Do you want a toned body and defined muscles, but don’t actually have much time for a regular exercise routine? If you have 10 minutes a day, you can significantly improve your fitness in four weeks.
1. Plank
The plank is one of the most effective full-body exercises that you can easily do at home.
To do this, lie on your stomach and support yourself on the floor with your forearms and toes. It is important that the body remains in a straight line. The bottom should be neither above nor below the body. Hold this position as long as possible. Keep setting small goals for yourself so that you can hold the plank for a few seconds longer each time. If you can hold for a minute with correct form, you’re already pretty fit.
2. Push-ups
Push-ups or push-ups train the entire upper body and especially the arms and chest. This exercise should not be missing from any workout plan.
To perform the push-up, start in the same position as for the plank, but support yourself with your hands rather than your forearms. Here, too, you should make sure that your body remains in a straight line and that you maintain a certain amount of body tension. The hands should be a little more than shoulder-width apart. Your gaze should neither look straight down nor forward. It’s best to look for a point in front of your fingertips and keep your eyes on it during the exercise. Bend your arms and go down so low that your upper body almost touches the floor. As you breathe out, push yourself back up. Repeat the exercise as often as you can. Tipp: If this is still too difficult, you can also do the exercise on your knees.
3. Squats
Now let’s move on to training your legs and buttocks: squats are a must here.
Place your feet hip-width apart and turn your toes slightly outwards. Extend your arms forward and squat deeply – preferably as low as you can. The knees can come over the tips of the toes. Hold the position for a few seconds and then push yourself up from the floor with full force. In the upper position, stretch completely and tense your butt.
4. Donkey Kicks
The donkey kick is much more elegant than its name suggests and also makes a great bottom.
Get on all fours. Make sure your hands are under your shoulders and your hips are above your knees. Lift one leg up at an angle. Imagine that you want to touch the ceiling with the sole of your foot. Be careful not to buckle your hips, but always keep your hips straight. Firmly tense the muscles in your buttocks and the back of your thighs and lower your foot without touching the floor. Tipp: Start with the weaker side and do the same number of repetitions on the other side.
5. Dead Bugs
With the dead beetle exercise we now go back to the center of the body.
Lie on your back, bend your legs at a 90 degree angle in the air and touch your knees with your hands. Important: The feet are flexed. Extend your right arm over your head and extend your left leg forward as far as possible without letting your arm and legs touch the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise on the other side.
Tipp: Putting some pressure on your knees with your hands can make the exercise more intense.
6. Downward-Facing Dog
The downward dog pose is not only popular in yoga. To make the exercise a little more intense, we introduce a variant of the yoga pose: the downward dog with elevation.
To do this, first go into the usual downward dog position. Either straighten your legs completely or bend your knees. Extend one leg back and up. Without putting your leg down, push into plank and bring your knee bent towards your chest. Bend your back so that you can touch your knee with the tip of your chin. This is probably pretty taxing on the abs. Repeat the exercise on the other side.
7. Ball rotation on the wall
To spin the ball, place your feet hip-width apart and your back to the wall. Bend your knees slightly and hold a small medicine ball straight in front of you with your arms outstretched. Now turn your arms from side to side and tense your stomach. In the best case scenario, you manage to touch the wall with the ball. Make sure your back stays straight against the wall. Turn from side to side several times.
This is how often you should train in four weeks
To achieve the greatest possible success, you should train according to a fixed plan. If you still feel unsure, you can try out the exercises for a week before starting the training plan.
First and third week
Do each exercise for as long as:
Plank: 2 minutes Push-up: 1 minute Squat: 1 minute Donkey kick: 1 minute Dead bug: 1 minute Downward dog with lift: 2 minutes Ball spin: 1 minute
Second and fourth weeks of training
This week you will alternate between two exercise combinations every day. Perform each exercise for three minutes, resting for 15 seconds in between:
Training 1
Plank Dead Beetle Donkey Kick Downward Facing Dog with Raise
Training 2
Ball rotation plank push up squats
These exercises train the entire body. It can be quite tiring, especially at the beginning. The muscles are not yet used to the movements and you may experience muscle soreness after the first workout. However, the body gets used to the new challenges and in the end the effort pays off with a fit body.