No Time to Workout? Try These 10-Minute Exercise Routines

Everyone knows that exercise is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. But what if you have no time to workout? Between work, family, friends, and hobbies - scheduling an hour to work out daily can feel like a hassle.

Even if you are in the habit of exercising, sometimes finding time to get to the gym seems impossible. Thankfully, you don’t need to spend an hour lifting weights or running on a treadmill to get the benefits of exercise.

These 10 daily exercise routines are designed to get your heart pumping in 10 minutes or less! Keep reading for the benefits of a quick workout and other ways you can incorporate exercise into your day.

Benefits of Short Workouts

A 10-minute workout may not seem like enough time to workout to get the benefits of regular exercise. But short, intense workouts do have their advantages. Namely, they help you get into the habit of exercising regularly and get your heart pumping.

A few more benefits of regular exercise include improved mood, weight loss, increased strength and flexibility, more energy, and greater longevity.

A 2019 study showed that breaking your exercise into short bouts of 10 minutes has the same benefits as a continuous workout. The benefits for blood pressure, insulin levels, fat loss, and blood sugar levels were the same in groups that exercised continuously and those that exercised little by little.

10 Short Daily Exercise Routines

The number one reason people don’t exercise is that they don’t think they have time to workout. These 10-minute exercise routines are easy to add to your daily routine. Try incorporating one per day or several over the day.

You will only need access to a timer and a little room to spread out for these workouts!

1. Heart Pumping Workout

For this heart-pumping workout, you will incorporate a few cardio moves to increase your heartbeat and circulation. Cardio is designed to cause repetitive contractions in the large muscle groups to raise your heart rate and make you break a sweat.

For this workout, do each exercise for 1 minute, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat all five moves.

Heart-Pumping Workout

Jumping jacks
Burpees
Plank in-and-outs
Air squats

When compared with sedentary non-joggers, people who engaged in an hour to 2.5 hours of cardiovascular activity a week were shown to have a 30% lower mortality rate. Do this routine 6 days a week, or find other ways to get your heart pumping, for increased benefits!

2. Focus on Fat Loss

One of the main reasons why people decide to start exercising is weight loss. After cardio, interval training is considered the most efficient way to lose weight with exercise. Interval training is when you engage in high-intensity activity followed by a short period of rest.

For this workout, do each exercise listed below for 45 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest.

Focus on Fat Loss Interval Workout

Push-ups
Crunches
Mountain climbers
Plank hold
Squats
High knees
Lunges
Bicycle
Plank chest taps
Wall sit
Tricep dips

If working out in short intervals works for you, you may want to consider HIIT (high-intensity interval training). HIIT workouts are about 20 to 30 minutes long and are considered the best way to get maximum benefits with minimal time. Repeat this exercise twice a day for maximum fat loss.

3. Kill that Core

“Core” is a term that describes the muscles around the trunk of your body including the abdominals, lower back, hips, and pelvis. These muscles are essential for balance and stability, without which most other forms of exercise would be dangerous or extremely difficult.

This workout engages all the muscles of the core to support healthy movement. Rest for 15 seconds between each exercise.

Kill that Core Workout

45-second plank hold
30-second side plank hold, both sides
45-second prone superman lifts
45-second Russian twists
45-second bicycle crunches
45-second alternating arm-leg plank

Working out the core is essential for a well-rounded fitness program. Without a strong core, you are more susceptible to injury and will likely have poor posture. Add core to your exercise routines at least one day of the week!

4. Burn that Booty

The glutes are another important stabilizing muscle that makes movement smoother and easier. They keep the pelvis aligned, without which would cause strain to the lower back and spine. Over time, poor alignment in the pelvis may also result in injuries in the upper back and legs.

For this workout, do each exercise for 45 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest.

Burn that Booty Workout

Bridge
Fire hydrants
Donkey kick
Sumo squats
Alternating lunges

Training the major muscle groups - like your glutes - is also beneficial for reversing age-related bone-density loss. As you get older, your body begins to lose bone faster than new bone is formed. Strong bones will help you retain stability, flexibility, and strength as you age.

5. Beginner Full-Body Break Down

If you are new to working out, 10-minute short daily exercises are an easy way to start sweating without a gym membership.

You will want to make sure to incorporate exercises that work out the whole body. To do so, you can either do a full body workout every day or work a different area of the body every day of the week. Many trainers recommend full-body workouts if you are only going to work out for three days or fewer.

For this workout, do each exercise for 30 seconds, rest for 15, then repeat.

Beginner Full-Body Workout

Push-ups
Crunches
Squats
Plank jacks
Alternating lunges

Beginners often make the mistake of working out too much, too fast. They burn themselves out after a month and then stop working out altogether. To avoid beginner burnout, make sure to give your body ample time to rest and recover - especially as you begin to increase workout intensity.

6. Intermediate Full-Body Burn

Getting used to the same exercise routine sets a dangerous precedent within the body. For one, you may not be working all the smaller supporting muscles, which could result in an injury. For another, you need to increase intensity and repetitions over time to build muscle and strength.

For this workout, do each exercise for 45 seconds, rest for 15, then repeat.

Intermediate Full-Body Workout

Pistol squats (onto a block or couch), both sides
Hollow rocks
Walking lunge
Side plank pulse, both sides
Push-ups

Building intensity and repetitions as exercises become easier is called progressive overload. As you start to grow comfortable with these 10-minute exercise routines, you may want to add weights or repetitions to continue to challenge your body.

7. Toned & Weightless Arms

The arms are an oft-neglected muscle group for both beginners and experienced gymgoers. You use your arms to perform many of your everyday tasks, from carrying in the groceries to cleaning the house. Dedicating a day to working out your arms also allows other parts of the body to rest and recover.

For this workout, do each exercise for 45 seconds, rest for 15, then repeat.

Toned & Weightless Arm Workout

Chest press pulses
Tricep dips
Push-ups
Arm circles, switch circle direction halfway through
Downward dog to high plank

If you work out less than three days a week, you can add arm strengthening moves to squats and lunges. For example, a squat into a shoulder press with weights. Exercises that use multiple muscle groups are called compound exercises.

8. Back to Basics

Proper posture is essential for health. It prevents muscle tension, pain, and fatigue, while also increasing energy and confidence. The back muscles balance out the core, and together they help you to maintain a healthy posture.

For this workout, do each exercise for 45 seconds, rest for 15, then repeat.

Back to Basics Workout

Deadlifts
Scapular wall slides
Walnut crushers
Prone superman lifts
Upright rows

Good posture also helps you breathe more effectively. Deep breaths are linked to many benefits including less stress, a slower heart rate, and lower blood pressure. Try incorporating one day of back exercises to improve your posture and stability!

9. No-Sweat to Balance

The counterpoint to strengthening your muscles is increased flexibility. Strength and flexibility are like two sides of the same coin, you cannot have one without the other. Balancing exercises are often compound exercises that work more than one of the major muscle groups.

Do each exercise for 30 seconds on each side then rest for 30 seconds between exercises. Repeat the whole routine twice all the way through.

No-Sweat to Balance Workout

Tree pose
Standing to Warrior 3
Plank hold, lifting opposite arm and leg
Standing toe raises

Increasing your balance and stability is especially important as you age. Muscle strength, joint range of motion, reaction time, and bone density naturally decrease after the age of 30. You can reduce the risk of falling by introducing balancing exercises to your workout routines as early as possible.

10. Not-So-Standard Squat Challenge

Adding squats to your daily exercise routines is essential for a well-rounded workout. This not-so-standard squat challenge incorporates five different types of squats to work all the muscles of your legs and leave your booty burning.

For this workout, do each exercise for 30 seconds then rest for second seconds. Finish the sequence and then repeat!

Not-So-Standard Squat Workout

Air squats
Jump squat
Sumo squats
Chair squat hold
Bulgarian split squats

Squats strengthen the lower body and spine, as well as improve confidence and appearance. Try this 10-minute squat workout three times a week for an added glute-building challenge.

Other Short Exercise Options

Sometimes exercises like those listed in the daily exercise routines above can be tedious. You may not be in the mood for a typical workout or you might be tired of doing the same sort of exercise routine every day.

Your daily movement doesn’t have to incorporate exercises to get your heart pumping and sweat flowing.

A few ways to get moving without exercises include:

Go for a walk in the morning
Short, pre-bedtime yoga routines
Seated stretching at your work desk
Clean the house
Work in the garden
Dance around your kitchen as you cook
Stretch in the shower
Ride your bike to work

Get creative with your workouts. Mixing up your routine is the best way to keep yourself motivated until exercise becomes a habit rather than an obligation. You may also prevent potential injuries by resting the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that consistently work during your exercise routine.

Burnout is a common problem for beginners, but also for those who exercise all the time. Fatigue, muscle tension and pain, and lack of motivation cause you to stop working out altogether. When it comes to exercise, consistency is better than intensity.

Make Exercise a Habit

To create consistency in your workout routines, you need to make exercise a habit. Building healthy habits is increasingly pointed to as a means of living a healthier, happier life. The art of healthy habit building includes four simple steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.

The cue is a trigger for your brain to exercise. A good cue could be exercising at the same time every day or setting an alarm to start working out.

Many gym enthusiasts claim to crave exercise after doing it for several weeks or months. But when you are just starting, you might need to adjust your idea of craving. You can instigate a craving for exercise by only doing workouts that you enjoy and starting small so that you do not get discouraged by difficult routines or sore muscles.

The response is the act of exercising. You reinforce good habits by documenting your successes. A few ways to document your response is by keeping a gym diary.

The reward for exercise is both felt and seen. Exercise naturally boosts endorphins, improving your mood and energy. You might lose weight or increase your muscle tone.

But before you see or feel the results, you may want to figure out an easy reward for getting to the gym. Examples include a warm bath, an afternoon of watching tv, or a nice fruit smoothie.