The perfect 30-minute workout
CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 30 MINUTES
What can you do in 30 minutes? Read a couple of chapters of a book, organize a closet, make lunch, take a power nap, watch a sitcom, change your oil… or you can work out.
Yeah, 30 minutes is enough time for a solid workout. In fact, a 30-minute workout can be more beneficial than 45 minutes in a spin class or an hour of yoga. And it can be more valuable than a 4-hour hike or workout because there’s a good chance that you will find the time and energy to complete a 30-minute workout more frequently during a week, rather than several gruelling afternoons at the gym.
Time is way more than money when it comes to fitness. If you think about blocks of exercise time like bank deposits, the more frequently you go to the bank, the bigger your reward grows.
Let’s face it, finding the time to exercise these days is tough. The demands on your life from work to friends and family to hobbies and social obligations don’t leave much time for you and your body. Yet it sounds too good to be true that a 30-minute workout could do anything at all, let alone improve your physical fitness, build strength, lose or maintain weight.
BURNING QUESTION #1: HOW?
Of course, the keys to good exercise plans are frequency, commitment, and discipline – not too much to ask in only 30 minutes, no? A good workout is all about how often, how intense and how much time. When you have little of one, you have to focus on the other two. Having just 30 minutes means being efficient and scrupulous about which exercises you do, focusing on quality rather than quantity. Pay attention to your technique and your breathing, link your mind and your body, and involve every muscle with each movement.
In a 2012 study1, researchers at the University of Copenhagen established exercise programs for 60 heavy but healthy men. Thirty exercised for one hour and thirty exercised for 30 minutes daily. Over 13 weeks, the 30-minute group lost more weight, burned the same amount of fat, but burned more calories than expected.
Researchers said that the 30-minute group worked harder because the amount of exercise time was less discouraging. Plus, they had more time to rest and recuperate between sessions.
BURNING QUESTION #2: WHAT?
The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise in 30-minute sessions five times a week. Here’s a plan that’s easy to follow and can be done at home, at the gym or outdoors:
Warmup: 5-minutes – Your choice. Hit the treadmill, jump rope, jumping jacks… just get your heart rate up and warm your muscles.
Perform each of the following exercises in two or three sets:
Squats: 30 seconds – Aim for 90-degree squats or lower if you can, with or without weights.
Lunges: 30 seconds – Feet hip-width apart, step right foot back as far as you can comfortably, bend your left knee, reach right hand to floor. Switch to the left foot.
Push ups: 30 seconds– Keep your core tight, bring your chest (not stomach) to the floor and up again.
Shoulder taps: 30 seconds – From raised push-up position, reach one hand to touch its opposite shoulder. Repeat with the other hand.
Side lunges: 30 seconds – Feet hip-width apart, step right leg out to side as far as possible, stretch out hands for balance. Repeat with the other leg.
Side planks: 30 seconds – Lie on your side with legs together and straight out. Bend elbow and position under shoulder. Lift legs and hips up and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat with the other side.
Leg lifts: 30 seconds – Lie on your back holding your feet a few inches off the floor. Straighten legs, lift them up 90 degrees, and slowly lower them back to the floor.
V ups: 30 seconds – Lie on your back holding feet a few inches off the floor and arms straight up above your head. Straighten your legs and lift them up 90 degrees as you raise your torso.
Work all muscles: 1 minute – Consecutive burpees, push-ups, shoulder taps and jumps. Rest 30 seconds and repeat two more times.
Repeat the entire circuit.
Cool down: 5 minutes – Easy jog, upper body, neck and quad stretches, side and forward bends, seated spine twists, lunges and shoulder rolls. Cooling down after each time you exercise is essential because it brings your heart rate and blood pressure back down to normal levels.
Training five times a week should become routine but should never be boring, so alternate between upper and lower body workouts, or cardio and weight training. Keep it interesting for your body and your mind.
BURNING QUESTION #3: WHERE?
Of course, a blog article like this one is only an outline designed to inform and hopefully inspire you to adopt a regular exercise program. We won’t pretend that it’s easy to just jump in without some guidance from a professional trainer who can assess your fitness and point you towards exercises that suit you.
Maintaining your commitment to getting in shape and staying that way means choosing activities you enjoy and that are right for you, your body type and your goals.
At Shape Shifters, we offer thirty 30-minute workouts designed by a certified personal trainer and presented in fun, easy-to-follow videos you can watch on your schedule. We understand that many people don’t have the time or a desire for gyms, or they feel uncomfortable exercising in public. That’s why we redefined our vision of training by putting it completely online.
Our video workouts focus on muscle strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and core, requiring minimal equipment. If you’re into HIIT (high intensity interval training), we can help you feel the burn with drills almost anyone can do. And if you’re into boxing to improve your cardiovascular and muscle endurance, we’ll get you kicking, punching, jabbing, jumping, and uppercutting like a pro!
BURNING QUESTION #4: WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
Getting in shape and feeling good about yourself is a big deal. At Shape Shifters, we take that deal further with an amazing variety of thirty 30-minute workouts that you can experience over a one-month FREE trial. The only commitment we ask is your commitment to getting in good shape.
Come and exercise with us today: www.shapeshifters.online
1. Body fat loss and compensatory mechanisms in response to different doses of aerobic exercise—a randomized controlled trial in overweight sedentary males, American Journal of Physiology, 2012
