4 Minutes Of Exercise Is All You Need To Get Fitter In A Month
Image: Shutterstock
Whether you’re an athlete, a gym buff, or someone whose only cardio is to run back-to-back movie marathons, you can’t escape the need to be fit. And now that the “F” word has been uttered, let’s take a minute to admit that we are all guilty of always looking for a shortcut to fitness. Have you been miserably failing at squeezing in those long gym hours amidst your work life and personal life?
Well, here’s some good news for you then. You don’t need to put in hours of exercising to get fit, 4 minutes is all you need! Sometimes 24 hours isn’t enough, but until we find a magical way to add more hours to a day, we need to make peace with the limited time to balance it all out— work, play, and slay. And fitness comes only to those who make time for it. Seems like you just got lucky, because here’s a list of some 4-minute amazing workouts that will leave you looking fit and fabulous in just 4 weeks.
1. Need A Full Body-Sculpting Quickie?
We present to you the good old plank. A few seconds into the posture and your body starts crying out sweat. Also, you feel the pinch almost everywhere — lower back muscles, the abdominal muscles, the chest, the arms, the triceps and biceps, the glutes, the thighs, and the calves. (Did we miss anything?) The longer that you’re able to pull off a plank, the fitter you get (1). The key is to be consistent and maintain the correct form and posture.
- Lie down on your stomach and face the ground. Now, remember that the plank position demands only your toes and hands (till your elbows) to be in contact with the ground. The rest of your body is off the ground.
- Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and ensure that the elbows are straight, so that it balances the weight of the body.
- Keep your legs slightly apart and make sure that your spine isn’t curved.
- Pull your buttocks up, tuck your tummy in, and breathe. Look straight while you hold the position.
- For starters, try holding the plank for 20 seconds. Repeat it once again if you think you can take another round of it.
Take it slow, but aim to increase the planking time. Increase your hold by 30 seconds after two days. The idea is to start at 30 seconds on day 1 and reach 240 seconds on day 28. This will make you physically stronger, and you will see a great deal of difference in your body.
2. Climb Your Way Up To Fitness
Here, all you have to do is to combine running and mountain climbing, and finish both in 4 minutes. No, no, we’re not crazy. Hear us out! Running is always a good exercise, but what do you do when you don’t have enough space to run? You do spot running. Similarly, no mountain? No problem! Stationary running and pseudo-mountain climbing comes to your rescue.
- Stand in a comfortable place and prepare yourself for a stationary run. You have to lift your knees up and move your hands just like you’re running but minus the forward motion. Do this for 10 seconds.
- Now get on your fours with your buttocks up in the air. Bring one leg up towards your chest, like a sprinter’s start position. Do this with alternative legs and quicken your pace. You should make sure that your palms are stuck to the ground while your legs are miming the climbing motion. Do this for 30 seconds.
- Repeat this set till you hit the 4-minute mark.
Doing this will increase your heartbeat and leave you sweating, inching you closer to a fit body.
3. Skip A Workout? No, Make Skipping Your Workout
Take a jumping rope and start jumping. It’s as simple as that. You can either jump with both your feet together or go crazy with alternate legs. But make sure that the rope is long enough so that you don’t get tangled in the jumpy mess. This workout is the simplest of the lot but will work your body from top to toe, in complete coordination (2).
4. A 4-minute Tabata Workout
Pick a couple of your favorite exercises and group them — like box jumps and squats, jumping jacks and pushups, or jumping lunges, your choice. And now set a timer for 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off. So, all you have to do is exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and then get back on your toes for the same. Do this madness for about 8 times in total. And that’s it! You’ll be exhausted, but in 4 weeks you’ll see the after magic effects of the Tabata regimen (3).
We really don’t need that expensive gym membership to get a rockstar body, do we? The road to fitness has never been this easy, right? In the time you took to read this post, you could have just finished one of these workouts. Try these workouts and tell us what you think!
