By Emily

I don’t know about you, but as a busy Mom I don’t have a whole lot of time to dedicate to my workouts.  Many mornings after my devotion, returning urgent emails and answering Momsanity sisters questions on our closed Facebook group I have 15 or 20 minutes before Mommy duty starts.

Does that mean I just decide not to exercise or wait until “later” (later never comes by the way).  Heck No!  I go for it- all out- 20 minutes and done.

Here are some of my top tips for getting or staying in great shape in a short amount of time:

1.  Do compound exercises.  Rather than just a squat or an overhead press combine the two together for a Squat Press.  Using multiple muscle groups at once increases your energy needs (think fat burned) and strengthens those muscle groups too.

2.  Use Heavy Weights.  Yes we talk about this constantly, BUT so many women are still terrified of “bulking up”.  Here’s a secret.  You’ll only bulk up if your nutrition is off.  I’m not one to recommend diet plans, but if you think you can out train poor nutrition you’re just plain wrong.  You can’t have your cake and eat it too. WELL- mabye if you’re in your twenties you can pull that off, but once the big 3-0 hits all bets are off.  Similar to #1 when we challenge our bodies and REST because we reach failure we release powerful fat-burning hormones.  Allow yourself to rest!

3.  Sprint.  I used to run.  A lot.  I still enjoy running, but I run fast. You can sprint in unlimited modes and methods.  On an incline (great for the glutes too!), on a flat surface, on a recumbent bike, on a rowing machine or even an elliptical machine.  You don’t need much time to kill it.  You an sprint in timed intervals or for a chosen distance.  Start with equal work and rest periods.  For example Sprint 30 seconds recover 30 seconds.  As your fitness improves increase your work periods and decrease your rest periods. For example, sprint 1 minute and recover 30 seconds.

4.  AMRAP.  Short for “As Many Rounds As Possible” this is one of my favorites.  Choose 4 or 5 exercises and see how many times you can repeat the circuit in 15 or 20 minutes.  Repetition equals results.  Yes I know that workouts that don’t repeat anything are fun, but if you’re looking for results then repeating a circuit 3 to 5 times is usually your best bet for achieving muscle failure.

5.  Blitz.  Set an alarm for 1 minute to 90 seconds.  Choose a challenging exercise like burpees or squat jumps and see how many you can accomplish during this short time period resting as needed.  Rest for one minute then do the same thing with a different exercise.

6.  EDT.  Short for Escalating Density Training this is when you choose a time period- say 5 minutes and do 5 reps of two different exercises in a repeating circuit or superset.  For example:  Set your timer for 3 minutes and alternate 5 reps of Chest Press followed by 5 Triceps Dips.  Rest as much as needed then move on to another circuit.

All of this sound exciting but not sure where to start?  Our Momsanity Sisterhood is a perfect place.  Our workouts are all under 20 minutes and they are EFFECTIVE!  We won’t waste your time and you don’t have to think about what in the world your workout will be today!  Enjoy the Below workout and check out the Sisterhood HERE.