The Ten Minute Total Body Workout

Discuss this post in The Guild Hall!

So!  You’ve got a very tight schedule, huh?  Maybe just for today, maybe all the time…  Fear not, fair citizen!  Here’s two variations on a great workout you can squeeze in in ten minutes that will hit all the major muscle groups in your body!

NOTE: This workout will not give you a significant progression in strength, size, or aerobic conditioning.  It will give you a boost in anaerobic conditioning, stimulate all the major muscle groups in your body, and help you stay active every day, even if you’ve only got a tiny amount of time to work out!  NO ZERO DAYS!

Variation One (With Pull Up Bar)

40 Seconds: Push Ups (as many as you can, kneeling if necessary)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Pull Ups (as many as you can, with a chair if necessary)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Bodyweight Squats (as many as you can)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Mountain Climbers (as many as you can)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Jumping Jacks (as many as you can)
20 seconds: Rest
Repeat once.

Variation Two (No Pull Up Bar)

40 Seconds: Push Ups (as many as you can, kneeling if necessary)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Doorway, Railing, or Table Bodyweight Rows (as many as you can, seated if necessary)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Bodyweight Squats (as many as you can)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Mountain Climbers (as many as you can)
20 Seconds: Rest
40 Seconds: Jumping Jacks (as many as you can)
20 seconds: Rest
Repeat once.

Notes:

The pull up variation is the superior workout, to be sure, but if you don’t have a pull up bar available, doing rows in a doorway or on a sturdy support you can hang under can suffice.  If you want to focus a bit more on abdominal work, you can substitute planks or hanging leg lifts in for the jumping jacks at the end.  Again, this workout will not give you significant progression in any measurable area of strength with the exception of maybe speed and anaerobic conditioning.  It will, however, allow you to get in a workout, with no excuse, basically any time or anywhere.

It also scales fairly well.  If you find yourself having a bit more time, just keep repeating the circuit (though I wouldn’t do it for more than, say, forty minutes.)  If you find yourself having that much time, you can probably find a more suitable workout here on the blog.  =P  (might I suggest the Krillin workout, for a similar flavor?)

Live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace