posted
03/21/12
Modern life moves pretty fast. But I don’t care if you’re the busiest man on the planet, you’ve still got enough time in your day to exercise—and get ripped and lean. Here are five great workouts you can do in 10 minutes. That’s right, 10 freakin’ minutes. Pair these with a diet that’s high in protein and low in calories, and you’ll be looking and feeling like a young Muhammad Ali… with a much clearer schedule, to boot.
1. Bed Moves
Yup, you don’t even have to get out of bed. Do as many push-ups as you can in one minute, then rest for 30 seconds. (Go hard, as you’re only going to be training for 10 minutes.) Next, hold a plank pose for one minute, then rest for 30 seconds. Finally, stand up on your bed and do lunges for one minute, then rest for a minute. Repeat the whole thing. Moving on an unstable surface not only burns calories, it improves core strength and proprioception, the link between your brain and your body.
If you’ve been reading my column, you know how much I like sledgehammer swings into a tire. It’s simple. Grab a sledgehammer, find yourself a huge tire and beat the crap out of it.
2. Heavy Bag Punches
This one’s pretty simple: find a heavy bag, put on some boxing gloves and pound that bag with everything you’ve got. Throw as many punches as you can for one minute, then rest for a minute. Do that five times. This is a great exercise that will work the whole body. It’ll also probably relieve quite a bit of stress, depending whose face you’re picturing in that heavy bag. Just be sure to jog and stretch a little before you get started, Rocky.
3. Treadmill Sprints
I’m not a huge proponent of the treadmill, but some people don’t like running outside. And there are definitely things you can do on it to push your body in a hurry. Like this: sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then walk for 30 seconds. Do that 10 times. This is what I do with a lot of the MMA fighters I train. It’s great because you get in a lot of high-intensity cardio in a short amount of time. (Again, to avoid pulled muscles, jog and stretch before you just start sprinting.)
4. Sledgehammer Swings
If you’ve been reading my column, you know I like sledgehammer swings into a tire. It’s simple. Grab a sledgehammer, find yourself a huge tire and beat the crap out of it with that sledgehammer in your hands. Do all kinds of swings—overhead, sidearm, three-quarters, etc. Go hard for one minute, then rest for a minute. Do that five times. This is just an awesome full-body workout. Every muscle is being destroyed, which is the key to muscle growth. (Don’t have a sledgehammer and a tire? You can do a very similar workout with a medicine ball, slamming it onto a mat and against a wall. Or, if you’re in a hotel room, slam a couple of those really big pillows for 10 minutes. Trust me, the maid won’t care.)
You can mock his Speedos, but you can’t knock his lats.
5. Pool Laps
Swimming is one of the best things you can do. It works your entire body. So, if you’ve got access to a pool, jump in and do as many freestyle laps as you can. If you go hard, you’ll burn about 150 calories in just 10 minutes. (Hence Michael Phelps’ abs… and his appetite for Subway.) And if you feel like doing the backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly, go for it. Like I always tell my clients, working out should be fun – so remember to pursue it with the enthusiasm of a child. In this case, a child who can swim.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Got 20 minutes? Check out Jay Cardiello’s new JCore program, where you can get fit and transform your body in only four 20-minute sessions per week. Already JCore has helped hundreds of people lose as much as 30 pounds in 40 days. You could be next.
