30-MINUTE WORKOUTS: HOW LONG IS ENOUGH?

January 22, 2019

Pittsburgh Fitness Project

There is this common belief that you need to spend hours in the gym to get the results you’re looking for. When it come to weight loss and burning fat, workouts can be short when done with proper form and focus on efficiency. The key to any 30 minute workout is simplicity. The biggest mistake in fat loss is focusing too much on the smaller muscle groups and not enough on the big ones that burn the most calories. With that in mind, here are some 30 minute workouts that is bound to get the blood pumping and sweat going.

30-MINUTE WORKOUT: 1

Get one pushup, 2 squats, then 3 jumping jacks. That’s one round. Get as many as possible in 30 minutes. If using this ratio is too easy, challenge yourself and do more of each exercise. I would recommend keeping the same ratio of 1:2:3 for each exercise. For example, you could do 5 pushups, 10 squats, and 15 jumping jacks.

WORKOUT 2

Alternate between single sided lunges and side planks. Start by doing 10 left legged reverse lunges (right leg goes back, so your left leg is doing the work.) Then get on the ground and get set up for a side plank on your left side. Aim to hold it for a minimum of 20 seconds throughout the workout. Putting one foot on top of the other will make it harder instead of having one foot directly behind the other. Then alternate sides and do lunges on the right side, then right side planks. See how many rounds you can get throughout the 30 minutes. The great thing about this workout is you’ll be able to keep moving for most of it since you’re giving different parts of your body rest throughout the 30 minutes. You can make this more challenging by holding the side planks for longer and using weights on the reverse lunges.

WORKOUT 3

Work on getting the perfect sets and reps of bodyweight squats in 30 minutes. This is brutally simple. Looking in a mirror can help in this case to see if your knees are buckling, hips are shifting to a side, or you’re not getting low enough. Think about creating as much tension in your body as possible and to sit in your squat with as much control as you can. Keeping each set to 10 reps at most can be pretty challenging. Rest as much as needed, but you should hopefully get 100 high quality squats in 30 minutes.

WORKOUT 4

Hold a strong, stable plank as long as you can. I would recommend holding it for up to 80% of what you can handle. Try pushing your hands through the floor, squeeze your glutes, and exhale all the air out of your belly on each breath. This may decrease your average plank time and that’s okay, you’ll get more out of each plank. After you’re done with that set, get 30 jumping jacks before you do your next plank. Rest as much as needed between your jumping jacks and planks, but challenge yourself and see how many rounds you can get in 30 minutes.

PFP WANTS TO HELP!

And remember you can always try personal training with me! While your fitness goals, injuries, health history, and path in life are unique to you, personal trainers here at the Pittsburgh Fitness Project can guarantee that we hold you accountable when it comes to reaching your goals. As part of this process, we have instituted monthly fitness assessments for all clients so they can track progress, reassess goals and add new ones. Schedule your free fitness evaluation today by clicking here! Let’s get started.

Happy Exercising!

SANDOR KOPPANYI: PFP Trainer: BS ACE-CPT Peak Pilates