Every now and then you will come across a blog and see someone writing about how lazy they are or that they only work 2 hours a day because they’re too tired. There’s really no excuse for that. My post today is going to provide you with a few easy, yet effective home workouts you can do in under 15 minutes. They’ll give you energy and help you start off the day with a fresh feeling. The summer after I graduated college, I worked as a personal trainer at a local country club and studied exercise physiology in school. So if you have any questions, shoot me a message on MSN.

Disclaimer - If you don’t know what some of these exercises are, or need more details either ask me or google it. 

Exercise 1 - Crunches / Sit Ups - core abs

One of the easiest exercises to perform at home. You need no equipment. Lay your body flat on the floor and put your hands by your ears (if you put them behind your head you might be tempted to use your arms to pull your head up and strain your neck). Contract your ab muscles in a basic crunch. You can do full sit ups too if you have someone/something to hold your feet down. Do a set of crunches for 1 minute. Be sure to count how many you do as a form of measurement/improvement. After the 1 minute is up, rest for 30 seconds and go again. Each minute you’re doing a crunch is called a ’set’. Do 3 sets of crunches every morning with 30 seconds rest.

Exercise 2 - Reverse Crunch - lower abs

You’ll need to find something to hold onto, possibly one of the legs from your bed or desk. Lay your body flat on the ground and grab the desk leg behind your head. Swing your legs up and stop them when they are completely perpendicular to the ground. Your body should look like a big L. Do this for 1 minute, with 30 seconds rest. Count your reps and try to improve them. Do 3 sets total.

Exercise 3 - Pushups - chest and arms

The push up is the best overall home exercise you can do in my opinion. I’m assuming everyone knows how to do a push up. With this exercise we will do a super set. Do as many pushups as you can in 30 seconds. As soon as that time ends, move to the push up stance but on your knees instead of your toes. Don’t rest between this. Do another set until 30 seconds is up. That is a superset. Do 3 them (rest 30 seconds in between each superset). Be sure to count!

Exercise 4 - Dips - triceps 

Most beds have a mattress and a box spring. I usually do this exercise by putting my hands in between the mattress and box spring, the guy in the picture is using a chair. When you workout at home, use what you have. With a dip, start with your arms extended, and then lower yourself till your elbows are at 90 degrees. Do as many as you can for 1 minute, then rest for 30 seconds. Do 3 sets total.

So there you have it. 4 very easy, very quick exercises you can do at home in 15 minutes. You have no excuse now to ever be tired or lazy. These exercises will get the blood flowing and give you a good feeling to start your day off. These exercises are not hard, but will make you tired (unless you work out constantly already).

If you want something more advanced, check out any of these sites for more routines:

 

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