health.”

Hoffman recommends using light to moderate dumbbells and making sure to move at a controlled pace: you should focus on your breathing and move steadily rather than quickly.

“I also like to emphasize consistency and mindful movement—not just for the physical benefits, but because movement also supports mental wellbeing, reduces stress and improves sleep,” he adds.

1. Dumbbell squat to press

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells at your shoulders.
• Bend your knees and push your hips back until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Keep your core engaged and chest upright throughout.
• Push through your heels to return to standing and press your dumbbells overhead until your arms are extended.
• Lower the dumbbells to your shoulders under control.

Why: Hoffman says this exercise combines upper- and lower-body work, which raises your heart rate safely, and supports everyday movements like standing and lifting.

2. Dumbbell bent-over row

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees, holding dumbbells by your sides.
• Hinge forward at your hips and push your butt back, keeping your back flat and letting your arms hang.
• Bend your elbows and draw them past your torso to lift the dumbbells to your ribs, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
• Lower the dumbbells with control.

Why: This move strengthens the postural muscles and improves circulation to large muscle groups without stressing the joints.

3. Dumbbell alternating reverse lunge

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells by your sides.
• Take a big step back with your right foot and bend both knees to 90° to lower, keeping your torso upright.
• Push through your left foot to return to the start.
• Repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.

Why: This exercise builds leg and core strength, supports balance and challenges the heart through large muscle activation.

4. Dumbbell chest press

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Lie on your back on the floor, with your knees bent, and your feet flat on the floor and hip-width apart, holding dumbbells by your chest, with your upper arms resting on the floor.
• Press the dumbbells straight up, extending your arms without locking your elbows.
• Lower slowly with control.

Why: This move strengthens your chest and arms while maintaining a steady breathing pattern to enhance oxygen flow and circulation.

5. Dumbbell overhead march

Sets: 3 Time: 40sec Rest: 20sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells overhead.
• Engage your core and, keeping your torso upright throughout, raise your left knee to hip height.
• Return your left foot to the floor, then repeat on your right side.
• Continue for time, alternating sides with each rep.

Why: This is a low-impact way to keep the heart rate elevated, improve grip strength and mimic everyday endurance tasks.

A lot of people—me included—find it difficult to do an hour-long workout session every day. That’s where shorter, higher-intensity workouts can be useful.

Moving quickly through a set of exercises can challenge both your cardio fitness and your muscular endurance. And if you can’t manage that, even a few minutes of stretching can boost your body and make you feel better.

When I only have 10 minutes to spare, I have a set routine I like to follow featuring squats, Romanian deadlift, overhead press and bent-over row.

But admittedly, this can get a bit boring. So whenever I interview a trainer, I ask them for their favorite busy-day workout.

Samantha Cubbins—manager at Gymshark’s UK Lifting Club and a certified trainer with 20 years of experience—told me that her favorite quick routine is an eight-minute session of eight burpees followed by eight dumbbell snatches (four on each arm), completing as many rounds as possible (AMRAP).

My first thought was: That sounds hard.

But she convinced me of its benefits and offered some beginner-friendly modifications that made it more accessible.

The eight-minute AMRAP workout

Cubbins’ workout consists of doing eight burpees, followed by eight dumbbell snatches as many times as you can within eight minutes.

Cubbins says she likes the routine because it’s easy to remember and works a lot of your muscles.

“You're using every muscle in your body, you're lifting your own bodyweight, you're getting your heart rate up and you're working your core, your shoulders and your legs,” she says.

However, this is a tough routine if you’re new to exercise, so she suggests tweaking it if you’re a beginner.

How to adapt the workout if you’re a beginner

Cubbins suggests that beginners perform eight rounds of the exercises, with 30-60 seconds of rest in between.

Rounds: 8 Rest: 30-60sec

1. Burpee x 8
2. Dumbbell snatch x 4 each side

Performing rounds, rather than exercising to a time limit, will make the routine a bit longer, so it might take around 15 minutes.

1. Burpee

Reps: 8

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Squat down and place your hands on the floor.
• Jump or step back into a high plank position.
• Lower your chest to the floor, then push back up.
• Jump or step your feet back to your hands.
• Jump or stand up, then repeat.

Form tips: Cubbins suggests beginners avoid the jumps and step in and out of the plank instead. This low-impact modification makes the burpee more accessible to a range of fitness levels.

You can also modify the push-up element, either by placing your hands on a raised surface—like a plyo box or weight bench—instead of the floor, or dropping to your knees before attempting the push-up.

2. Dumbbell snatch

Reps: 4 each side

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell between your feet.
• Push your butt back and bend your knees, and reach down to take hold of the dumbbell.
• Push through your feet, extend your legs and drive your hips forward to pull the dumbbell to chest height, elbow out to the side.
• Punch the dumbbell overhead in one smooth movement, extending your arm.
• Reverse the movement to lower the dumbbell to the floor.
• Complete all the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.

Form tips: To lower the dumbbell back to the floor, keep your back flat, hinge at your hips and bend your knees.

If you need to make the lifting and lowering movements easier, Cubbins suggests placing the dumbbell on a raised platform, so you don’t have as far to travel.

The dumbbell snatch is a technical move, so beginners should perform it slowly, with a light weight at first, and ideally with guidance from a trainer who can help you with your form.

“If you're unsure on what to do or how to lift something, ask someone to help you so they can demonstrate,” says Cubbins.

“I know there's a lot out there online [...] but I’m a firm believer that nothing is better than having someone there with you to show you and to make sure that you are doing it safely. Or you could film yourself and send it to a coach.”

If you have a packed day but still want to squeeze in some exercise or you’re returning to fitness after a break and need a low-impact way to move, this walking workout might be your perfect match.

Samantha Cubbins, strength and conditioning coach and lifting club manager at Gymshark, has adapted the popular 12-3-30 walking workout that went viral across social media a few years ago, and continues to be popular.

When my colleague tried incline walking she was pleasantly surprised by the strengthening effect it had on her legs, although a walking coach I spoke to said she doesn’t recommend the workout for beginners.

Cubbins’ approach, however, makes the workout more accessible. She recommends the same format—12% incline at a pace of 3mph—but for half the time.

While the speed and incline remain the same, working for 15 minutes instead of 30 will put less pressure on your joints and make the workout more manageable.

Make sure to warm up beforehand to prepare muscles and joints—especially your calves and hamstrings—for the session ahead. This walking warm-up is quick and only consists of three moves.

Why do the 12-3-15 walking workout

According to the expert, there are many reasons why this 15-minute, low-impact workout is so effective.

“It minimizes stress on your joints while still enabling you to work up a sweat. The 12% incline creates a hill, raising your heart rate and helping you burn more calories, all the while strengthening your lower-body muscles.”

Cubbins recommends this workout as a starting point for those returning to exercise after a break or who are new to exercise. Once you’re comfortable with the incline and pace, you can progress it by gradually increasing the duration.

“If you don’t have a treadmill, you can easily replicate the workout outside by walking at a steady pace for 15 minutes up a hill,” says Cubbins. If you don’t have any suitable inclines in the vicinity, try adjusting your pace instead with this 15-minute walking workout.

“The workout can also be replicated on a bike or stairmill—just make sure to maintain a resistance level and pace that is moderately challenging, but doesn’t leave you out of breath.”

Walking workouts are overall a great way to improve your heart health, maintain a healthy weight and boost your mood, says Cubbins, but it should be complemented by resistance training.

“While walking is great exercise, I would always recommend incorporating some form of strength training into your routine. If you don't have access to a gym, you can do some bodyweight exercises at home and make use of resistance band workouts to supplement daily walks.”

The right music can elevate your workout and supercharge your motivation.

I’m a metal girl myself—happiest when lifting heavy and listening to heavy music—but I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Personal trainer and founder of Holistic Hottie, Amira Lamb, is also an advocate for music-led workouts—but she likes to blend hip-hop, pop and dance.

“As a group fitness instructor for 31 years, I understand the benefits of moving to music,” she tells Fit&Well. “It can help improve coordination, focus and rhythm.”

Walking workouts in particular benefit from a backing track, as the right tempo will help you hit your stride. They’re also an accessible form of low-impact cardio that most people can do.

“Walking gets your blood flowing, helps you move in a way you’re already accustomed to—so there’s zero learning curve—and gently works your legs, glutes and core,” says Lamb. “It does all of this without putting too much stress on your joints.”

The trainer has put together a beginner-friendly treadmill workout for Fit&Well readers, along with a playlist of tracks.

The songs’ beats per minute (BPM) match the workout's speed, incline and effort.

Don’t have access to a treadmill? Try this 15-minute outdoor walking workout instead.

15-minute treadmill workout

To start, set your treadmill speed to 2.5-2.8 mph and your incline to 0%, then change the incline every three minutes, as detailed below.

• Time: 3min Incline: 0%
• Time: 3min Incline: 1-2%
• Time: 3min Incline: 2-3%
• Time: 3min Incline: 3-4%
• Time: 3min Incline: 1-2%

Tracklist

Queue up these tracks on your favorite music platform to keep you stepping in time.

• Titi Me Preguntó (Remix) - Bad Bunny (111 BPM)
• AAAHH MEN! - Doja Cat (115 BPM)
• 1,2 Step - Ciara ft. Missy Elliot (113 BPM)
• CUFF IT - Beyonce (115 BPM)
• Break My Soul - Beyonce (115 BPM)

When I asked her why these tracks in particular, Lamb explained that 110-115 BPM works well for someone who hasn’t exercised for a while or is just returning to walking for fitness.

“The cadence [rhythm] is sustainable and allows for a natural stride length,” she says.

Everyone can benefit from walking but it’s especially valuable if you need a low-impact activity that can improve your balance and your cardio fitness.

“Walking is a wonderful workout,” says Milica McDowell, a doctor of physical therapy and exercise physiologist at Gait Happens.

“It not only helps to boost your cardiovascular health but doing it regularly can reduce your risks of falls by strengthening your feet and improving your balance.”

McDowell has designed a simple walking workout for anyone aged over 60, which can be adapted to your own fitness levels.

If you find it too challenging, you can shorten the high-intensity intervals and spend more time walking at a comfortable pace. Similarly, if you’d like to increase the challenge, you can extend the high-intensity intervals to keep your heart rate elevated.

If you haven’t exercised for a long time and need a gentler routine, we recommend you read McDowell’s tips on conquering your first 1,000 steps and increasing your step count safely.

15-minute walking workout for seniors

Warm-up

Time: 3-5min

“A warm-up is designed to do two things: increase your heart rate and increase your tissue temperatures so you are at lower risk of any sprain or strain,” says McDowell.

“You can do squats, lunges, march in place or go up and down a flight of stairs.”

Interval walking

Time: 6-12min

“Walk at a very comfortable pace for three minutes, then pick it up for three minutes. Repeat this pattern based on your current endurance,” says McDowell.

“This type of walking holds numerous benefits, including cardiovascular training, boosting your metabolism and burning calories. It can improve your muscle tone and support blood pressure and blood sugar management.”

Gentle cool-down

Time: 3-5min

Cool down by slowing your pace and focusing on breathing deeply through your nose.

You can also practice gentle stretches after walking to increase your flexibility.

“If you enjoy yoga, doing a few of your favorite poses can also be a great cooldown,” says McDowell.

She usually finishes her walk by doing a forward fold and mountain pose, along with dynamic mobility moves like upward and downward-facing dog, which are very similar to this coach’s favorite post-walk stretches.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) delivers impressive cardiovascular benefits, but many HIIT workout favorites—like jump squats and burpees—can be hard on the joints.

The good news is that HIIT doesn’t have to include lots of burpees to make an impact.

I regularly program HIIT-style workouts for my clients who can’t run or jump, and they still break a sweat, without the high-impact moves.

Fitness coach Joe Wicks (aka The Body Coach) recently shared a 15-minute low-impact HIIT-style workout that’s ideal for beginners or anyone returning to exercise.

Having recently had a baby, I needed a quick routine that was gentle on my postpartum body but still effective—and this workout was just right.

How to do Joe Wicks’ 15-minute workout

All you’ll need for this session is an exercise mat.

Wicks moves through 15 exercises, working for 45 seconds on each, with 15 seconds of rest in between.

“If you have people living below you, they wouldn’t even know you were exercising,” says Wicks. That sums up the style of this quiet but surprisingly effective routine.

Here are my other takeaways as a trainer and new mum.

It got my heart pumping

Don’t let the words low-impact or beginner fool you—this workout is still a challenge.

While it’s suitable for most fitness levels, you still need good mobility and technique to perform the squats, lunges and push-ups in the workout correctly.

I was surprised at what a tough cardio session this was—my Apple Watch clocked my heart rate hitting the 150s.

That being said, I was moving quicker than Wicks during most of the workout. If I had matched his tempo, I might not have found it as challenging.

His coaching cues were a big win

Unlike many YouTube fitness personalities who use loud, high-energy music and minimal instruction, Wicks takes a different approach.

He uses the rest periods to talk you through form tips and to explain the next move.

Simple cues like “engage the core” and “keep the hands under the shoulders” can make a big difference to those just learning how to exercise properly.

Even as someone who isn’t new to squats or push-ups, these tips were helpful reminders, especially as I began to fatigue.

You can scale it up or down

The great thing about this routine is that it’s adaptable.

If you’re a complete beginner, you can match his speed, or even go slower.

If you want to push yourself, you can move more quickly or add light weights to moves like the squat or reverse lunge.

I picked up some 5lb weights for a few moves and enjoyed the extra challenge.

Time is often a major barrier to achieving fitness goals, with busy work days, family commitments and social obligations leaving little room for long gym sessions or even a short yoga practice.

Fortunately, quick and effective workouts do exist. Husband and wife duo Joshua and Claudia Kozak of HASFit recently posted a 15-minute full-body workout, which was just what I needed when a packed calendar was keeping me from the gym.

How to do the 15-minute kettlebell workout

You’ll need a moderately heavy kettlebell for this workout (lighter and heavier options might come in handy too) as well as an exercise mat for added comfort.

After a four-minute warm up, you’ll move through eight exercises, performing each for 45-60 seconds with 15 seconds of rest in between. The workout wraps up with a three-minute cool down.

The exercises are:

1. Sumo deadlift
2. One arm press
3. Split stance bent over row
4. Goblet reverse lunge
5. Hammer curl to press
6. Swing/RDL
7. Halo
8. Suitcase squat

What I thought of the workout

It’s a full-body focus

Through the eight exercises (with no repeats) I worked all my major muscle groups and my heart rate was elevated, which means I was getting cardio benefits too.

While there aren’t any traditional core exercises, moves like the kettlebell swing, suitcase squat, goblet reverse lunge and halo, all activate the deep core muscles for stability.

Complex moves are made accessible

I always appreciate when fitness instructors offer clear verbal cues, and the Kozaks do a fantastic job of that. They demonstrate each exercise during rest periods and share valuable form pointers throughout the workout.

The kettlebell swing can be challenging for beginners. The duo talks you through proper form and offers a modification, making the workout accessible to more people.

If you need more pointers, you can also look at our in-depth guide on how to do kettlebell swings.

It’s a 19-minute workout

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the entire workout is closer to 19 minutes. They share some helpful mobility and flexibility tips at the start and finish so the extra few minutes are worth it.

If you’re really pressed for time, skipping the warm-up and cool-down shortens the workout to about 11 minutes, though I would recommend doing it all for a comprehensive routine.

Just because you don't have time to make it to your regular workout class, or fit in a long run, that doesn't mean it's not worth exercising. A little bit of movement is better than none and it will probably leave you feeling better than before you started.

Yoga is a great form of exercise to do in short bursts, especially because the deliberate breathing can relax your body in minutes.

Adriene Mishler, better known to her 13 million YouTube subscribers as Yoga With Adriene, recently shared a yoga practice that takes just 15 minutes. According to Mishler, it will energize your body and reset your mind.

I've been doing yoga for 10 years and while I tend to do hour-long classes at studios, I've also tried plenty of Mishler's routines over the years and can see why she features in Fit&Well's list of the best yoga YouTube channels.

I'm always impressed by how good Mishler's routines can make me feel in my own living room, often in a short space of time, so I was keen to try her latest practice.

How to do Yoga With Adriene's 15-minute yoga practice

This is a follow-along routine so just press play and Mishler will guide you through it.

You don't need any equipment to do this routine although it is worth using a yoga mat to make your experience more comfortable. I use the Yogi Bare mat, which is super soft even after lots of use and I never feel like I'm sliding around on it, even when I'm sweating in downward dog.

My experience trying Yoga With Adriene's 15-minute yoga routine

This yoga practice is mainly made up of sun salutations, a sequence of traditional poses including forward fold (below), downward dog (above) and plank.

Moving through sun salutations is one of my favourite ways to practice yoga. It gets your heart rate up if you flow quickly through the poses and it engages muscles all over the body, so it's a great way to move.

I also find sun salutations very meditative, because my mind can focus on the flow and I'm able to forget about any stress or anxiety.

Mishler offers a few fun twists on the traditional sun salutation too, which help to mobilize the hip joints, so I'd recommend this routine to anyone who is dealing with stiffness in their hips.

There's also some time at the beginning and end of the routine to sit in stillness. It might not feel worth it if you are only practicing for 15 minutes, but taking the time to allow your body to destress is really worthwhile. I find it helps me return to my day feeling more refreshed, so try not to skip these parts of the practice.

I'll be coming back to this video as a quick way to get moving in the morning or take a break from my desk.

Planning to try Pilates in 2025? You’re spoilt for choice with both online and in-person classes. From wall Pilates and Reformer to classical or contemporary styles, this low-impact, mind-body practice has come a long way since its early days. It was first developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates and was originally called 'contrology'.

Though its name has changed, the core principles and benefits of Pilates remain the same: an increase in muscular strength and endurance and enhanced flexibility, posture and balance.

If you’re new to Pilates, physical therapist and Pilates instructor Jessica Valant recommends this 15-minute mat class as an introduction to some foundational moves. You don't need much equipment, just a thick mat and some comfy clothing.

How to do the 15-minute beginner Pilates class

Starting any new type of exercise can feel daunting but Valant makes her Pilates session accessible and beginner-friendly.

"This will go over some of the basics and foundation moves of Pilates," Valant explains at the start of her YouTube video. "[This will] make sure you feel really comfortable as you move forward in your Pilates practice."

The mat session starts with the pelvic tilt and includes staple exercises like bridge, leg circles and the swimming Pilates pose.

Valant demonstrates each exercise with detailed step-by-step guidance, so you can nail your form.

Top tips for Pilates beginners

According to Victoria Repa, certified Pilates instructor, health coach and founder of BetterMe, there are some guiding principles to follow when you practice Pilates.

"For beginners, focusing on these Pilates fundamentals can ensure a safe, effective and fulfilling practice," says Repa.

1. Be in the moment and cultivate conscious movement

"Pilates is not just about movement, it's about intentional movement," says Repa.

"Full concentration helps you connect with your body. This is crucial for mastering techniques such as keeping the pelvis in a stable position while moving the legs or relaxing the shoulders while performing difficult exercises. Concentration also helps to harmonize breathing with movement, improving oxygen flow and supporting muscle function."

2. Slow down to feel the movement fully

"One of the most common mistakes beginners make is to rush through exercises. When movements are performed in a hurry, they often rely on momentum rather than muscle control," says Repa.

Instead, she says to slow down the movement to improve your ability to "sense muscle tension, improve stability and prevent injury".

3. Focus on breath control

Like other mind-body practices, such as yoga, Pilates emphasizes intentional breathing.

“This helps to maintain rhythm, preventing tension in the neck or shoulders, and helps you to perform smooth movements," Repa says. "Each inhalation and exhalation should be coordinated with movement."

4. Respect the uniqueness of your body

Every body is different and what works for one person may not necessarily work for another.

"It is important to learn to listen to your body, develop at your own pace, and celebrate even the small wins," she says.

Sore knees are a common problem, but why? And is there anything you can do about it?

Trainer Carrie Baxter from fitness app Mvmnt says painful knees are typically caused by inflammation, prolonged overuse or fatigue, previous injury, or simply tightness around the joint. "Weakness, tightness or imbalances in the surrounding muscles, especially the hamstrings and glutes, is another common culprit," says Baxter.

The remedy? "Variety," says Baxter. "I don't personally believe that there is a one-size-fits-all workout that will strengthen every knee, but workouts that evenly target the quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes should address any deficiencies in your setup."

There should be one constant though—some variation on the glute bridge. "The glute bridge is my favorite knee-strengthener," says Baxter. "It targets the hamstrings and glutes but also creates space and improves mobility in the front of the body for a double dose of benefits."

To get going, try this follow-along workout from Baxter. "These exercises will target everything from the feet up and the hips down," says Baxter. "We'll focus on strengthening the glutes and hamstrings, but also on increasing mobility through the hips and incorporating single-leg work to improve balance and stability."

How to do this knee-strengthening workout

Baxter recommends repeating this knee-strengthening workout 1-2 times per week. To ensure progression, she suggests increasing the number of reps you aim to complete in each working set. "If you're an advanced mover, you can also add a light dumbbell to some of the exercises to make them more challenging," says Baxter.

For the final exercise, a relatively spicy and long-lasting reverse lunge into knee drive finisher, Baxter says there is no obligation to include a small hop with each rep. If, however, you feel up to it, this extra dynamic effort will help build power as well as strength, while getting your pulse racing to improve cardiovascular fitness too.

Here's an overview of what you're doing in the workout.

1. Single-leg balance

• Stand tall and raise one leg off the floor.
• Focus on gripping the floor with your toes and keeping your eyes on one point in front of you to help maintain balance.

2. Single-leg glute bridge hold

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor
• Lift one foot and drive through the heel of the other foot to raise your hips until your body is a straight line from shoulders to knee.
• Hold this bridge position until Baxter tells you to switch sides.

3. Crab reach

• Sit with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor and one palm on the floor behind you.
• Engage your core and lift your hips.
• Lower under control.

4. Curtsy lunge

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Keeping your torso upright, step your right foot behind your left foot and out to the left-hand side, bending both knees to lower until your right knee gently taps the floor.
• Press through your left foot to return to the start.

5. Curtsy into reverse lunge into knee drive

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Keeping your torso upright, step your right foot behind your left foot and out to the left-hand side, bending both knees to lower until your right knee gently taps the floor.
• Press through your left foot and move your right foot to the right, so your feet are staggered, but shoulder-width apart.
• Press through your left foot and raise your right leg in front of you so your right thigh is parallel with the floor and hold for 2-3 seconds.

6. Y squat hold

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Raise your arms to form a Y shape.
• Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower, ideally until your hips are in line with your knees, or as far as your mobility allows.
• Hold this position, keeping your torso upright.

7. Beast hold

• Start on all fours with hands below shoulders and knees below hips.
• Lift your knees just off the floor.
• Hold this position, keeping your back flat and core engaged.

8. Reverse lunge into knee drive

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Step your right foot back and bend both knees until your right knee gently taps the floor.
• Press through your left foot and raise your right leg in front of you so your right thigh is parallel with the floor.
• If feeling confident, jump straight up off your left foot.
• Land on your left foot with a slight bend in your knee to cushion the impact, and continue straight into the next rep.

It can be difficult to motivate yourself to exercise at the best of times, never mind when it's dark and cold outside and getting out on a run or making your way to the gym feels impossible.

Fortunately, you can get a good workout without leaving the comfort of your own home. You can even do cardio without disturbing your downstairs neighbors or moving furniture around.

Barre is a form of exercise inspired by ballet and incorporates elements of Pilates and yoga to strengthen and mobilize the muscles and joints.

It's a workout style I often turn to when I want something low-impact that still provides a challenge. That's why I was excited to discover a cardio barre routine, on a day when the grey skies and cold temperatures meant I was keen to find an alternative to my usual 5K run.

The workout is from barre and Pilates instructor Lara Maurermeier, and it promises to heat up muscles all over the body and burn calories in just 15 minutes—all with no jumping.

I was intrigued and decided to give the workout a go.

How to do Lara Maurermeier's cardio barre routine

To do this workout, you'll need a chair or another stable surface to lean against, as well as a little bit of space to move around.

It takes 15 minutes and you can follow along with Maurermeier's video as she demonstrates each move in real-time.

My experience trying a cardio barre workout

The barre workouts I usually do tend to focus on small, slow and controlled movements, but this workout was very different. For a start, it moved at a much faster pace.

On top of that, there were lots of lunge variations that engaged a wide range of muscles.

I felt that my heart rate was higher than if I was doing a more traditional barre workout and the muscles in my legs were fully engaged.

By the end of the workout, I was out of breath and my legs felt tired—pretty good for 15 minutes.

However, this routine didn't challenge me as much as my usual gym-based strength workouts, or going on a run.

Despite this, it was a great way to move my body when I didn't feel like exercising otherwise and my head felt a lot clearer by the end of the routine.

This is also a fantastic workout for anyone who is not in an exercise routine and is new to cardio. It will certainly challenge you, but you should be able to keep up with the pace and the types of movements.

Plus, it's low-impact which means there's less risk of damaging your joints, for anyone who isn't used to exercise or is recovering from an injury.

I love running. I do it at least five times a week but sometimes my body likes to complain—and quite rightly.

Running puts a lot of strain on the body, especially the hip flexors, which contract every time you bring your leg forward. This repetitive action can make these muscles stiff and sore, which leads to tight, cranky hips. The good news is that stretching can help with this, improving flexibility and reducing your chance of injury.

Boosting your hip mobility can also have a positive impact on your running. If you have a good range of motion in your hips and lower body, you can swing your legs forward with more efficiency and power.

I’m currently training for the 2025 London Land Marks Half Marathon and want to keep my hips healthy and happy. I decided to add a mobility routine to my training plan in the hopes that it would help me avoid injury and run faster.

Watch Madeleine Nilsson’s hip mobility routine.

I chose to follow this routine from personal trainer and run coach Madeleine Nilsson. It features seven moves designed to improve hip mobility and range of motion (ROM) in the lower body. I completed 10 repetitions of each exercise, as suggested in the video, before every run.

The exercises

1. Side-lying hip circles x10 each side
2. 90/90 sit switches x5 each side
3. Rocking figure-4 pose x10 each side
4. Bouncing lunges x10 each side
5. Seated knee drops x10 each side
6. Supine hip circles x10 each side
7. Supine knee hugs x10 each side

"Proper hip mobility is crucial for several reasons, especially for runners," Nilsson says in her video's caption. "By ensuring that the hips can move through their full range of motion without compensation, you can prevent many common running-related injuries.

"Improved hip mobility also enhances your athletic performance and helps you maintain proper posture and alignment. It’s simply a key to smoother and more efficient movement patterns in your day-to-day life and during workouts."

How the routine helped me

The routine only took around 10 minutes, but after doing it my body felt switched on and my lower back niggles had disappeared. My knee and ankle joints also felt more mobile. Doing the routine helped me regulate my breathing and get into the right mindset for running too, as I practiced the moves slowly in sync with my breath.

That’s not to say the moves were all easy; I was humbled at how challenging exercises like the side-lying hip circles felt. Other moves, like the seated knee drops, were more enjoyable, providing a welcome stretch after a day at my desk.

Am I a faster, more explosive runner after two weeks of the routine? I wish. However, I fully intend to keep up with the routine because it does make my legs feel lighter and my body more resilient.

After the moves, I can feel my blood pumping around my body, and my muscles are warm—and I haven’t had any lower back pain after my longer runs either, which I can only put down to my improved hip function.

So if you're also looking for ways to make running feel easier, I can recommend doing hip-strengthening exercises like these.

Finding the motivation to exercise during the winter months can be a challenge. But here’s the good news: you don't need to brave the cold for a run or spend hours commuting to the gym to get a good workout.

Low-impact workouts like Pilates are an excellent way to build strength while improving your mobility, balance and coordination—all without leaving the house.

Pilates instructor Madeleine Abeid has shared a quick and effective routine that proves just how powerful this style of movement can be. In just 15 minutes, without equipment, this workout promises to engage your entire body all from the comfort of a mat.

How to do this 15-minute Pilates workout

To follow along, perform each move for 30 seconds as demonstrated by Abeid. You may want to do the routine on an exercise mat to cushion your knees and back.

What are the benefits of Pilates compared to weight training?

If you’re new to Pilates, it's a form of exercise that involves small, controlled movements that strengthen muscles including the smaller stabilizing muscles that are often overlooked in traditional weight training.

One standout benefit of Pilates is the emphasis on core engagement. Even when focusing on other areas, such as leg lifts from a plank position, your core will be working hard to stabilize and support your body.

Pilates also improves balance and coordination, skills that translate to better movement in daily life.

Unlike weight training, Pilates is also low-impact, making it a joint-friendly option, which is ideal if you're recovering from an injury or new to exercise.

Finally, Pilates workouts like Abeid’s don’t just strengthen the body—they encourage mindful movement and breath awareness, making them a great way to find a moment of calm in your day.

If you struggle to fit movement into your day, a walking workout could help you do more than just increase your step count.

"Walking workouts have many incredible benefits," says AloMoves trainer Bianca Wise. "They can improve your cardio and boost your lymphatic health [an important part of your immune system]."

"Walking is also low impact, making it the perfect workout to complement other forms of movement, while also helping to improve muscle strength,” says Wise. Walking can also help with weight management and give your mental wellbeing a lift.

To help you hit your daily step target, Wise has created a simple and fuss-free walking workout, exclusively for Fit&Well. This routine can be done anywhere and though it will take just 15 minutes, it will elevate your heart rate and strengthen muscles used in walking, helping you get stronger for your next stroll.

How to do the 15-minute walking workout

This walking workout is split into three five-minute intervals, each with a different intensity level, from light to moderate.

To guide your effort, Wise uses heart rate zones (HR zones), which measure what percentage of your maximum heart rate (HRmax) you’re working at.

To find your heart rate max, subtract your age from 220. Once you've worked this out, you can calculate your different heart rate zones, using the percentages detailed below.

If this doesn't work for you, try navigating the workout using your perceived rate of exertion instead, which is a rough measure of how hard you're working. It's usually calculated from 1-10, with 10 being your maximum effort.

What do the five HR Zones mean?

• Zone 1 = very light intensity, 50%-60% of your HRmax
• Zone 2 = light intensity, 60-70% of your HRmax
• Zone 3 = moderate intensity, 70-80% of your HRmax
• Zone 4 = high intensity, 80-90% of your HRmax
• Zone 5 = maximum intensity, 90-100% of your HRmax

You can measure your heart rate using a simple fitness tracker. If you don't have one, we've rounded up the best Black Friday Fitbit deals for you— or take a look at the cheap deal below.

How to do the three walking intervals

1. Warm up, 5 minutes: Start with a low intensity walk to prepare your body for movement. Aim for Zone 2, maintaining a light effort at around 60-70% of your HRmax.
2. Power walk, 5 minutes: Increase your pace to reach Zone 3. This should be a moderate to vigorous effort, increasing your heart rate to 70-80% of your HRmax and challenging your cardiovascular system.
3. Cool down, 5 minutes: Ease off to a lighter intensity for your final five minutes, returning to Zone 2. You should be able to hold a conversation comfortably.

If you want to make this 15-minute walking workout harder, Wise suggests adding a hill or set of stairs to climb. “The important thing to remember is that breathing in and out of your nose and maintaining a controlled heart rate will help improve your fitness levels,” the expert adds.

Want more low-impact routines like this one? Check out this 10-minute walking workout or learn what happened when I tried this 5,000-step walking workout with over one million views.

Weights and gym machines are a straightforward way to build strength, but if you're working out from home without any equipment, rest assured you can still build strength—and plenty more besides—using just your bodyweight.

Pilates is one of the most popular at-home workout styles. It involves slow and controlled movements that strengthen the muscles while also improving posture, balance and coordination.

Pilates instructor and founder of Shape Pilates Gemma Folkard recently shared a workout on Instagram that will help you build strength across your obliques (the muscles along the sides of your torso), shoulders and hip flexors in just four moves. The best part? It only takes 15 minutes.

How to do Gemma Folkard's Pilates workout

Pilates is effective at building strength while also being gentle on the joints.

High-impact exercises like running, HIIT and some types of weight training can be tough on joints like the knees and shoulders, especially if you've had previous injuries or are new to exercise.

Choosing a lower-impact option like Pilates helps to protect your joints while still challenging your muscles—trust me, the slower you move, the more you challenge your muscles with this routine!

Aim to complement Pilates workouts with strength training a few times a week to feel the difference.

If you're looking for a versatile piece of equipment that you can use at home, you can't do much better than the kettlebell.

It's ideal for full-body workouts and much-loved trainer Joe Wicks recently shared a routine that will target a wide range of muscles and help you build strength with just four exercises.

Plus, it only takes 15 minutes, so it's great if you're short on time or can't make it to the gym.

How to do Joe Wicks' 15-minute kettlebell routine

This is an interval workout, which involves completing 40 seconds of each exercise followed by 20 seconds of rest. Perform the exercises in a circuit—so one after the other—completing three rounds of the circuit.

The only piece of equipment you need is a kettlebell, although you may wish to have more than one to hand so you can switch to a lighter kettlebell for the second movement. For the rest of the exercises it's best to use a fairly heavy kettlebell for you, because the exercises Wicks has chosen engage fairly big muscle groups. But make sure the weight is manageable so that you can do the exercises for 40 seconds with good form.

Speaking of good form, if you find the kettlebell hits your forearm too hard halfway through the second movement, brush up on your technique with this helpful beginner tutorial.

The benefits of compound movements

All the exercises in this workout are compound exercises, which simply means the movement uses more than one muscle group.

For example, the second exercise will recruit the quads and glute muscles in your legs, as well as the trapezius and deltoid muscles, which are located in your upper back and shoulders.

By incorporating compound movements, Wicks' workout is able to strengthen muscles all over your body in just 15 minutes, burning more calories and improving your cardio fitness to a greater degree than 15 minutes of isolation exercises could.

Plus, the compound movements in this workout are also functional exercises. This means they require you to perform some of the movement patterns we have to do every day, such as squatting, pushing and pulling.

Functional, compound exercises are particularly beneficial as you get older and your body naturally becomes less mobile and strong.

Try doing this workout two to three times a week to see the best results. And remember to gradually increase the weight of the kettlebell you're using over time, which will help you build strength.

Your back muscles play a huge role in everyday movements. They help you twist and turn, provide power when you lift things overhead and support your spinal column.

So, strengthening them is a no-brainer, but it can be difficult to know where to start. That’s where this simple dumbbell workout from Sweat app trainer Britany Williams comes in handy. She’s provided seven different movements to try, which will help you target all the major muscles in your back.

She suggests picking five of the moves for a more personalized back-focused workout. Perform each move 10 times and do three rounds of the exercises in total.

How to do Britany Williams’ back workout

Sets: 3 Reps: 10 (on each side for the renegade row)

Choose five from the following:

• Reverse fly
• Pull- down
• Underhand row with pause
• Pull-over
• Wide row
• Renegade row
• Bent over row

Workout tips

Use a moderately heavy dumbbell for the moves—it should feel difficult but not impossible to complete 10 repetitions of each exercise.

If you have access to different weights, you may want to switch weights for different moves. Williams told Fit&Well she uses lighter weights for the pull-down movement and heavier weights for the pull-over.

Which back muscles are worked in this session?

Whichever moves you pick, this routine will target your major back muscles: the trapezius (traps), latissimus dorsi (lats) and rhomboids.

Your trapezius muscle forms a diamond shape from the bottom of your neck, over your shoulders and extends to the middle of your back. Your latissimus dorsi is a large, flat muscle spanning across most of your middle and lower back. Your rhomboids sit between your shoulder blades. These are some of the largest muscles in your back and play a role in everything from moving your shoulders and arms to supporting your spine.

Why should you strengthen your back?

Strength training in general can help you stay strong and mobile as you age. It’s the best way to combat sarcopenia, also known as muscle wastage, which is a natural part of aging.

Targeting your back in particular could help you avoid injuries and back pain. It could also improve your posture, as having stronger back muscles could make it easier to maintain a healthier, more upright spine as you age.

Whether you try to walk 10,000 steps a day or not, walking is a great way to add movement to your day and it's one of the most effective defenses against developing cardiovascular disease, plus it can support healthy weight loss. But it’s not always easy to find the time to fit walking into your day, particularly if you work from home.

That's where a home walking workout can help and I've found a great one from certified personal trainer Cara Metz. With her equipment-free workout, you can clock up 1,500 steps in 15 minutes without even going outside.

This fun circuit will get you moving around the room doing eight different exercises from a march to a box step and a 'rock' step. Do each move for one minute and once you've done them all, go back to the start and repeat them all again.

Put on your favorite playlist and start stepping.

How to do Cara Metz's 1,500 step workout

The benefits of walking are well established and include increasing cardiovascular fitness, strengthening bones, reducing excess body fat, lowering blood pressure and boosting sports performance. It also helps lower the risk of developing heart-related diseases, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.

There's no definitive answer to how many steps we should take a day, but an analysis of studies published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found benefits starting from just 2,500 steps a day. The more you walk, the more health benefits occur, the study revealed.

If you enjoyed this and are looking for more ways to add more steps to your day, try this 3,000 steps workout or 5,000 steps workout. We also have a walking workout plan for weight loss if you'd prefer to head outdoors.

I've been training with dumbbells and barbells for years and I swear by strength work for building muscle and keeping me fit. I've also recently started experimenting with Pilates, a type of bodyweight workout that focuses on small, controlled movements.

While Pilates is great for targeting underused muscles and improving posture, I find it doesn’t provide a sufficient challenge to help me build full-body strength. I need to use heavy weights in order to do this.

However, I recently came across a video from yoga and barre instructor Mara Cimatoribus that seemed to combine these two training styles. It's a barre routine, which is a type of exercise inspired by ballet. Like Pilates, it focuses on slow, controlled movements, but this particular routine incorporates dumbbells. I was intrigued by the 15-minute workout and decided to try it for myself.

How to do Mara Cimatoribus' Barre workout

There are eight exercises in this routine and I repeated each one 8-12 times. You'll need a pair of dumbbells to do it, ideally a heavier pair and a lighter pair. You can pick up a great pair of spinlock adjustable dumbbells on Amazon for less than $50, which can be tweaked to suit your fitness level.

Why I preferred this barre routine to a standard Pilates workout

Pilates routines can make my muscles burn and provide an endurance challenge, but they rarely help me build strength. This barre routine incorporated a pair of relatively heavy weights, spomy strength was challenged from the get-go and I had to push myself to complete all the repetitions. It's easy to imagine coming back to this routine and increasing the weight and building strength over time.

The session still followed some of the principles of Pilates (like moving slowly and engaging my core) so it helped me work on posture and coordination, specifically with moves like the three-point push-up and the side-plank crunch with hip taps.

The workout incorporated the things I like most about both styles of my training: strength building and controlled endurance work.

Overall, I think Pilates and barre are both great ways to move your body. But if your goal is to increase muscle mass, this type of barre workout might be the better—it’s certainly one I'll revisit.

This 15-minute yoga sequence from Yoga With Adriene is the perfect remedy for tight hips. Combining gentle stretching and muscle activation, this restorative hip release practice will bring mobility and ease of movement to these joints.

The sequence is billed as a morning hip release, and while it would certainly be a lovely way to begin your day, you could also give it a go at other times of day. I plan to use it in the evening after a long day sitting at my desk, and I may try it after a run when my hips are feeling particularly tight from the repetitive movements of running.

With more than 12 million subscribers, Yoga With Adriene is hands down the most popular yoga YouTube channel, and for good reason. Adriene Mischler's mellow, friendly teaching style combined with well-planned sequences make her restorative yoga videos a joy to follow. I enjoy her easygoing and spontaneous approach and always come away from a session feeling deeply relaxed, with a sense of balance restored.

Watch the video and follow along with Mischler and her dog, Benji. There are no standing poses in this sequence, all the poses are down on the mat (Adriene uses a Manduka mat), and there's nothing too complicated or intense here. "Take some time for yourself today. A little goes a long way," says Mischler, and taking just 15 minutes for these gentle stretches will make a big difference to how your hips and lower back feel.

How to do the routine

The sequence begins with some grounding breathwork seated on the mat, and in her usual tranquil way Mischler guides us through the sequence, including a little comedy improv with Benji the dog, who can't decide if he wants to sit on the mat or not.

Proceeding at an easy pace with a couple of cat-cows to warm up and then some gentle activating movements to wake up the muscles around your hips, Mischler then leads you through some hip stretches, including 90-90 and figure four stretches, taking it one side at a time, helping you notice if we need more attention on one side than the other. She encourages you to "breathe love and awareness into that hip".

There's a lovely release and massage for the lower back as you lie on your back and rock from side to side holding your feet in a crossed-legged position.

The glute bridge towards the end of the sequence gives a lovely stretch at the front of the hips and also activates the glutes and all the muscles along the back of the legs, preparing your legs for movement, rather than leaving them too relaxed and floppy.

"Every end is a new beginning," says Mischler, and the end of this short hip-releasing sequence should bring a new feeling of flexibility and freedom in your hips, whatever you're doing next.

If you're left wanting more, try these yoga stretches for beginners.

Need help deciding which mat to buy? Our guide to the best yoga mats can help.

If you've never tried Pilates before, you might be surprised at how effective it is at building strength. Its slow, controlled movements force you to isolate and challenge your muscles using just your body weight.

Pilates instructor Katie Pierce recently shared a Pilates workout that targets a wide range of muscles in your core and lower body. It's ideal for people who want to build strength without putting pressure on the joints, which is a risk associated with lots of cardio and weights-based activities.

The workout only takes 15 minutes and doesn’t require any equipment, but you might find it useful to have a good yoga mat to hand.  

How to do Katie Pierce's Pilates workout

Take a look at Pierce's Instagram Reel and the caption for the repetitions required for each move. 

If you want a longer workout, you could do multiple rounds of this routine. Or team this session with this five-minute upper-body Pilates workout, to hit an even wider range of muscles 

How it works

This routine involves lots of pulsing exercises. To pulse a movement means you'll do several small and restricted repetitions of it, usually at the hardest point of the exercise, rather than moving through its full range of motion. You usually do this after completing a certain number of repetitions of the conventional exercise.

Pulsing is one way to increase the time your muscles are under tension in one position, forcing them to work harder. Doing this can improve your muscular endurance, which is your muscles' ability to contract for prolonged periods. Have a look at these exercises for muscular endurance if you want to learn more. 

If you’re looking for a quick way to get moving this week, look no further. This Pilates routine doesn’t require equipment but will boost your flexibility and strength in just 15 minutes.

The session comes from certified Pilates and yoga instructor, Nicole Mcpherson (Move With Nicole on social media), and is described as an "express" workout. Despite this, Mcpherson is still controlled in her flow, working through the moves with concentration and control to get the most out of them. 

Watch Move With Nicole’s Pilates workout

The routine is fully guided by Mcpherson, so whether you’re a seasoned Pilates fan or new to the practice, you’ll be able to follow along with her demonstrations. She says you can spend a little longer in each move if you need more time to get a feel for them, so feel free to hit pause when you need to.  

Benefits of Pilates

Pilates improves your strength and flexibility simultaneously. It's a low-impact form of exercise, designed to put less stress on your joints. If you find high-impact training like running or HIIT hard on your joints or you have an injury then routines like this will give you a more gentle workout. No equipment is needed, although you may want to do it on a yoga mat to cushion yourself from a hard floor. 

Pilates is also great for building your core, a collection of mid-body muscles that are involved in most of your everyday movements. They connect your upper and lower body and help you transfer power between the two areas. The muscles in this area also play a pivotal role in your balance, posture, and spinal stability, so strengthening them can have all kinds of positive effects. 

If you want more quick routines like this one, have a look at our five-minute Pilates workout or try this quick Pilates abs workout.  

Some days you might not have the time or motivation to hammer out an hour-long session at the gym, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work out. We asked personal trainer Lewis Paris for a quick, equipment-free workout that can be done from the comfort of your home (or taken to the gym if you want to get out of the house). 

These moves might not require any equipment, but they are by no means less challenging: squeezing six moves into 15 minutes to work multiple muscle groups will give you a cardiovascular workout too. This is an advanced workout so it will be a challenge for beginners. Drop the pace or shorten the work intervals if it's too intense. For an easier alternative, try this beginner's bodyweight workout instead. 

Set up your timer and give these six exercises a go. A single run-through with rests takes 15 minutes, but you can do two to three sets for a more intense workout.

How to do this bodyweight workout

Part 1:

To do the first part of this workout, perform each move back-to-back for the prescribed times below, then repeat. The 30-second Superman hold offers active rest after each round. 

Two rounds of: 

• Quadruped to high plank: 60 seconds
• Side plank rotation with press-up: 60 seconds
• Superman hold:  30 seconds

Part 2:

To do the second part of the workout, perform each exercise for 40 seconds. After performing all three moves back-to-back, take a 40-second rest, before completing two more rounds of the workout (three in total). 

Three rounds of: 

• Reverse plank marches: 40 seconds
• Star jumps: 40 seconds
• Lunge iso hold: 40 seconds on each leg

The exercises

1. Quadruped hold to high plank

Sets: 2 Time: 60seconds

Muscles worked: shoulders, core, quads.

Benefits: builds stability and strength in the core.

• Start in a table pose, with your hands beneath your shoulders and your knees below your hips. Begin by lifting your knees two to three inches off the floor, keeping your back flat.
• Straighten one leg fully behind you, bringing your toes to the floor. Follow with your second leg, so you’re in a high plank.
• Reverse the process by bringing your knee back under your hips, but not letting your knees touch the floor at any point.

2. Side plank rotation with press-up

Sets: 2 Time: 60 seconds

Muscles worked: shoulders, core and chest

Benefits: improves range of motion, strength and stability in the shoulders and chest.

• Start by lying on your side and place the palm of your hand beneath your shoulder on the floor, with your fingers facing away from you. Brace your core, push into your hand, and lift your hips off the floor. Bring your legs together and straighten them, so your weight is distributed between your hand and the edge of your foot that’s resting on the floor. 
• From this side plank position, rotate your body to bring your hips and chest parallel to the floor. Swivel your feet so that your weight is now resting on your toes. Place your hands parallel to each other just below shoulder height.
• Keep your shoulder blades retracted and your glutes contracted as you drive your chest toward the floor to perform the press-up.
• After the press-up, drive yourself back up to fully extend your arms into a plank position and then rotate to do a side plank on the opposite side. If this move is too challenging, you can perform the side plank and push-up from your knees, or find an elevated surface to use. 

3. Superman hold 

Sets: 2 Time: 30 seconds

Muscles worked: shoulders, core, rhomboids, glutes and hamstrings.

Benefits: develops the posterior chain, helping with posture development, stability, and strength in the back. Strengthens rear delts, glutes, core, and hamstring muscles.

• Lie flat on your chest with your arms fully extended in a 'Y' position and your legs straight.
• Keeping your chin tucked to maintain a neutral spine, slightly lift your chest off the floor and raise your arms higher than your ears in the extended position.
• Keep your legs straight and squeeze your glutes to elevate your feet two to three inches off the floor. Avoid overextending to minimize any strain on your back.

4. Reverse plank marches 

Sets: 3 Time: 40 seconds

Muscles worked: hamstrings, glutes, shoulders.

Benefits: improves mobility in the shoulders and builds strength and stability in the hamstrings, glutes and abdominals.

• Sit on the floor with your hands by your side and your legs fully extended in front. Drive your hands and heels into the floor while lifting your hips towards the sky and squeezing the glutes. While elevated, aim to keep your hips high and your glutes engaged
• Once stable, contract your quads and abdominals to lift one leg off the floor, bend your knee and drive it toward your chest.
• Keeping your glutes and hamstrings engaged to keep your hips high, slowly lower your leg and heel back down towards the floor. Repeat on the other leg.

5. Explosive star jumps  

Sets: 3 Time: 40 seconds

Muscles worked: quads, glutes and core

Benefits: elevates your heart rate, improves cardiovascular endurance and builds strength and stability in the quads and glutes.

• Stand in a squat position with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Squat as low as you comfortably can, with your elbows bent and hands in front of your chest.
• From the squat position, jump up as high as you can, spreading your arms and legs out to create a star shape mid-air.
• Before you land, bring your limbs back into your body so you land in the squat position.

6. Lunge iso hold 

Sets: 3 Time: 40 seconds for each leg. Follow with 40 seconds of rest.

Muscles worked: quads, glutes, and core.

Benefits: increase strength and endurance in the quads and improve stability in the feet.

• Start in a kneeling position with your front leg bent 90° and your foot flat on the floor in line with your hips. Keep your second knee on the floor stacked beneath the hips to create another 90° angle. Keep your chest upright to avoid leaning too far forward or back.
• Using the toes of your back foot, elevate your knee off the floor no more than two to three inches. 
• Stay static in this position for 40 seconds, aiming to keep both legs at 90° and keeping your quads, glutes, and abdominals engaged. Switch legs and repeat.

Need help finding a new set of dumbbells? Our guide to the best adjustable dumbells can help.

Abs workouts don’t factor into my routine. The idea of finishing a set of dedicated core strengthening exercises, then having to go and do my real workout is a mental hurdle I can’t jump. 

Sometimes the workout I’m doing—such as a HIIT session or full-body dumbbell workout—incorporates core moves, but I rarely dedicate an entire strength training session to the area. 

That said, I would like to see more definition in my abs. I know that a good diet, along with regular exercise, plays a big part in achieving that definition—and finding an abs routine I can stick to could help me get there faster. 

Luckily, I didn’t have to look far to find a good option. The fitness influencer Zanna van Dijk created the below 15-minute dumbbell core workout to do as a standalone routine or post-workout finisher. 

Rather than challenging you to crank out as many sit-ups as possible, van Dijk encourages you to move slowly, with a focus on good form. 

How to

The exercises are weighted single-leg knee tucks, pulsing Russian twists, weighted straight-leg sit-ups, pulsing alternating leg drops and plank drags. I set a timer for 40 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest and repeated the workout for three rounds, as advised.

Van Dijk gives pointers throughout, such as lowering down as slowly as you can on the weighted straight-leg sit-ups and keeping your hips and core stable while doing the plank drags.

What I found

I usually get bored during an abs workout, but this session was different. 

The variation kept things interesting and the work periods seemed to go pretty quickly. You’re not exhausting yourself by becoming a sit-ups machine, but challenging yourself with slow-paced movements. 

Some of the exercises were a little complex and took me a few rounds to get to grips with, but by the third day I knew them by heart. The duration was just the right amount of time for me—and because the exercises targeted different parts of my core, I worked a variety of muscles alongside my abs. 

Need a new mat to support your abs routine? Have a look at our round-up of the best yoga mats

You don’t need to spend hours at the gym to build strength. With just a few multi-muscle compound exercises and a set of dumbbells, you can work your body, develop your core, and boost your metabolism in as little as 15 minutes.

This quick, 12-move session from online training duo Tiff x Dan will raise your heart rate and strengthen your muscles. You’ll do each exercise for 40 seconds, take a 20-second break, then start on the next move. 

It’s vital to perfect your form for each move to get the most from your training and avoid injury, especially when working with weights. You can follow along with Dan’s demonstrations to practice your technique as you go.

Watch Tiff x Dan’s 15-minute dumbbell workout

This exercise style is known as high-intensity resistance training (HIRT): you work out intensely in short bursts with minimal rest to raise your heart rate. It’s a lot like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) but with a focus on muscle-building moves rather than cardio exercise.

One of the other reasons this workout is so effective is the choice of moves. Dan uses several compound exercises in the routine, which are designed to work muscles all over your body rather than focusing on a single area as you’d find in a biceps curl.

Some of these, like the sumo squat lower, add dumbbells to increase the load of a bodyweight exercise, while there are also equipment-free staples like planks, which engage the muscles around your shoulders, arms, and back.

This move also engages your core, boosting the connection between your upper and lower body. Strengthening your core can help to improve posture, recovery, and stability, so if you want to focus on this area, you could add this core workout for beginners into your routine.

Need help picking your next set of weights? Our guide to the best adjustable dumbbells can help

If your goal is to build strength but you're worried about high-impact exercise hurting your joints, you'll be glad to know you don't need to do lots of jumping or lift heavy weights to get fit and strong.

Instead, you can develop strength and tone your muscles with low-impact Pilates routines. This style of exercise incorporates small, bodyweight movements that are designed to target specific muscles.

One style of Pilates that will upgrade your home practice is wall Pilates. As the name suggests, it incorporates a wall or a solid surface that you can lean on to support your joints. You can also use the surface to increase or decrease the difficulty of certain moves. 

This routine from personal trainer Jenna Collins will help you build strength all over, although it has a particular focus on building core strength. You don't need any equipment to do it, just a yoga mat and a wall to lean on.

Watch Jenna Collins' wall Pilates routine

This routine only takes 15 minutes, but your core muscles will be burning by the time you've completed it. Complete 40 seconds of each exercise, followed by 20 seconds of rest, following along with Collins as she completes the routine.

Think about engaging your core throughout the whole workout. Keep your feet planted on the wall throughout, but try not to put all the weight into your legs. Instead, squeeze your abdominal muscles and your glutes so that your weight is balanced throughout your entire body.

If you don't have access to a wall, regular Pilates has plenty of the same benefits. Try this five-minute Pilates routine instead.

Benefits of core training

Your core is a set of mid-body muscles, which act as a kind of structural column for your body. They provide the stability you need to move your limbs freely and they also support your spine and pelvis.

Most of your everyday movements will involve your core in some way. Either a movement will originate from these muscles, or it will ripple through the area as your body transfers power (think: squatting down to prepare for a jump then springing up with your hands in the air).

As such, keeping these muscles strong and healthy is important for the overall function of our body. Training you core can improve your athletic performance, but it will make things like climbing the stairs and putting away the shopping feel easier, too. 

Pilates is great for your core, but you can also do core strengthening exercises like planks and sit-ups, if you want to really target these muscles.

Need something to support your Pilates routine? Have a look at our guide to the best yoga mats

Most people assume that the treadmill is purely designed for running. But if you're not interested in improving your 5K time or doing interval sprints, you'll be glad to know there's an alternative way to burn calories and improve your fitness on the machine.

"Walking workouts offer a number of benefits to people of every fitness level," says certified trainer Carrie Baxter, a coach for the audio-led fitness app WithU.

"Walking is incredible for burning calories; it can also help you maintain your weight, reduce your risk of coronary disease and improve your blood sugar levels. It's a great low impact option if you are trying to protect the joints whether that’s due to injury, pregnancy or something else."

If the viral 12-3-30 workout is too challenging for you, take a look at this gentle treadmill walking workout Baxter has created, which is perfect for a low-impact gym session. 

Walking treadmill workout

1. 400m easy walk warm up (6km/ph)

Start walking at a slow, easy pace on the treadmill for 400 meters to warmup.

2. 1km power walk (10km/ph)

Set the treadmill to a fast pace, so that you're walking quickly but not quite jogging and complete 1km at this pace. Keep your chest upright and engage your core. To make this more challenging, add some incline.

3. 1 minute gentle walk recovery (8km/ph)

Lower the treadmill speed slightly as you get your breath back and recover.

4. 400 metres easy walk cool down (6km/ph)

Complete 400m at a slow pace, similar to the original speed, to allow your muscles to cool down.

Can walking help you lose weight?

There are plenty of benefits to walking—doing it regularly can improve your joint health and boost your mood. It can also help you lose weight, as it can increase the amount of energy you expend during the day, which contributes to the all-important calorie deficit you need to shed fat. 

A lot of people feel daunted at the prospect of starting a new fitness regime, but walking workouts are accessible, low-impact and beginner-friendly. If you'd rather head outdoors, try this open-air walking workout for weight loss instead. 

Does walking build muscle?

If you're not a regular walker, taking up a new hiking habit could help you build some lower-body muscle, especially if you're tackling a lot of inclines. However, this definitely isn't the fastest way to strengthen your legs.

Speaking to Fit&Well previously, clinical exercise physiologist Elizabeth Kemp said: “Walking will build some lower-body muscles but it primarily builds the slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are muscle fibers mostly used for endurance activities. Walking alone won’t trigger significant muscle growth.”

If you do want to build leg muscle, you'll need to do some strength training. Try one of the options in our round-up of the best leg workouts. 

Need some new sneakers to support your gentle workouts? See our guide to the best cross training shoes, which are suitable for all types of exercise

It can be hard to fit in a workout when you've got a busy schedule. Thankfully, there are some efficient routines you can do in just fifteen minutes that strengthen multiple muscle groups and get your heart rate up.

NASM-certified personal trainer Sadielee Thomas has put together this quick workout that strengthens your core and lower body. It features plenty of time-savvy compound exercises, which will target multiple muscles at the same time. 

Watch Sadielee Thomas' workout

To do this workout, perform the four exercises for 30 seconds, taking 30 seconds to rest between sets. Thomas recommends doing five rounds in total, but you can adjust this to suit your fitness levels. You can also ditch the dumbbells if you want an easier session. 

Benefits

This workout targets your core, thighs and glutes, which are the muscles in your butt. Both the core muscles and the glutes provide support for your spine, so strengthening them could help ward off back pain. Your glutes are primarily responsible for your pelvic stability too, so keeping them in tip-top shape could help prevent hip injuries.

Speaking to Fit&Well about the importance of lower-body strength, personal trainer and nutrition coach Vicki Cumberworth said: “When the glutes and hamstrings are not doing their job the back has to take on all the load, which leads to injury. Strengthening the glutes and hamstrings is usually the answer to a lot of injuries including the knees, hips, pelvis, and back.”

Want an even simpler way to target your core and legs? Then you should learn how to squat. Squats are one of best glute exercises you can do, but they will also give your core muscles a good workout when they're done correctly. 

Need some new eights? Our guide to the best adjustable dumbbells can help

It's important to take rest days after a tough workout. This gives your body time to recover, which is when muscle growth actually takes place. But if you spend your whole rest day hunched over your desk, your body will end up feeling stiff and sore. 

To keep yourself limber (and to give your muscles some much-needed TLC) we'd recommend this routine from personal trainer Anna Engelschall. It features several hip-opening stretches, like the low yogi squat, which will feel very satisfying after sitting down all day. 

You don't need any equipment to do the routine and it's only 15 minutes long, so you can squeeze it into your lunch break to add some movement into your day.

Watch and follow Anna Engelschall's stretching routine

Engelschall has shared this 15-minute, full-body stretch video as part of her 'Back To Basics' series, which features short, effective workouts to help you get fit and strong.

The routines are ideal for beginners or anyone who might be feeling a little bit bored by their workout routine. Anyone can try this stretching session, as you don't need any equipment and all of the exercises are low-impact.

You'll do several static stretches in the session, which you'll need to hold for 50 seconds. If you can, try moving deeper into the stretch around 20-30 seconds in, when your muscles should have warmed up a little bit.

How it works

The exercises in this video will provide a full-body stretch, but they'll help you open up the muscles in the hips in particular. If you work a desk job, you probably have tight hips, which could lead to a range of other problems including back pain and bad posture. The hip-opening moves in this routine, including the yogi squat and the lunge, could help to relieve that.

A stretching routine like this one is as good for your mental health as it is for your physical wellbeing. Try to relax throughout by focusing on your breathing, taking deep inhales through your nose and long exhales through your nose or your mouth.

This also a great session to try after a strength workout, in order to help your muscles cool down. Add it into your exercise routine if you want to decrease the risk of injury and increase your flexibility.

Getting a good workout doesn't mean you have to do hundreds of burpees or never-ending jumping jacks; you can still get a killer session without these high-impact movements.

This devilishly simple routine from instructor Elise Young features five bodyweight moves that will get your heart pumping without a jumping-exercise in sight. 

Watch the video below for a demonstration of each of the exercises, then perform each one for 45 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest. Complete three rounds of this sequence for a 15-minute workout. 

It's a simple sequence, but an intense one. Make sure you've got some water nearby to hydrate and do a cool-down afterwards, to get your heartrate back to its normal rhythm. 

Watch Elise Young's low impact workout

As you work through this routine, you'll feel muscles all over your body spring into action. That's because the workout uses a series of compound exercises, which target various muscle groups at once. 

For example, the push-up open exercise activates the chest, shoulders and triceps (the muscles running down the back of the upper arm) while simultaneously serving up a spicy core workout as your midsection muscles work to keep your body balanced and stable. 

Low-impact workouts like this one are useful if you have sore knees and ankles. However, it still has some demanding moves thrown into the mix (anyone with tender wrists won't like those plank movements). If you're looking for exercise that is even gentler on the joints, you could try swimming, cycling or rowing.

We've also pulled together several yoga flows for anyone with joint issues. You could try this eight-move yoga flow for knee pain if that's a problem-area for you, or have a go at this wrist-free yoga sequence, which won't put any pressure through your arms and hands.

Many of us exercise for physical benefits, like improved posture and stronger muscles. But adding some movement to your day can also boost your mental wellbeing.

This 15 minute yoga routine comes from teacher Lindsay Monal and the team at YogaRenew. It's a flow sequence, which means that you will move seamlessly between each pose, concentrating on your breath and examining how your body feels. This kind of focused, gentle exercise can help you develop your mind-muscle connection, a form of mindfulness that brings your attention to your body. 

You don’t need much to get started. Just a yoga mat and some time and space to complete the routine. Squeeze it into your week regularly and it could help you build resilience and mental strength.

Watch Lindsay Monal's 15-minute wellbeing yoga routine

It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you're tight on time. But one of the benefits of yoga is that it can ease stress and anxiety by bringing your focus to the present moment and the movement of your body. 

Monal's session is ideal for beginners, as it features gentle movements that are carefully demonstrated by the teacher. It also ends with a few minutes of shavasana, a restful pose where you focus on your breath. This is essentially a form of meditation, which should help you find some calm when you're feeling overwhelmed.

Another significant benefit of yoga is its impact on your flexibility. Research published in Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies suggests that just one yoga session a week could improve your flexibility. If you don't have time to do the above sequence, you could try doing a five minute yoga routine or this 10-move morning yoga routine for a mindful start to the day.

Other benefits of yoga include improvements to your mobility, core strength and balance. All of these play a role in our physical fitness, so it's well worth incorporating some yoga sequences into your weekly routines alongside strengthening exercises and cardio. 

When life gets busy, your exercise plans can suffer. Luckily, you don't always need to spend 40 minutes or more in a gym to get a great workout.

With a busy week of DIY, traveling, and more DIY, my time window for working out has never been narrower. So, in my hunt for efficient sessions to squeeze into my busy days, this one fit the bill perfectly, especially since all you need is a kettlebell. 

Routines like this one from PT Roxanne Russell prove you can strengthen your body at home in just 15 minutes. If you have a yoga mat, grab that too as it'll make things a bit more comfortable for you (spoiler alert: you'll be working from the ground a lot).

If you're new to strength training, don't worry, Russell demonstrates each exercise and talks you through the entire routine in the video below. It's crucial to get the technique right to get the most from your training and avoid injury. 

How to do Roxanne Russell's arms and abs workout

In this workout, you'll perform 13 different exercises one after the other. That means no repeats and no mid-workout boredom — result! 

Perform the first exercise for 45 seconds, rest for 25 seconds, then move on to the next one. Follow this format throughout until you've done all of the 13 exercises, then that's the workout complete!

Before I dived into this workout, Russell gave me a run-through of the many benefits on offer. Firstly: everyday strength. "Arms and abs are always a good combo to train together," she told me. "Because we use them in everyday life."

"Training your arms will help you with your grip strength and ability to carry heavier objects, which can benefit you in your day to day tasks." So, whether I'm grabbing heavy grocery bags or moving house, the functional strength built by sessions like this one is sure to come in handy. 

How did I find it?

I really enjoyed this workout, and learned a couple of lessons that might help you when you come to take it on. 

Lesson number one is choosing the right weight (or weights) for you. "This workout is beginner-friendly, but you can definitely increase the intensity by selecting heavier weights," Russell explained when I spoke to her.

I don't have a kettlebell at home, so I went to the gym to do this routine. There, I had access to several weight options, so I was able to take her advice and choose kettlebell weights for each movement that were challenging but not so heavy that my form suffered.

My second lesson is on wood chops; an exercise I've often struggled with. This is usually because I pick a weight that's far too heavy and I'm unable to lift my arms above my head. That's why I so would recommend being conservative when picking a kettlebell for this exercise. 

As it is the first move in the routine, I wanted to start off easy so that I could continue the workout. I chose a light weight and was successfully able to work for the 45 seconds. 

During this move I could definitely feel my the front of my abs being challenged, as well as my obliques, so although these aren't dedicated core strengthening exercises, the routine was a challenge for my core muscle too. 

With this lower-body dumbbell workout, you don't need to go to the gym to build strength. In fact, one of the best ways to boost your endurance and develop full-body muscle at home is with a pair of dumbbells.

They're particularly great for building strong legs, if you have a slightly heavier pair of weights. Or, you can invest in a pair of some of the best adjustable dumbbells, so you can change the weight depending on the type of workout you're doing.

And if you're looking for an effective lower-body dumbbell workout you can do at home to build stronger legs, we spoke to personal trainer Andy Cannon, a coach at 1Rebel and trainer for the wellbeing and fitness app TRUCONNECT. 

Andy Cannon's five-move lower-body dumbbell workout

The five-move programme is entirely dumbbell-based, proving you can build full-body muscle at home. "[This workout will target] your main leg muscle groups, and take you between 15 and 20 minutes to complete — you can repeat as desired," Cannon says.

You'll be moving for between 30-60 seconds for each exercise, so if you're wondering which dumbbell weight to use, choose a weight that is challenging but manageable for this time period, and you can switch loads between exercises if that works best for you.

Perform the workout as below: 

• Round 1: 60 seconds on each and 30 seconds rest.
• Round 2: 45 seconds on each and 15 seconds rest.
• Round 3: 30 seconds on each and no rest.

Rest for between 60 and 90 seconds after each round to allow muscles to briefly recover. Repeat all three rounds again if you want a challenge.

1. Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Cannon says: "This is typically your heaviest lift and the best movement for growing your hamstrings."

• Hold your dumbbells in front of your thighs with your feet hip-width apart. 
• Slowly hinge at your hips, keeping a slight bend in the knees throughout and shoulders directly over your toes. Lower the dumbbells down the front of your body while keeping your back flat. 
• When you feel the stretch in the hamstring, hold for a second, then drive through the floor to return to your starting position. That's one repetition. 

2. Dumbbell squat

According to Cannon, "this is a quad and glute dominant full body movement. It will hit your legs, lungs, and core muscle."

• Start your set-up with your dumbbells resting on your shoulders and your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. 
• With your bodyweight in your heels, slowly lower into a squat, keeping your knees in line with your toes. Focus on keeping your chest up and back straight. 
• Drive through your heels to return to your starting position to complete one repetition. 

3. Dumbbell split squat

"This is an awesome movement for loading one leg at a time! If you’ve got a stronger leg, you will find out with this movement," explains Cannon. 

• Start in a lunge position with one foot forward and the other back. Keep your feet planted throughout. 
• Holding your dumbbells at your sides, slowly lower the back knee toward the ground whilst keeping the front knee in line with the ankle. 
• Drive through the front heel to return to the starting position to complete one repetition. Switch sides halfway through the set.

4. Single dumbbell side lunge

Cannon notes that this is "another unilateral movement to challenge stability and work on your single leg strength."

• Hold your dumbbell in a goblet position on your chest and place your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. 
• Shift your weight to one side, bending that knee while keeping the other leg completely straight. 
• Push off the bent leg to return to the starting position and complete one repetition, then repeat on the second side.

5. Single dumbbell swing

This move is a bit like a kettlebell swing, but with a dumbbell instead. As Cannon explains, "[this move should be] a staple in your workout conditioning. This will spike the heart rate, challenge your legs, grip strength, and cardiovascular ability."

• Start your set-up with your single dumbbell in both hands between your legs, feet hip-width apart. 
• Hinge at the hips and swing the dumbbell back between your legs. Explosively drive your hips forward to create momentum and swing the dumbbell to shoulder height height. 
• Control the swing back down to complete one repetition and repeat.

As this routine only takes 15-20 minutes, it can be a standalone workout (especially when you're tight on time) or part of an extended full-body session. However, it's also important to keep things varied and work your muscles in different ways. 

So, if you're after a plan that'll target your legs specifically, consider alternating Cannon's exercises with these dumbbell leg workouts, or combine several of your favorite moves for a dedicated lower-body dumbbell workout. 

It's likely you'll feel the effects of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) the next day, so it's important to eat enough protein to help your body repair the tiny tears in your muscle fibers and promote recovery. 

The best protein powders for weight loss are low in fat and sugar and a good place to start, especially if you blend them up into a refreshing post-workout smoothie. 

If you're short on space at home, it can be difficult to find ways to exercise. Maybe you don't have room to roll out a exercise mat, or perhaps you're an upstairs neighbor, so jumping workouts are too noisy.

Fortunately, there are ways to get moving that require minimal space and time. This yoga routine from yoga instructor Adriene Mishler, best known for her YouTube channel Yoga with Adriene, is the perfect way to get moving, wherever you are.

It's designed for people who travel often, so you can do it from the airport or your hotel balcony. But you can do this at home too, and if you do have a bit of space, rolling out a yoga mat can make things a bit more comfortable underfoot, but it;s not essential. 

Designed around some of the top yoga stretches for beginners, this practice is great for tired joints and muscles, particularly if you're dealing with delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after working out. 

Mishler's routine is also ideal to help you cool down immediately after working out. If you're especially tired or you're looking for a very low-impact option, you can do most of this routine from a seated position, either cross-legged or kneeling. 

Watch Yoga With Adriene's 15-minute yoga routine

Yoga can have similar benefits to learning how to meditate, and is good for your body and your mind. One of the most effective ways to do this is to relax during the practice and take deep breaths in through your nose and out through your nose.

There are specific breathing exercises you can do to help you bring a sense of calm to your session. A simple one involves breathing in through your nose for four counts and out through your nose for four counts. 

Since you'll be doing the routine while standing, it's important to also focus on your posture to get the most from your training. You can engage your core muscle (the area around your stomach responsible for posture, balance, and stability) by tucking in your ribcage and ensuring you don't arch your back. 

If you find standing for extended periods a challenge, then you'll be glad to know you can still get the benefits of yoga while sitting down. This eight-move chair yoga routine boosts your mobility and all you need is a seat. 

Adding dumbbells into your home workouts is a great way to step up your training. Case in point: this workout will develop full-body strength, boost your bone health and build muscle all over using just a couple of weights. 

If you're regularly training at home, it's worth investing in a set of the best adjustable dumbbells. These combine several weights in one, so you can gradually increase the load as you get stronger, though a fixed weight set will work just fine for this session. 

Created by Rachael Sacerdoti, a qualified personal trainer and founder of coaching program It's So Simple, the muscle-building session consists of seven moves performed as a circuit for three rounds. 

"Using dumbbells for exercises can create resistance that challenges your muscles, leading to increased strength gains and muscle growth," explains Sacerdoti.

"Since dumbbells are unstable, using them requires you to engage your core muscles to stabilize and control the weights during each exercise. This engagement enhances your core strength and also forces you to focus on your form."

Watch Sacerdoti demonstrate each movement, then give this routine a go for yourself. You'll notice she uses a weight bench for a few of the exercises, but you can perform all three by using a sturdy chair or even just a yoga mat on the floor. 

Watch Rachael Sacerdoti's full-body dumbbell workout

This is an example of resistance (or strength) training, featuring a series of exercises that force your muscles to support an external load — in this case, the dumbbells. You'll build muscle, but that's not the only benefit. 

"Strength training exercises place stress on your bones, stimulating bone-forming cells and enhancing bone density. By engaging in full-body workouts with dumbbells, you can help to strengthen your bones and increase resilience."

This will make your body more robust, helping protect your bones against future injuries. Sacerdoti's low-impact routine (no running or jumping) is also easier on your joints and a lot quieter than burpees, so its ideal if you're in an apartment or need to keep the noise down.

If you want to add this workout into your weekly plans, Sacerdoti says it's "perfect for those seeking a quick but intense session to help boost their energy levels". And if you have the time,  Sacerdoti suggests "pairing this circuit with cardio exercises". 

This HIIT workout for fat loss is an ideal companion, with five bodyweight moves to work your core, raise your heart rate, and boost your metabolism. It's an ideal option if you're looking to drop fat or lose a few pounds. 

When your day is jam-packed and you only have a few minutes to spare, a time-efficient workout can help you squeeze in some mood-boosting movement. And if you're looking for a great place to start, this full-body routine only takes 15 minutes. 

The only thing you need is a bit of space, 15 minutes to spare, and one of the best kettlebells. These weights work your core for stability, while engaging your upper and lower body, especially during kettlebell swings. 

The workout comes from personal trainer Roxanne Russell. To give it a go, perform each exercise for 60 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, then move on to the next one — it really is that simple.

If this is your first time performing many of these exercises, Russell recommends picking a lighter weight you feel comfortable with and take each movement slowly. This will allow you to focus on your form while minimizing your risk of injury. 

Watch Roxanne Russell's 15-minute kettlebell workout

In this routine you'll tackle movements including goblet squats, Romanian deadlifts, glute bridges and alternating bent-over rows. These are all compound exercises, recruiting more than one muscle group at once — perfect for time-savvy training. 

For example, the alternating bent-over rows will work muscles in your back and biceps, while Romanian deadlifts can build strength in your legs, glutes (backside) and lower back. 

These exercises also test your stability, providing a bonus core workout as your mid-body muscles work to support your spine and keep you balanced. And a stronger core also helps connect your upper and lower body, improving your posture and making every day tasks like carrying groceries easier. 

But because it works muscles all over your body, after a strength training workout like this, it's important to follow a proper recovery routine including cool-down stretches, ample rest and sufficient protein intake. 

This will help reduce the effects of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) as you encourage your body to repair the tiny tears in your muscle fibers to strengthen and grow your muscles. 

That's why many people use a post-workout smoothie with one of the best protein powders for weight loss to stay topped up on protein, recover faster, and build lean muscle. 

It's easy to be tempted by expensive fitness gear like the best treadmills and exercise bikes, but the reality is you can enjoy an effective workout with no equipment at all. 

This accessible abs session from personal trainer Rachael Sacerdoti combines six bodyweight moves into a circuit designed to spike your heart rate and strengthen your core. "It’s the perfect workout for a toned and stable body," Sacerdoti told Fit&Well.

"Focusing on your core muscles, it's not only brilliant for building your abs, but also enhances balance and stability while improving your posture and increasing your overall performance."

To try the workout, complete each exercise back to back for the number of repetitions listed in the video below. Repeat the exercises three times through for a time-efficient 15-minute core session. 

Watch Rachael Sacerdoti's core workout

To help you get the most out of this workout, we asked Sacerdoti for her top tips, and one piece of advice stood above all others: "Form is everything." 

"Like most exercises, to reap the benefits and see real rewards you have to perfect the move and ensure your form is on point," she explains. 

"It is better to do fewer reps with better form when starting out as you are less likely to injure yourself. If you feel any pain or discomfort in your lower back, reassess your form and listen to your body, don’t force things."

While many people target their core to develop visible abs, there are a lot more benefit to working your mid-body core muscle. As Sacerdoti explains, the benefits of a strong midriff go much deeper than aesthetics alone.  

"The core is key for stability, posture and balance," she says. "Strengthening your core muscles allows for better hip and pelvis mobility, helps to reduce back pain and makes you less prone to injuries and strain."

If you want to add this workout into your weekly routine, you can use it as a standalone session to add some extra movement into your day.

Or, as it's so short, Sacerdoti suggests tagging it on the end of a longer resistance training session (like this six-move full-body workout) for an abs-focused finisher.

"Resistance training is great for metabolic health and building lean muscle mass, and this workout perfectly complements that," says Sacerdoti.

"Any quality movement throughout the day is good, so if this workout is all you can fit in, that is fine too. Incorporating a balanced and nutritious diet will also add to your core strength."

You might have seen athletes trying some awe-inspiring training exercises on social media, but we firmly believe that a good workout shouldn't leave you scratching your head. 

Often, it's the simple things that work best, and that's exactly what this 15-minute workout from The London Fitness Guy (real name James Stirling) has to offer. 

It's a simple circuit of just four exercises that will work your legs, chest and back while boosting your fitness. You don't need any obscure equipment either; just grab a couple of dumbbells and you're good to go.

We recommend a set from our roundup of the best adjustable dumbbells, which allow you to change their weight to suit your strength level, but any free weights will work. Or, if you don't have any weights, you can sub in some full water bottles.

To try the workout for yourself, all you have to do is perform the four movements back to back, spending one minute on each one. Once you've done all four, rest for 60 seconds then restart the sequence for three or four rounds. 

Watch Stirling's video below to learn more about the four exercises you'll be tackling. We recommend practicing each one to perfect your form, then taking on the workout when you feel comfortable with the correct technique. 

Watch The London Fitness Guy's home workout

When you're doing this workout, Stirling recommends you "keep your heart rate steady" throughout the session rather than solely aiming to perform as many repetitions as possible (sometimes called an AMRAP workout) in the time given. 

This is because, if you set off like you've been shot out of a cannon, chances are you'll need a breather by the 30-second mark — not a great start when you have another two-and-a-half minutes of consistent work ahead. 

Instead, perform each exercise at a steady pace, moving purposefully and making sure your form is immaculate throughout. By doing this, you will hit the targeted muscles and minimise any chance of injury resulting from poor technique.  

Also, by keeping your heart rate elevated for the full workout, you will work your aerobic system and boost your cardiovascular endurance — it's like a less intense version of a high-intensity HIIT workout for fat loss. 

If you enjoyed this workout and want more minimal equipment sessions to try at home, we recommend this resistance band workout from Chris Hemsworth's trainer which also works your full body.