Easy 10-minute workouts

Forget about New Year resolutions for a moment and think about your health: Here are 10-minute workouts you can do at home that you actually can stick to.

Each works on a separate area of your body and, if you do them daily, you will strengthen and tone different muscle groups to add up to total body fitness.

1. Abdominal

There is no substitute for classic bodyweight exercises like the plank to strengthen your core, but there are also fun options like the “bird dog”:

• Start on your all-fours, with shoulders over wrists and hips over knees. 
• Tuck in your belly button then lift your right arm and left leg up to parallel with your torso. Your foot must be flexed, and palm faces in towards the centre.
• Pause, return to all fours, and repeat on the other side.

Do 15 reps on each side (30 in total).

2. Arms

Shadowboxing will strengthen and tone your arms and shoulders – and the only equipment you need is a mirror.

With 60 seconds of arm action, followed by a 10 second rest, aim for two reps of these four punches:

• Upper cut
• Straight punch
• Alternating hook
• Cross jab

If you are office-bound and don’t want to work up a sweat (which shadowboxing should do!) then try arm circles, where you stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended straight out to sides at shoulder height. Circle arms back in a small movement, 20 times in one direction, then switch sides and repeat. Desk push-ups are another easy-to-do routine.

3. Glutes 

Target these large muscles with goblet squats which work not only your glutes but all major muscle groups of the lower body.

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell at chest height, cupping hands on either side of it as if you are holding a “goblet”
• Lower yourself by bending your knees as if you were preparing to sit down on a chair. Go down as far as feels comfortable, but try to get your hips below parallel with your knees. 
• Slowly rise up to the start position.

No kettlebell? Take a clean 2l milk bottle or 5l water container – the container must, however, have a comfortable handle to grip. Fill with water or sand to provide the weight. Paint tins or a weighted backpack are other options.

4. Legs

Box jumps give you a killer cardiovascular workout for quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Make sure the box is stable and around 40cm high.

Box Jump

• Place box one step in front of you, and stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend knees slightly into a quarter squat, extending arms out behind you.
• Use squat momentum to jump up onto the box, arms swinging out in front
• Stand up on the box, with slightly bent knees to regain your balance
• Step back and down and repeat.

Start with three sets of five box jumps with two minutes rest in between sets.

Remember, you don’t have to hammer out exercise for hours every day to see a toned new body emerge – regular repetition is the key.