Finding time to workout, especially as a mom, can be a challenge. I encourage everyone to make exercise a part of their daily routine, and to stick to the allotted times you map out for your workouts, but life happens.
Whether that is a puke storm, a meltdown in Target (whether it be your meltdown or your kids), a much needed playdate that went longer than expected, or whatever else life with kids can throw at you, a time crunch is bound to happen at one time or another. And one of the first things to go is usually the workout you had planned to get in.
So here are five options you can do in 15 minutes or less when those regularly scheduled workouts sessions just aren’t going to happen! These are all quick, easy, and can be done with just bodyweight so you can do them right at home.
Don’t just limit them to those days when you have very little time though! Although that was my biggest motivator for writing these out, they are also great options for when you are at the gym and want a little extra after a full workout! Or pair a few of them together and you can have a great full body metabolic workout on your hands.
So whether you just need to get some movement in at home and you are trying to squeeze it in during nap time, or are using these for those days you have a little extra in the tank, give these a try! Go ahead and click on the name of the exercise to see a video of it.
Also keep in mind that you can use practically any exercises you want within these different formats! Be creative and do what feels good for you, or target a certain area of the body you want. And if you have any questions, or need help with adjustments, just let me know! I’m happy to help 🙂
Option #1: Even/Odd Countdown
The exercises for this one are Lateral Lunge and Plank Row.
What you will do:
- Start with 10 reps per exercise. (So 10 lateral lunges per side, and 10 plank rows per side)
- Then move down to 8 reps per exercise. Continue this for all the even numbers down to 2.
- Once you get down to 2, go back up to 9 reps per exercise. Then do all the odd numbers.
So the full breakdown is:
- 10 Lateral Lunges 10 Plank Rows
- 8 Lateral Lunges 8 Plank Rows
- 6 Lateral Lunges 6 Plank Rows
- 4 Lateral Lunges 4 Plank Rows
- 2 Lateral Lunges 2 Plank Rows
- 9 Lateral Lunges 9 Plank Rows
- 7 Lateral Lunges 7 Plank Rows
- 5 Lateral Lunges 5 Plank Rows
- 3 Lateral Lunges 3 Plank Rows
- 1 Lateral Lunges 1 Plank Rows
This shouldn’t take you long at all, but you will be breathing nice and heavy if you work hard! And if you find that this was easy and super fast, start at a higher number or add some weight if you have it available!
Option #2: On the Minute
The exercises for this workout are Squat and Push Up.
What you will do:
- Set a timer for 10-15 minutes.
- At the top of every minute, you are going to do 20 squats and 10 push ups -Whatever time is left in that minute is your rest time.
- Repeat this until the timer goes off.
So you start the timer anywhere from 10-15 minutes. You do 20 squats and 10 push ups. Say it takes you 40 seconds, that means you have 20 seconds of rest. Watch the timer and when you see the next minute on the clock, do your squats and push ups again. Do this until you get to the last minute!
So however many minutes you set the timer for is how many rounds you will do. If you set the timer for 12 minutes, you will do 12 sets of squats and 12 sets of push ups total by the time you are done. It is quick, easy, and the limited rest will get your heart rate going and help you burn calories throughout the rest of the day!
Option #3/4: EDT
EDT stands for escalated density training, which is a fancy way of saying you get in as much work as you can in an allotted amount of time.
So you set a timer for a certain amount of time and do the assigned exercises as many times as possible within that time. So do these exercises in a circuit fashion starting with the first exercise, going down to the last exercise, and then starting again. Keep going until you hear the timer go off! Just remember to use good form!
So for this one, I am giving you an upper EDT and a lower EDT. You can do one workout one day, and the other workout the next day, or if you have 30 minutes, you can pair them both together to get a full body session in!
UPPER EDT:
Push Up, Bear Crawl March, Side Plank Leg Lift, and Mountain Climber
Set a timer for 15 minutes.
Do
- 10 push ups
- Bear Crawl March 10 per side
- 10 Side Plank leg lifts per side -Mountain Climber 20 taps per foot
Repeat as many times as you can until the timer goes off!
LOWER EDT:
Reverse Lunge, Squat, Lateral Lunge and Split Squat
Set a timer for 15 minutes.
Do
- 8 Reverse Lunges per side
- 15 Squats
- 10 Lateral lunges per side
- 8 Split Squats per side
Repeat until the timer goes off!
Option #5: 50 Rep Challenge
Your exercises for this workout:
- Squat
- Push Up
- Body Saw (you wear socks and slide on hardwood or tile floor!)
- Step Up (each leg will step up 50 times)
- Plank Taps (each arm will tap 50 times)
- Dead Bug (each arm and leg will reach out 50 times)
What you will do is complete every exercise 50 times. Doesn’t matter the order, as long as they
all get done! It will be a challenge!
So if you are a squat queen, do 50 squats in a row and then they are done! Then you can do 10 push ups, 13 step ups per side, 5 plank taps per side, and 7 dead bugs. Then go back to push ups and do some more. Once every exercise has been done 50 times, you are done with your workout!
It helps if you have a piece of paper and pen (or a crayon and coloring page) to write down how many you have done as you go along. Every time you do an exercise, write down how many reps you did so you can keep track as you go along because some exercises will get done faster than others.
The other day I had about 30 minutes before my kids would be waking up from naps (and surprisingly enough all of the laundry was done!) so I did this! Here is what my break down looked like:
- Squats: 25, 25
- Push Ups: 15, 15, 10, 10
- Body Saw: 12, 10, 13, 15
- Step Up: 13, 15, 12, 10
- Plank Taps: 20, 10, 20
- Dead Bug: 12, 10, 8, 12, 8
So I did squats, push ups, body saw, plank taps, dead bug, then went back to squats and finished them out! Then I kept going through the rest of the exercises until I hit 50 of each. It took me 14 minutes and 30 seconds so you got this!
Just remember that step up, plank taps and dead bug are 50 per side. And do as many as you can with good form. I’m sure you could crank out 50 of each of these in one shot if you really wanted to, but stop when you feel your form starting to deteriorate and move onto the next exercise. We want hard work and no injuries!
If you find that the 50 reps was easy peasy, go ahead and go to 100! Or keep track of your time and try to complete the 50 reps faster and faster every time until it seems easy and then change up the exercises! You can even have weight if you have it handy or challenge Daddy to see who can do it faster! This one is good for the competitive spirit inside you Mama so give it a try! 🙂
BONUS!!! Option #6: Sprints
If you are able to get outside, I encourage you to do this sprint workout!
I usually do this on a track, but if you have a large backyard, or any large stretch of area near you, then get this one done!
What you will do:
You are going to do 75 yard sprints. Similar to the on the minute workout above, every minute you will sprint 75 yards and then jog 75 yards back to your starting position.
So say it takes you 15 seconds to sprint 75 yards, and you jog back in 30, you have 15 seconds to rest before you start again. Try to do 10-15 total sprints.
If you need more of a challenge, you can run farther! Try to do this same thing but do 100 yards instead.
If you are having a tough time, you can do 50 yards instead and work your way up to 75. Or instead of going every minute, you can go every minute and 15 seconds or every minute and a half.
This is a good one that will get you outside in the fresh air and get those legs moving! And a great one for the kids to join in on! Get them some fresh air and exercise exposure- win win! Sprints are a great metabolic workout and a great challenge for most, so give it a try!
Let me know if you have any questions about these exercises! They are designed to be challenging, but quick, so no excuses! Get it done!
Stay tough Mama 🙂
Jamie Arsenault, The Athletic Way