These days, everyone wants to get in shape, but they don’t necessarily have much time to get their exercises in. So, with our increasingly busy schedules, how can we effectively and efficiently lose weight and build muscle?
For starters, scientists have recently discovered that the amount of time you exercise doesn’t matter nearly as much as the intensity of the workout you choose to do. That means you don’t need to work out every day, or even every other day, to reap the benefits of working out.
In fact, an analysis by Gary O’ Donovan, a research associate in the Exercise as Medicine program at Loughborough University in England, revealed that people who exercised one or two days per week lowered their risk of dying early from any cause by 30-34%. Even more interestingly, those who worked out most days of the week lowered their risk of an early death by just 35%.
which means the amount of days you work out really doesn’t make much of a difference.Experts recommend around 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, but it doesn’t matter how many days you spread that across.Now, on to the routine. Keep in mind that these exercises will build muscle and strength, but you’ll still want to do some cardio, stretching, and other body weight exercises in addition for all-around fitness.
Sculpt Your Legs and Abs With This 2-Minute Workout
This workout routine might seem easy, but once you start doing it, you’ll certainly feel the burn! Called a loaded carry, this basically means walking while carrying weights or other relatively heavy objects.
Many personal trainers and coaches strongly suggest these types of exercises due to their long list of benefits. Loaded carries help you build strength, work on balance, burn fat quickly, and simply get in shape since you must use many different parts of your body.
These exercises work your shoulders, abs, and legs, so if you want a full-body workout, you’re in luck.
Also, after doing these exercises for a few weeks, you’ll notice that you can move on to heavier weights much easier than simply standing in place while lifting weights. So, on to the exercises.
1- Dumbbell carry
This is exactly what it sounds like – you’ll simply carry dumbbells while walking for 30 seconds. You can choose whichever weight you feel comfortable with, but make sure you can walk normally without compromising your form. Keep your shoulders back, arms straight down by your sides, and walk slowly for 30 seconds.
2- Dumbbell skier swing
For this exercise, you need to grab some weights, stand in place, and essentially swing the weights out in front of you, bringing them up to eye level. Keep your knees slightly bent, squeezing your glutes as you swing the weights out in front. You’ll want to keep the weights in a vertical, rather than horizontal, position. Do this exercise for 30 seconds, then, go back to the first exercise for 30 more seconds.
3- Dumbbell reverse lunge
Finally, on to the last exercise – the reverse lunge. Grab your weights, and start off by lunging backward with your right leg first, then the left. Make sure you keep your torso and chest up, and lunge until your knee almost touches the ground. Repeat on each side until you’ve done the exercise for 30 seconds.
Keep reading: The exercise that burns more abdominal fat in 5 minutes than 100 classic sit-ups
