I know it can be easy to get caught up in the ALL or Nothing mindset of exercise, especially this time of year.  We think if we don’t have a full hour in our day to go to the gym and get a workout in, that we might as well skip it.

However, I’m a true believer that SOMETHING is better than NOTHING!  If you could only do 10 minutes/day, wouldn’t 70 minutes total time in a week be better than 0 minutes, if you did nothing?

That’s why I really like the program my friend, Jen Sinkler, created called Lift Weights Faster.  I’ve been using it a lot lately, especially while I was traveling over the holidays, to stay consistent with my exercise.  There’s workouts ranging from 5 – 30 minutes.  Short, quick, effective, & DONE!

Details on how to purchase the program and receive some FREE BONUSES that I’m giving away at the end of this post!

But first… check out one of Jen’s awesome workouts from the program, as well as, some advice on how to enjoy the journey as you strive for your exercise goals this year!

The Ten-Four: A Lift Weights Faster Workout

Guest Post by Jen Sinkler

As we roll into a fresh calendar year, I have New Year’s resolutions on my mind. But not for the reasons you might think. New Year’s resolutions, like other goals, are great. They can be critical for giving us more direction and something to strive for. Like hopping into a car for a road trip, your journey will be a lot more successful if you have a destination in mind. But goals aren’t the only things that matter. In between your current location and that faraway destination is all the distance you have to travel.

It’s as simple a concept for life as it is on a road trip: you can’t get to your destination without the journey.

Maybe because we don’t normally have to physically hop in a car when it comes to goals, it’s all too easy to forget about the journey. When it comes to changing a habit or starting a new one, it’s so easy to forget that we can’t achieve our resolution goals without doing the work along the way.

This is where my conditioning library, Lift Weights Faster 2, is a game-changer. It won’t get you out of doing the work to reach your goals, but it will make the work a lot less daunting and a lot more fun. Got 5 minutes today? Then you have the time to join me! Doing just a little bit — 5 minutes, 10, or 30 — as often as you can matters. It all matters. It all counts.

Focus on what you can do right now, and you might even learn to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Here’s a Workout From the Lift Weights Faster Program

Name: The Ten-Four

Motto: Four exercises every 10 minutes. Copy that.  

Suggested Equipment: Just your bod.

Instructions: Do as many rounds as pretty (AMRAP) of each circuit in 5 to 10 minutes before moving on to the next. Take breaks as needed (but try to take them at the bottom of the rounds).

Suggested Time: 20 Minutes

Bodyweight Squat Thrust 

• Stand tall with your arms at your sides.
• Squat down quickly and plant both hands on the ground just in front of your feet.
• Once you’ve securely planted your hands, quickly hop both feet back to a straight-arm plank position.
• Immediately after your feet touch the ground, hop them back up to your hands.
• Stand up completely and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Bodyweight Reverse Lunge 

• Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Take a large step backward with one foot, lowering your hips under control.
• Return to standing by “pulling” your body up through the front heel. Repeat.
• Complete all repetitions on one side before switching legs, or alternate legs.

Bodyweight Pushup

• Start facing the floor in a straight-arm plank position with your body elevated between your hands and toes.
• Line up your hands directly under your shoulders, just wider than your rib cage.
• With a stiff core and squeezed glutes, lower your body down as far as you can control,
  angling your elbows out to no more than 45 degrees. Don’t let your low back sag.
• If you’re unable to complete a full pushup, scale the movement by elevating your hands onto a step, box, or railing.

Bodyweight Crunch 

• Lie on your back with knees bent comfortably and your shoulder blades against the floor.
• Curl upward from your midsection until your shoulders are slightly elevated off the floor.
• Control the roll back downward by letting your upper back down vertebrae by vertebrae until you’re back to the start position. Repeat.
• Avoid neck pain by lightly tucking your chin, imagining that you are holding a softball between your chin and neck.

Bodyweight Star Jump

• From a standing position, quarter-squat down to load the legs, then reverse the movement and jump as high as possible.
• At the top of the jump extend your arms out and overhead while extending legs out partially to the sides. Your body will resemble a splayed-out starfish.
• Land as quietly as possible, knees tracking over feet and lowering into a partial squat as soon as your feet hit the ground.
• Explode back up from the landing position of the previous squat, extending arms and legs and once again landing softly in a partial squat. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Bodyweight Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift 

• From a standing position, shift your weight into one leg and lift the opposite foot off the ground just behind you. Your planted leg should have a slight bend in the knee.
• Keeping your chest up, push your hips back and raise extend your leg back behind you. Your chest will drop as you reach the lifted leg back.
• When you reach the end of the range of motion — typified by a pull in the hamstrings or a change in back position — reverse the movement and stand up.
• Regain your balance by tapping the elevated leg down as needed.

Bodyweight Sit-Through 

• Starting on your hands and knees, rise up onto your toes and tighten your core.
• Rotate your body by reaching your left hand up to your chest while passing your right leg through the space under your torso.
• Rotate as far as you feel comfortable while able to support your weight with your left shoulder.
• Reverse the movement, pulling your right leg back to the starting position.
• Then, lift your right arm while weaving your left leg through the space under your torso.
• Alternate from side to side.

Bodyweight Superperson 

• Lie on your stomach with arms stretched overhead.
• Arch your back and lift your chest off the floor, simultaneously squeezing your glutes so that your feet and lower legs lift off the ground at the same time. Lower your arms and legs back to the floor and repeat.
• Don’t overreach or look up to avoid straining your neck.

Ready to Lift Weights…Faster?

If you’re looking to amp up your conditioning in creative and productive ways, I’ve put together a mammoth 180-workout pick-and-choose library called Lift Weights Faster 2. Complete with a full exercise glossary that includes written descriptions and photographic demonstrations of nearly 270 exercises (from classic moves to more unusual ones — the Jefferson deadlift, anyone?), a video library that includes coaching on 30 of the more technical lifts, 10 challenge-workout videos, plus a dynamic warm-up routine, I’ve combined my training and athletic experience with my long background in magazine publishing to create a clear-cut, easy-to-use resource that you’ll want to turn to all the time.

Every workout is organized by the equipment you have available and how much time you’ve got, with options that last anywhere from five up to 30 minutes.

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention I teamed up with my husband, David Dellanave, to create a strength program companion resource called Get Stronger Faster 2 to help you take your strength level to the next level. This completes the total workout package and helps you get results, faster.

For More Info & To Purchase: Click HERE.

Jen Sinkler, RKC II, PCC, PM, USAW, is a longtime fitness writer for national magazines such as Women’s Health and Men’s Health. A former member of the U.S. national women’s rugby team, she currently trains clients at The Movement Minneapolis. Jen talks about all things strength at her website, http://www.UnapologeticallyStrong.com.

******FREE BONUSES******

When you purchase Lift Weights Faster from the link HERE, I’m going to send you a copy of my FREE Lean Eating Guide.  Because we all know we can’t train at our best without being properly fueled!

In this guide you’ll find:

– What to Remove From Your Cabinets for Fat-Loss Success
– What Foods to Choose So That You Feel Satiated & Satisfied
– Quick, Simple, and Easy Tips to Follow at Each Meal
– Grocery Shopping Lists and Ideas + More

I’m also going to send you:

A 4-week workout schedule of MY favorite LWF workouts.  I’ve chosen the easiest ones to get started with and created a 3x/week calendar to follow.  With 180 workouts to choose from, it can feel a little overwhelming at first, so this will help you get started.