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Many people do not exercise at all – work, studies, taking care of kids, projects at home, and the other million things just consume their day. The problem comes from having an all or nothing approach. You know you should exercise for 30-60 minutes a day, but where are you supposed to carve out such a big chunk of time when you are already overwhelmed?

That’s the beauty of this 15 minute full body workout. Short workouts are far, far better than no workout at all. You can improve your fitness, and your health, even if you are very limited in terms of free time. Here we have put together a daily workout routine that anyone, regardless of age, shape, size, or current fitness level can use to improve their health, and get fit.

Your 15 Minute Full Body Workout

2 Minute Warm Up

Warm up exercises are important to physically and mental preparation for workout. Your muscles need to warm up before you attempt more strenuous exercises to prevent injury. Classic warm up moves moves include walking lunges, toe touches, and high knees. These help your ligaments and tendons to become more flexible but during the workout and in general, reducing the chance of muscular strain.

Main Workout

Here are 20 different exercises you can do for 30 seconds each:

Pencil Squats

Stand with your feet together, arms raised overhead. Jump or step your feet apart to drop down into a wide leg squat squat, then, return to standing position. As your strength and flexibility increases, you can try to squat lower each week, eventually getting to the point where you can touch your ankles as you squat.

Oblique High Knees

Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart, and arms in front of you at chest level, bent at the elbows with fingertips pointing towards each other. Raise one knee to hip height while bringing the opposite elbow toward rising knee. Repeat with the other knee and opposite elbow.

100 meter dash

Walk, jog, or sprint in place as fast as you can, pumping your arms and raising your knees to at least hip level.

Spiders

Start in pushup position with wrists directly under the shoulders. Bend the elbows to lower the chest, as little or far as you can manage. As you lower, bring the right knee in toward the right elbow. Press back up to start. Repeat the motion with the left knee. If this exercise is too challenging, start with simply lifting one foot off the ground as you lower.

Hip Dip

From a seated position, tilt so that you are leaning on your left hip, and then extend your feet straight, crossing one foot in front of the other slightly. Place your left hand on the ground, and use just your fingertips of your right hand to help you balance. Lift your hips off the ground so that your entire body if facing towards the left, and you and balancing on just hands and feet. Lift as far as you can manage, then let your left hip slowly drop back to the ground. Repeat on the other side.

Squats

Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides. Squat down by bending both your knees and dropping your hips as if you are sitting on a chair. Then slowly return to starting position and repeat.

Lunges

Stand with your feet together and your hands on your hips. Step forward in a wide stance with your left foot, keeping your left knee slightly bent. Balancing on the sole of your right foot, and with your shoulders lined up over your hips, bend both knees to lower your body until both your legs are at about 90-degree angles. Return to starting position. Repeat for left leg.

Vertical Leg Crunch

Lie on your back and extend your left leg into the air. Raise your upper body. Return to initial position and repeat with other leg.

Oblique reach

Lie on your back, with legs extended in the air (bend them if you need to). Tighten abs, and reach out across the outside of your right thigh with both arms. Return to center, then reach over outside of left thigh with both arms. Then repeat.

Cobras

Lie on your stomach with legs straight, feet shoulder-width apart, and the tops of your feet touching the mat. Your arms should be bent at the elbows, hands slightly higher than your shoulders, and palms on the mat. Flex your glutes and lower back, and slowly raise your upper body off the mat as high as you are comfortable with. Return to starting position and repeat.

Push-Ups

Get in traditional push-up position. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels. Keep your abs tight and drop your body straight down by bending both arms. Return to starting position and repeat. You can do this exercise on your knees if you find it too difficult, or standing pushups against a wall.

Classic Jumping Jacks

Stand with your legs together and your arms down at your sides. Keeping your arms and legs straight, separate your legs to a wide stance and raise your hands above your head in one jumping motion. Return to starting position in one motion and repeat. If you aren’t able to jump, you can step out to the side instead.

Punches

Standing with legs shoulder width apart, and knees bent slightly. Then rise your arm to the chest level with arms clenched. Then punch using your right arm. Return the arm and repeat with other arm.

Abdominal crunch

Lie flat on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Slowly lift the torso to a sitting position, and then lie flat again without changing the position of the legs.

Bicycle Crunch

Laying on your back, press your lower back into the ground and tighten your abs. Lift your upper body. Move your right elbow and left knee toward each other, while at the same time straightening your right leg. Next raise your right knee and simultaneously move your left elbow toward each other, while straightening your left leg. Repeat.

Plank

Lie on the floor facedown, and lift your body so that just your toes and forearms are on the ground. Keep your body straight and hold this position for 30 seconds.

Hip lifts

Lie flat on the floor on your back with your hands by your side and your knees bent. Lift your hips off the floor while keeping your back straight. Breathe out as you perform this part of the motion and hold at the top for a moment. Slowly return to the starting position as you breathe in. Repeat.

Supermans

Lie on your stomach on the floor with your arms above your head and legs extended. Activate the muscles in your back and glutes, and then try to lift both arms and legs off the ground at the same time. Gently lower. Repeat.

Side plank

From a plank position, face your whole body to the right with one hand supporting you. Hold position for 30 seconds.
Repeat for left side.

2 Minute Cool Down

Walking, cycling, side steps, and slow low arm circles for 30 seconds each after an intense exercise will aid you in relaxing your upper and lower body muscle groups. This allows your heart rate to return to normal, and slowly lowers your body temperature.

1 Minute Stretches

Stretching is important for finishing off a workout. It can improve the range of motion of muscles, making it easier to perform general tasks of everyday living. Furthermore, increased flexibility reduces the risk of injury, stretching reduces muscular tension, and helps improve joint pain. Here are some different stretches you can perform after your workout: triceps stretch, chest stretch, calf stretch, lying quad stretch, and hamstring stretch.

Add on any extras where you feel tight, and aim to hold each stretch for at least ten seconds, and then push a little bit further as the muscle gives a little more. Don’t forget- this 15 minute full body workout can be repeated in any little pocket of time during the day, do it twice and you’ve just hit your recommended daily exercise target for the day.

If you’re searching for a 15 minute full body workout, chances are you know that exercise is something you should be doing. It can help prevent lifestyle related diseases such a diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer. It can even enhance cognitive (brain) functioning and memory. But of course you’ve heard all of this before. The problem is that you just don’t have hours every day to spend at the gym!

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