Tips for a 15 minute workout

The Fast Workout

Only have a few minutes to exercise?  Does a 30 minute workout sound like it would throw off your whole day?  Life is busy.  Don’t sweat it. Ooops, I mean, go ahead and sweat it, just sweat it faster.

What is the best way to jump into a routine if you only have a few minutes?  Today’s busy lifestyle is pushing many people to consider the importance of fat burning over calorie burning.  To lose weight you will need to consider both but fat burn will help you lose your weight faster. 

Only have fifteen minutes to pump it up?  

Even a 15 minutes workout needs a warm up.   A three minute warm up will make your muscles more pliable and increase your range of motion.  So not only will you help prevent injury, but you will end up using more muscle fibers and have a better workout.

Don’t save your energy to the end of your workout.  Make every minute count!  Workout as intense as you can every moment that you can. 

Some great fat burning activities great for fast workouts:

Running- 5 mph- burns 144 calories

Inline Skating- moderate- burns 86 calories

Jumping Rope- burns 171 calories

Aerobic Dancing- burns 101 calories

Walking upstairs- burns 137 calories

Stair Stepper- burns 119 calories

Bicycle 14- 16 mph- burns 180 calories

They have a fairly wide range of calories burned, so what do you think they have in common?  These exercise all good fat burning exercises.  They use multiple muscle groups and will get your heart rate pumping. 

Some great fat burning gym exercises great for fast workouts:

Going to the gym for your fifteen minutes of pain, ummm, I mean exercise? 

For a fast gym workout start thinking like this:

Squats are good- Squats plus overhead presses are better

Pushups are good- Pushups with squat thrusts are better

The more muscle groups you us e the better.  The less time in between each set the better.

Ok, so you get the idea.  Now continue thinking out of the box with this.  Say you really want to do your bicep curls and tricep curls today.  They aren’t big fat burners or calorie burners, but you scheduled them in your mind would feel guilty skipping your curls.  Not to worry, you can still do them.  Do some cardio first and get your heart pumping, and then do your curls.  Your routine might look something like this:

2 minute run

20 bicep curls

2 minute run

20 tricep curls

2 minute run

20 bicep curls, etc.

Try to take only a 30 second break in between sets. 

Of course, you will burn more fat the faster you run or the heavier the weights you use.

Breathe slightly deeper and use more lung capacity for more effective fat burning.  (This doesn’t mean hold your breath.  Never hold your breath while exercising!)

If you have truly worked hard during your 15 minutes you should feel tired.  For really great results, try getting another fifteen minutes in later in the day!


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