How to Do a 1 hour Workout in 30 Minutes!

Only have 30 minutes to exercise? Find out how you can do your 1 hour workout in just 30 minutes!

As a busy person, just the thought of having to fit in exercise can cause some stress. Especially when it comes to finding the time to exercise. A new Danish study has found that people who workout in 30 minutes a day lost a third more weight than those who worked out for an hour a day. This will come as a welcome result for busy people!

Scientists believe that the shorter workouts left subjects with more energy and motivation to live healthier lifestyles, while those who hit the gym for an hour were more likely to feel burned out at the end. To avoid burn out, follow this simple yet effective workout routine to burn calories more efficiently and keep your exercise time to a minimum but with maximum results.

1. 3 minutes on the treadmill for a warm up – aim for 5.5 speed and 1.5 incline
2. 3 minutes of push ups – start with doing ones on your knees till you build up to doing full push ups (this will take you a good 2 months!)
3. 5 minutes on the treadmill at 6.0 speed with 0.5-1.0 incline (after two weeks, jump your speed to 6.5). You should be doing a light jog or a very quick walk at this speed.
4. 3 minutes of jump-switch lunges – start small, keep you back leg off-centre to avoid losing your balance. Use your arms to help power you upward. This video will help show you how to do these properly.
5. 5 minutes on the treadmill at 6.5 speed with 1.0 incline (after two weeks, jump speed up to 7.0). You should be jogging at this speed.
6. 3 minutes of Sumo squats. This will be difficult at first, so aim to do as many Sumo squats as you can and then just do normal squats for the remainder of the time. This video will help show you have to do these properly.
7. 5 minutes on the treadmill at 7.0 speed with a 1.5 incline (after two weeks, jump speed up to 7.5). You should be jogging at this speed.
8. 3 minutes of sit-ups and bicycle crunches or you could do a 1 minute plank and 2 minutes of crunches. Alternate these to keep your abs working all the time.

Although this workout is mainly on the treadmill you can use any other cardio machine that you would like to change it up.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your favorite cardio machine.

Treadmill

To get more of a fat burning workout on the treadmill don’t just do your usual run/walk routine and flip through the channels on the television. Instead of bouncing up and down keep your movements forward. If you place your focus on moving forward instead of bouncing you will go faster and burn more calories in a shorter amount of time.

While you are focusing on going forward, be sure to squeeze your buttocks as you’re doing it. Do this as you push off of your toes. The more you do this you will contract and tone your backside, resulting in a nice, toned butt.

Elliptical Trainer

The Elliptical is another favorite for cardio because it not only makes us move our legs, but our arms as well. As we get older we start to feel that unwanted underarm flab (mainly ladies) begin to develop and the Elliptical helps us to battle that.

To blast more fat on this machine and get the most out of your workout, don’t allow the machine’s gliding motion to dictate your movements. Your leg muscles should be pushing the pedals forward.

Stair Stepper

It’s pre-programmed workouts help you to feel that you are doing all you can to get in shape. If you want to really get this machine to work for you then here is what you do. Stand up straight. Use the rails for balance only, not support. Picture perfect posture forces your core and back muscles to contract. Engaging more muscles means burning more fat. Choose a level that makes you break out in a sweat each time.

The sample workout routine above will work all your muscle groups in your body: legs, butt, arms, abs. It will also boost your metabolism, so you will be burning calories all day long. So why waste an hour in the gym when you can get better results in a shorter amount of time. Hack your gym time with this sample workout and these tips and you’ll be feeling and looking fabulous in no time!

Photo Credit: Photostock