Of course you can! Â Who can’t find 20 minutes to spare? Â This is what I do if my day is booked, there is not a chance I can get to the gym, and I need to break a sweat to maintain my sanity. Â It is short, but it is not easy.
Basically, you pick one exercise for each of the SIX basic movements that human bodies are designed to do: a squat, a hip hinge, a push, a pull, a twist or anti-rotation move for the abs, and a single leg move. Â Pick your favorites, or get crazy and try something you never do. Â You will do three supersets of paired exercises. Â In a superset, you move from one exercise directly to the next with no rest. Â THEN, you rest, and repeat the superset for a specific number of times. Â Huh? Â Never mind. Here are the pairs
Squat move + Twist or Abdominal stability (examples below…or come up with your own!)
body squat x 15 followed immediately by front plank x 60 seconds
kettlebell goblet squat x 8 followed immediately by Russian twist x 16
dumbbell squat x 12 followed immediately by side plank, 30 sec/side
Pick one of these combinations, and do three supersets, resting only 60 seconds between each. Â The grand total of time for this superset pair should be around 6 minutes or less. Â Then, move to the next superset pair.
Push + Pull (examples below or come up with your own!)
Push Up x 10 followed immediately by horizontal rows x 8 (I use my dining room table for these)
Dumbbell military press x 8 followed immediately by pull ups x as many as you can do (this number will go down with each superset!)
Dumbbell chest press x 8 followed immediately by bent over dumbbell rows x 8 (use heavy dumbbells)
Again, pick ONE of these and do three supersets resting only 60 sec between each. Â Six more minutes. Â Last superset coming up.
Hip hinge + Single leg exercise  (examples below or come up with your own!)
Dumbbell or Kettlebell Deadlift x 8 followed immediately by alternating forward lunge x 8 (with dumbbells) or 12 if bodyweight only
Single leg bodyweight deadlift x 6 each side followed immediately by alternating backward lunges x 6 each side  (with dumbbells) or 12 each if bodyweight only
Kettlebell swings (my favorite) x 20 followed immediately by walking lunges x 8 each side
Same thing here: Â no rest between paired exercises, but 60 seconds of rest between the supersets…three times. Â Grand total…about 18 minutes. Use the 2 minutes for a brief warm up before you start…body squats, push ups, plank, or just run around the house for 2 minutes and have the dog chase you.
Of course, you can mix and match exercises or come up with your own. Â The key is to move quickly between each exercise, and only rest between each superset. Â Sixty seconds passes by very quickly. Â I use my iphone to time the rest periods, just to keep me honest.
Try it and let me know what you think.
I finally looked at my RSS feed and then groaned because I was just thinking how I didn’t have time for a workout today. Darn you! j/k
I wanted to ask you – am I weird because I can’t seem to do squats the “right” way? I’m thinking perhaps my legs aren’t strong enough to support me. I usually have to put a stability ball behind my back (against the wall) in order to do them. Is that okay?
That is definitely OK. The squat problem is probably not strength, but a mobility or balance problem. Try practicing them without weight…just holding onto a table or the back of a sturdy chair.
If you want an effective 20 minutes workout, you definitely have to take a look at either 30 days shred or ripped in 30. The first has 20 minutes workouts and the second 30 minutes workouts.