Are You Wasting Your Time Working Out? How to Pack 60 Minutes of Exercise into Just 15 Minutes

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Understanding how the body works will save you tons of time and effort. If you want to fit an hour of cardio into only 15 minutes, you have to zero in on what really works. What can you do to lose the fat in as little time as possible?

FULL BODY EXERCISES

You want to get that heart rate up...

...especially if you want to get time spent exercising down.

With full body exercises, you can increase intensity easily and dramatically decrease the time you need to exercise.

PLUS, exercises that recruit a ton of muscles at the same time stimulate the release of youth hormones like somatropin -- AKA "growth hormone" which keeps your metabolism moving quickly and melting calories.

ADVANTAGES OF TARGETED CARDIO

There are TWO types of cardio: (1) targeted cardio and (2) long, boring cardio.

Targeted cardio is performed in interval sessions with rest breaks. You "push" a little harder than long, boring cardio, but you get an added benefit: Less time spent exercising for the same (if not GREATER) metabolic boost.

#1 - SKIP Right to the Point

One of the things I do to reduce my workout time is making sure that when I do find time to work out, I skip right to the point.

Easing into workouts is nice if you have time for that. But, most of us don’t. Between kids and work and everything else, finding fifteen minutes to work out is a feat in itself. You don’t have half an hour for deep breathing prep!

Jump right in. Get that heart pumping.

If you’re doing exercises that might strain muscles, you still want to do some stretches. But why not make those stretches part of the cardio? Run in place while you stretch your arms. Mix jumping jacks in with your leg stretches.

Anytime your heart rate is up, that’s good—and there are lots and lots of ways to get it going!

#2 - Forget about calories

You know when you’re on a treadmill at a gym and all you can do is stare at the display, watching as your calories tick away ever so slowly? It’s torture!

“How is this not working faster?” You wonder. “IS IT EVEN WORTH IT??”

Stop.

Burning calories is only part of full-body fitness. When you focus on full-body fitness, your metabolism goes up. As your body tone and condition improve, you’ll see that real results have little to do with the number of calories you burn.

#3 - Get your whole body into it!

Full-body fitness means—you guessed it—getting your whole body into it. The more parts you get moving, the better your results will be.

In only fifteen minutes of total-body exercise, you can achieve what takes some people an hour or more. Your heart health, mobility, and mood will all improve I as little as SEVEN minutes a day.

And, of course, you’ll look hotter than ever!

#4 - Don't Burn Out

To fight fat and kill flab, you have to get smart about your exercise habits.

One of the most common mistakes people who are trying to get healthier make is to burn out. They go into it determined and excited, but soon, they’re exhausted. It’s easy to fall into the “burnout cycle:” excitement, burnout, inactivity, excitement, and burnout again. Who hasn’t been there?

How do you avoid it? You have to take a long-term approach to your fitness goals.

Exercising for an hour a day sounds good, but be honest—how long can you keep it up? A week? Maybe two?

With targeted cardio workouts, you can get more done in less time. That means you have a better chance of sticking with it.

Full-body fitness is about permanent change, not just a few weeks of effort followed by months of sitting around. Keep it going!