My Simple 20 Minute Workout Routine

It’s been five months since I started exercising regularly. I’ve exercised 6 days a week on average! From home! No gym membership even.

I’m actually quite impressed with myself since I’ve tried over and over to work out more with little or short-lived success.

You might want to check out these other posts about fitness and working out:

How to Motivate Yourself to Workout

8 Tips for Living a More Active Lifestyle

How to Enjoy Exercise – Even If You’re Not Sporty

So let’s get into exactly what my daily 20-minute workout looks like:

My routine might work for you if:

• You want to burn some calories
• You want to develop the habit of doing something to get moving every day
• You want to gain some lean muscle
• You want to get your heart rate up
• You don’t have an hour to spend at the gym
• You want to exercise at home without buying tons of equipment

My whole routine can be done without any equipment. Over time, I have acquired a few things for my home gym living room that I love. Here’s my favorite gear:

My Simple 20 Minute Workout Routine:

Day One: Strength Exercises

I do 3 different 5-minutes sections with a minute or two to catch my breath and get a drink in between. You’ll be surprised how much you can get out of breath and work your muscles in 5 minutes!

I set a timer for 5 minutes and do as much as I can in that time.

Section One:

Jumping Jacks, Lunges, Squats, Sumo Squats, High Knees

Section Two:

Planks, Donkey Kicks, Bridges, Bicycles Crunches, Russian Twists, Clamshells

Section Three:

Push-ups, Arm Strengthening with 3lb Weights

If you don’t know what any of these moves are, I recommend googling them. You should be able to find instructions or even a video of how to do each move.

I mix up these exercises here and there, but try to keep a good balance of legs, butt, core, and arm exercises.

Pinterest is a great source of bodyweight exercises if you need some new ideas. I’ve also been really inspired by following some fitness Instagrammers. Plus, I’m loving these bodyweight exercise cards I just got.

Day Two: Light Cardio

Day two is for 20 minutes of light cardio. You should get your heart rate up a little but not so much that you can’t carry on a conversation.

We have an exercise bike that I ride for 20-25 minutes on day two. I usually try to do 5 miles on the bike while I watch some Netflix.

If you are looking for a budget-friendly exercise bike, I highly recommend this one. It’s completely silent and folds up. We’ve had ours for 2 years with no problems. Love it!

Other ideas would be:

• A bike ride outside
• A light, 20-minute run
• A medium-intensity workout DVD
• Swimming laps
• Water aerobics
• Yard work – We did 2 hours of yard work last weekend and o my goodness, I was sore. That definitely counted as light cardio!
• A hike with moderate hills
• An extra-long walk is also a great option!

Repeat

This is my whole routine!

It’s just 20 minutes a day. Every other day is strength exercises and then light cardio.

If I get bored of my routine, I mix it up with a different kind of cardio or new strength exercises. It’s also fun to try a new workout DVD here and there. And now that the weather is getting nicer, I’m excited to ride my bike outside and go swimming.

Bonus: It’s not uncommon for me to watch Netflix while I do my workout every day. And since I was probably going to watch TV anyways, my workout isn’t inconveniencing me at all. 🙂 I’ve found that exercise just doesn’t happen if it’s inconvenient, no matter how committed you are in the beginning.

Let’s Talk About A Rest Day

Do I plan for a rest day every week? NO.

Let me explain:

Almost every week, something comes up that makes it so I don’t have time to exercise or I don’t feel good enough to exercise. If that happens, I don’t work out that day and it becomes a rest day.

I don’t plan for a specific rest day each week, because I know something will come up and the rest day will just happen out of necessity.

Example: If I planned to rest every Saturday and then I got super busy on Tuesday and didn’t exercise… Then I would have taken two rest days. It’s easier for me to plan on working out every day. Then when something comes up, I take a rest day and don’t worry about it.

⇒ What’s your exercise routine? Do have a favorite fitness class or DVD?