By Miguel J. Ortiz
Health and wellness are on everyone’s mind. Sitting in front of a computer has become more normal than ever – which is why I’m here to tell you that you can make real progress with just 20 minutes a day.
There’s no better time than now to take your exercise program seriously. The key is consistency. I want you to reach a point where you’re exercising daily. For all my regular exercisers, thank you for staying consistent and keeping yourselves healthy. For those who don’t have a routine, let’s step it up and start with this daily 20-minute workout. It will give you a solid foundation to build upon.
Some of you may be thinking: I have a friend who works out a lot, and even they have rest days. That’s true – their routine is consistent and planned. I’m talking to two groups of people: those who aren’t exercising regularly and those who need a quick, effective routine for busy days.
Let’s jump right in.
First, we’re trying to establish a baseline of endurance. A couple of key rules: no breaks, and your rest time is simply the transition between exercises. No water until the end of the workout. All you need is your body, a mat and a timer.
We’ll start with a two-minute warmup. Perform 10 reps of each of the following exercises for as many rounds as possible in two minutes, keeping a slow pace (except for jumping jacks):
- Hamstring sweeps
- Quad stretches
- High knee pulls
- Jumping jacks
The workout consists of the following movements. Perform each for one minute, continuing for four rounds (16 minutes total). Maintain a steady tempo for cardiovascular benefit and focus on full range of motion to improve strength and flexibility. No need to rush – consistency and control are key.
- Prisoner squats
- Push-up to alternating full plank rotation
- Glute raise marches
- Alternating lunges
For the two-minute cooldown, we’ll return to some of the warmup exercises – performed more slowly and held longer to help the body relax.
The cooldown exercises are:
- Hamstring sweeps
- Quad stretches
- High knee pulls
- Alternating rear deltoid/arm cross-body stretch
Have fun progressing your workout as you get stronger and more consistent.
Miguel J. Ortiz is a personal trainer in Atlanta. He is a member of the National Personal Training Institute and a certified nutritional consultant with more than a decade of professional experience. Find him on Instagram at @migueljortiz.
