BY BRANDYN PARKER
Time! It’s the number one excuse as to why people avoid keeping themselves in great shape. It’s not laziness, it’s not intimidation, and it’s not fear of injury, but time! Apparently, there are more important things in life than being in peak physical condition. For example, it is estimated that the typical US adult spends, on average, three hours and thirty five minutes per day on their phone. One might assume spending an hour of that having a thorough workout would be ideal, but no–it’s much more important to binge on those YouTube prank videos or to constantly check your Facebook feed for the next fantastical meme isn’t it?
Sarcasm aside, time, even to the busiest person, is not a valid excuse to not put forth at least a minimal effort in keeping yourself in good shape. I myself work full time, attend six classes, am a part of an internship program, and I still manage to stay consistent with regular workouts which peak at about an hour per session.
Fortunately, if you happen to be a person with a schedule even more hectic than mine, there are some workout strategies that will allow you to have your cake and eat it to. And without further ado, allow me to introduce the ultimate get-it-done-quick ten minute full body workout that you can do without equipment, without weights, and in the comfort of your own home.
Burpees
Now, for those of you who are aware of a burpee, your interest in continuing this article may already be waning. Burpees are, indeed, among the most intense movements that the body can do, but we will start things out with the most basic version.
The way it works is you begin in a standing position before lightly dropping your hands down on a flat surface before kicking both of your legs out together so you end up in push up position before bringing your legs forward to the chest and jumping to a stand. Burpee complete.
It sounds much easier than it actually is, I know, and do note that it can get even more difficult depending on the extra movements you choose to incorporate. For beginners, I would recommend starting with the most basic version listed above for 10 to 20 repetitions, depending on your experience level. After completing your first set (that is the first 10 to 20 burpees) you will want to rest for twenty to thirty seconds before continuing. After repeating this for three sets, you should be beginning to feel alive, invigorated, and ready for the next exercise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZgVxmf6jkA
Mountain Climbers
The key difference between this and the burpee is the fact that the mountain climber focuses mainly on the core – though it is also a cardiovascular movement like the burpee (though the burpee incorporates leg and upper body muscles). To do this exercise the mountain climber demands the basic pushup position. Instead of standing up and jumping, however, one will bring each of their legs forward one by one repeatedly while staying in a stationary position.
It is important to try not to jump while doing this, as the movement can become unsteady and needlessly exhausting. After thirty seconds of this, you will definitely begin to feel it. Before passing out, however, you will stop after thirty seconds to and file that away as one set. After completing that, wash, rinse and repeat two more times and you’re ready to move on to the final exercise in this brief routine.
High Knees
This workout sounds less ambiguous than mountain climbers and burpees because the movement is exactly as it sounds: raise those knees! Simply stand up and raise your knees up to the level of your chest one after another, repeatedly for thirty seconds just as we did for the mountain climbers.
This particular exercise is predominantly a cardiovascular movement, and will leave you feeling winded after three sets of thirty seconds. To those of you who are just starting out, this routine will seem vigorous, but I assure you after two or three weeks it will be a breeze.
Should you reach to the point where it becomes easy, I would recommend either increasing the duration of the exercise or adding push-ups to the mountain climbers and burpees, implementing them amid the sets. If you happen to be a glutton for punishment, I would recommend even trying both.
After completing three sets of this, you would have spent about ten minutes engaged in high intensity training all in the comfort of your own home. Have fun!
