Workout #1

Walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to warm up. You can walk outdoors or on a treadmill, whichever you prefer.  Then perform one minute of lunges. Step forward with your right foot, then bend both knees so your back knee lowers almost to the ground. Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders rolled back and down, as if you were trying to put your shoulderblades in your back pockets.  Bring the back leg to meet the front and stand up, then lunge again with the left foot in front. Every time you bend your knees, perform a bicep curl, either with or without light hand weights (no more than five pounds.) Your elbows should remain at your sides as you raise your hands to your chest. Continue lunging for one minute.

After the lunges, walk or jog for 90 seconds.  Do as many push ups as you can in one minute. Focus on proper form, not the number of reps. Begin with your knees on the ground and your legs bent, with your feet in the air and your ankles crossed. As you become more fit, you can switch to regular plank pushups with your toes on the ground and your legs straight. Walk or jog for 90 seconds.

Those looking to lose weight and maximize exercise time will find many benefits to circuit training, in which you alternate between cardiovascular and strength training and perform weight-bearing exercises with your heart rate still elevated. Circuit training, also known as interval training, boosts your metabolism and keeps your workouts from becoming boring. Even if you’re brand new to exercise, you can start a circuit training routine today. As your level of physical fitness increases, you can adapt your workout to your needs by increasing the amount of time you exercise, the number of repetitions you do in a single set, or the amount of weight you lift. You need very little equipment for an effective circuit training workout, which makes it easy to do at home. Here are two beginner programs to get you started.

Workout #1

Walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to warm up. You can walk outdoors or on a treadmill, whichever you prefer.  Then perform one minute of lunges. Step forward with your right foot, then bend both knees so your back knee lowers almost to the ground. Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders rolled back and down, as if you were trying to put your shoulder blades in your back pockets.  Bring the back leg to meet the front and stand up, then lunge again with the left foot in front. Every time you bend your knees, perform a bicep curl, either with or without light hand weights (no more than five pounds.) Your elbows should remain at your sides as you raise your hands to your chest. Continue lunging for one minute.

After the lunges, walk or jog for 90 seconds.  Do as many push-ups as you can in one minute. Focus on proper form, not the number of reps. Begin with your knees on the ground and your legs bent, with your feet in the air and your ankles crossed. As you become more fit, you can switch to regular plank pushups with your toes on the ground and your legs straight. Walk or jog for 90 seconds.

After push-ups, lie on the floor or on an exercise ball. Bend your knees and rest your feet on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest. Perform as many abdominal crunches as you can in one minute.  Finally, walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to cool down.

Workout #2

Walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to warm up.  Then place a thick phone book on the floor and stand on one side of it. Bend your knees and jump sideways to clear the phone book and land on the other side. Jump sideways to land on the other side. Repeat for one minute. Walk or jog for 90 seconds. Perform bicep curls with hand weights for one minute and then walk or jog for 90 seconds.

Perform tricep kickbacks for one minute. Bend over at the waist with a weight in one hand. Keeping your upper arm next to your body, extend your lower arm behind you, then bend it again. Then walk or jog for 90 seconds. Repeat triceps kickbacks with the other arm and then walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to cool down.

After push ups, lie on the floor or on an exercise ball. Bend your knees and rest your feet on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest. Perform as many abdominal crunches as you can in one minute.  Finally, walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to cool down.

Workout #2

Walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to warm up.  Then place a thick phone book on the floor and stand on one side of it. Bend your knees and jump sideways to clear the phone book and land on the other side. Jump sideways to land on the other side. Repeat for one minute. Walk or jog for 90 seconds. Perform bicep curls with hand weights for one minute and then walk or jog for 90 seconds.

Perform tricep kickbacks for one minute. Bend over at the waist with a weight in one hand. Keeping your upper arm next to your body, extend your lower arm behind you, then bend it again. Then walk or jog for 90 seconds. Repeat tricep kickbacks with the other arm and then walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to cool down.

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Photo Credit:

• Young Woman Exercising by Ken Hurst from Fotolia.com