Yes, it’s important to hit all your muscles if your goal is complete, functional strength. But doing a 10-minute arms and abs workout can be a smart option on days when you’re short on time.
In fact, the combination of arms and abs can be an especially efficient routine. This is because the split approach into separate muscle groups means one can work while the other rests. Then you can switch up without having to take a ton of downtime, like you might have to do with a routine that focuses on one area (like a leg workout, for example). This allows you to end your session quickly and accomplish a lot in a short period of time.
Created for SELF by certified personal trainer Alicia Jamison, MA, trainer at Bodyspace Fitness and professor of exercise physiology at Brooklyn College, the arms and abs workout below is a solid pick if you literally only have 10 minutes to work out. but you still want to make the most of that time.
This five-move circuit begins with the bear crawl, a core stabilization move that’s likely to get your heart rate up, Jamison tells SELF. Next, you’ll do the bent-over row, which will activate your arms and back, and hopefully lower your heart rate a bit so you don’t pass out too quickly, he explains. Next up is the Russian twist, a dynamic seated core exercise that will allow your back to rest a bit after the row while challenging your obliques (the muscles on the sides of your torso). The next move, the alternating overhead press, will engage your shoulders, chest, and triceps. And the final exercise, the side plank with reach, will fire up your core and give you a moment to take a few active breaths before jumping back into bear walk, says Jamison.
Do this exercise and you’ll get muscular endurance work as well as sneaky cardio. The last aspect comes from the ratio of low rest (20 seconds) to high work (40 seconds), which means you’ll spend most of your time moving your body and very little time fully recovering, probably leaving you a bit breathless. . Plus, including intense, dynamic movements will further challenge your cardiovascular system, says Jamison.
Plus, you can modify the speed at which you perform the exercises to achieve different goals: if you want to emphasize cardio, go at a brisk pace (just make sure your form stays on point). If you want to focus on muscular endurance, slow down. Everything depends on you!
You can do this workout up to twice a week if you do it as a stand-alone routine, or up to three times if you add it to another workout that works other muscle groups, says Jamison. However you schedule it, be sure to leave at least a day in between so your muscles have time to recover.
