The 15-Minute Fat Burning Workout for Busy People

Most people are torn between work and life balance and barely have enough time left to work-out properly!
Anyway you don’t need to become a gym rat to lose weight or burn fat. Instead, you need to commit to some short, high-intensity workouts that burn calories while also improving your mobility.

The 15-minute Fat-burning Workout: How It Works

We’re going to push hard and get a much-needed cardio and strength benefit.

We’ve designed this workout by alternating lower-body and upper-body movements, or pushing and pulling exercises.

By switching around your muscle groups, you won’t exhaust any specific muscles at the same time. You can take shorter rest intervals between exercises, push your cardiovascular system harder, and make the most of your time.

Do this workout as a circuit. Perform all six of the exercises consecutively, without rest.

Do two rounds total (or three, if you have the time and energy) first thing in the morning, and you’ll start to burn fat—and feel a sense of accomplishment before your chaotic day.

Joshua is a certified Personal Trainer and a Blogger,Fitness Consultant,Contributor of a number of seminars on performance and training.

1. Cat/Cow

Daniel Grill / Getty Images

Dedicate just a few moments to this familiar compound yoga move that improves shoulder and spine flexibility. It’s the perfect move to ease into this routine, and to give you a breather in rounds two (and, optionally, three) of the circuit.

How to Do It: Start on all fours with hands beneath your shoulders and knees on the ground. Inhale, dropping your chest as you push your hips and shoulder blades back into cow position.

Lift your chin and chest and gaze forward.

For cat, exhale as you draw your belly button to your spine and round your back toward the ceiling like a cat.

Prescription: 10 reps of each

2. Squat Jumps

James Michelfelder

How to Do It: Stand with feet just outside the shoulders and hangs behind your head. Squat, keeping your knees behind your toes. After holding this position for two seconds, jump vertically. Pull your toes to your shins in midair to prepare for landing. Be sure to land softly, with the hips back and down.

Prescription: 10 reps

3. Lateral Bound

James Michelfelder3 / 6

How to Do It: Stand on your right leg, with your left foot off the ground. Squat slightly on your right leg and use your leg and glute to jump laterally (to the left).

Land on the opposite leg, maintaining balance. Hold for three seconds. Repeat to the other side.

Prescription: 10 reps per side

4. Burpee

James Michelfelder

How to Do It: From a standing position, squat, place you hands on the ground, and “jump” your feet out into a pushup position. Perform a pushup, and then jump your feet to your hands. Then jump as high as you can, throwing your hands over your head.

Prescription: 10 reps

The 15-Minute Fat Burning Workout for Busy People

5. Mountain Climber

The Riker Brothers

How to Do It: This movement mimics mountain climbing. Think of the ground as your mountain. Start in pushup position, with the balls of your feet on the ground. Alternate driving your knees forward to their corresponding arms and keep your hips down for the entire motion.

Prescription: 30 reps per side

6. V-sit Crunch/V-Ups

How to Do It: Begin on your back with hands extended over your head. Lift your legs and crunch up at the same time, forming your body into the shape of a “V.” (Make sure you do both at the same time. By doing one ahead of the other, you sacrifice a lot of this movement’s effectiveness.) Exhale as you lift your legs, and crunch and inhale as you return to the starting position.

Prescription: 15 reps