Now that December has arrived it can be harder to find time for exercise. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas your schedule fills up with work obligations and social gatherings & family visits. What you need is a fast equipment-free routine that gets your heart pumping when time is limited. This workout requires only some open space & 20 minutes & a pair of workout headphones. It works well when you are pressed for time at home or when you are traveling. Personal trainers Juice & Toya created this session as a low-impact routine that is gentle on your joints. This makes it suitable if your knees hurt or if you need to stay quiet. Many people assume that low-impact means easy but that is not always true. These workouts can still be challenging. Juice & Toya designed this as a high-intensity interval training workout where you control the difficulty by doing more during each interval.
There are nine exercises in this workout session but each one has two variations so you actually get 18 different moves. You will complete two full sets of everything. Each variation lasts 25 seconds with a five-second pause between them & then you get a 15-second rest before moving to the next exercise. The goal is to push yourself as hard as possible during those 25-second work periods. The instructors show you how to do each move before the timer begins. This is helpful if you are getting back into working out after some time off or if you just need to review the proper technique. You should focus on doing each exercise correctly rather than rushing through it. Good form helps you get better results and prevents injuries.
HIIT workouts work well when you have limited time. They are efficient and target multiple body parts at once. Keeping rest periods short elevates your heart rate and burns more calories during exercise while also increasing your metabolism throughout the entire day. These workouts are also flexible. If you need something easier you can slow down and do fewer repetitions. When you have extra energy & want to work harder you can speed up the movements while maintaining proper form.
Most HIIT routines allow you to modify rest periods but this particular workout from Juice & Toya already has minimal breaks. You should probably keep the five-second pauses & 15-second rests between exercises as they are. This session uses low-impact movements so it puts less stress on your joints and makes less noise since there is no jumping. This makes it perfect for working out quietly at someone else’s house.
It also works great if you want to maintain cardiovascular fitness without running. Intense workouts have their place but not all physical activity requires workout clothes and heavy sweating. Walking is another low-impact exercise that benefits both body and mind. Taking a 90-minute walk every morning has been one of the best decisions I have made. Getting to a park or green space is ideal but even city walking provides opportunities to practice mindfulness and move your body while enjoying yourself. The holiday season is actually a perfect time for this kind of gentle activity.
