A Quick 10 Minute Fat-Burning Bedtime Workout to Get Fit and Fabulous

If you are too busy to stick to a workout plan or just can't find it in you to make it through an hour-long sweat session, here's help. 

Getting 30 minutes of physical activity is important to burn fat and make sure your bodily functions are at their healthiest best. Althea Shah, fitness expert and influencer, Énergie Fitness India shares a relaxing evening workout that will not cause you sleepless nights and still get in a good burn.    

 

 

 

 

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She says, "Working out late at night affects your sleep. High-intensity workouts increase your body temperature which takes at least 1 to 1.5 hours to return to normal levels. But again, everybody is different. So, if you enjoy the late-night workouts, and it doesn’t interfere with the rest of your routine, then go ahead and do it. While high-intensity cardio workouts and field games should be done at least 2 hours before bedtime, you can do weight training, yoga and some stretches or even light jogging instead without raising your adrenaline levels."

So, if you have just 10 minutes to exercise, she suggests a quick set of circuit training that fits the bill: 

Warmup:

Start with a warmup for 2 mins – March in place and add some arm movements – up and down or circling the arms.

Main workout:

Althea says, "If you are a beginner, you can do 2 exercises for 15 seconds each followed by 30 seconds rest. Do about 5-6 reps of this. Later on, you can slowly increase to at least 3-4 different exercises continuously – about 15 seconds each. One set will be about 45-50 seconds long, followed by 10 seconds rest. Do about 3-5 rounds of this."

You can pick from these exercises, and alternate them at intervals.

Jumping Jacks - Standing straight with your feet together, jump and move your feet apart, then jump and bring them back in. Arms can come out to shoulder height or overhead.

Spot Jogging with high knees – Jog in place while lifting your knees high in front of you. 

Squats - Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointed forward, sit back as if you are going to sit in a chair, hold for a second, then—leading with your hips—come back to standing.

Squats and jumps – From the squat position push yourself upwards in a burst jump, then go back to the squat position.

Lunges – Standing straight with hands-on your hops, step forward, lowering your back knee toward the ground. Hold and step back.  Repeat with the other leg.

Push-ups – Get down in a plank position on a mat on your toes, military-style with your hands near your chest. Bend the elbows and lower your chest to the floor, then push it back up.  

Burpees - From the push-up position, push yourself up into a jump and get back to the plank position.

Mountain climbers - From the plank position, balance yourself on your hands. Lift your leg and move your knees to the chest from under the body. Then take it back alternating the legs. All this is a fast-paced movement resembling a climb uphill.

Step-ups - Stand in front of the step or small bench with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Step on the step with one leg. Pull yourself up and tap on the bench with the other leg so both feet are on the bench. Step down and alternate.