Working Moms, executives, or a combination of both, it’s a huge challenge to find time to stay in shape even though when surveyed it was among the most highly rated of importance for New Year’s resolutions for women over 30. So why is it so tough to do? The explanation is simple, finding the time. So, we put together a straight-forward 30-minute workout that will take 10-15 pounds off your bod in a minimal amount of time.

To be clear, what you want from a workout like this is not to injure yourself, have some consistency with your workout, not require a lot of prep time, and most of all obtain noticeable results. Firstly, make sure have some space to work with and plenty of room to extend your legs and arms without interference. The concept of this workout is to work the full body so we’ll be pushing both arms and legs. These exercises and this routine is designed to take less than 30 minutes and can be done every day.

The workout always begins with a light stretch. I know you’ll want to jump right into it and get it over with but conversely, you never want an injury, as that is counterproductive on multiple fronts.

Exercise 1: You always want to work the larger muscles first so we start our workout with the legs. Squat Jacks are an excellent way to start. This will both get your cardio started meanwhile burning the fat where we often need it most, the butt and thighs. These are simple but effective, you start with your feet at about hip width, lower your body until your knees are bent at a 90-deree angle then explosively jump your legs outward, and then immediately jump to bring them back to the starting position. After only a few reps you will certainly feel the burn. 3 sets of 15 reps.

 

Exercise 2: The then move to lunges. We once again start in the standard position with our feet hip-wide apart. We then take a longer than normal step forward making sure your heel hits the floor first, make sure you aren’t leaning forward when you go towards the ground. Then leveraging that same foot push back up to the standard beginning position, then repeat the process with the other leg. Please not there should always be a little space between your feet when you lunge forward, DO NOT end up on the same line. 3 sets of 15 reps in succession.

 

Exercise 3: Now we begin to get the arms involved with another squat but this time we extend to an overhead press for 3 sets of about 15 reps each. If you have light dumbbells, they are ideal for the exercise. This is a compound exercise that will work the largest muscles in the body, the back and legs, while incorporating the arms. We also continue our elevated cardio workout and start the transition to the upper body part of the workout. The exercise begins by taking the dumbbells and holding them next to your shoulders. Then squat down towards the floor until your thighs are parallel to the floor, stand up again but raising your arms straight up to a full extension. This is one rep, once again we will do 3 sets of 15.