Here in Washington, we’re so busy it often feels like we barely have time to eat and sleep, let alone squeeze in a workout. Local personal trainers are well aware of this problem, so they have a few calorie-burning tricks up their sleeves. For those who are supremely crunched for time, read on for both exercises and daily activities that can burn 100 calories (or more!) in five minutes to an hour.
Run stairs for five minutes.
Take a break from the desk and run stairs for five minutes or walk briskly for ten. Either way, you will burn 100 calories and develop lower body strength and cardiovascular capacity, says trainer and founder of MyBootcamp Grant Hill.
Do jump squats with weights for five minutes.
Laurent Amzallag, founder of YaLa Fitness, calls this exercise his “sexy squat” routine. Hold free weights in your hands. Squat down, then jump up to the right. Squat again, then jump up to the left. By holding the weights, Amzallag says, you’ll add more resistance and thus burn more calories in the process. Adding some dance moves on your way down to a squat will burn even more calories. Do this 15 times on each side. Repeat this sequence for five minutes and you’ll be 100 calories lighter.
Do two sets of Bosu burpees.
Effervescence Training Studio’s Elizabeth Brooks’s favorite high-intensity exercise is the burpee with a twist. Place a Bosu ball on the floor with the platform facing up. While performing a burpee, use the BOSU to perform a pushup. Do two sets of 20 reps each and burn 100 calories.
Jump rope for ten minutes.
Jumping rope as a workout certainly isn’t as pleasant an activity as it was growing up. Still, it’s one of the easiest ways to blast calories and increase cardiovascular endurance. To really feel the burn, change up your skips by hopping on one foot for a minute and then switching, doing high-knees in place, or by running forward or backward–all while still jumping rope.
Do pushups for ten minutes.
There aren’t many of us who can do pushups for ten minutes straight, but it doesn’t hurt (too much) to build your way up to this. Pushups can burn 96 calories in ten minutes, says Brooks.
Decrease your rest time to 30 seconds.
Whether you’re doing weight-resistance or circuit training, John A. Morris of ProFit says to rest for 30 seconds between sets rather than one to two minutes. This will keep your heart rate up and those calories burning. While it’s difficult to calculate how long it takes to burn 100 calories while lifting weights, you’re sure to burn more by combining two or more exercises into one. Try squatting while holding weights, then rising and pressing the weights.
Garden for 30 minutes.
“Gardening is an incredible exercise,” Brooks says. From digging, pruning, and weeding to building a new garden bed, you can burn a minimum of 150 calories in 30 minutes.
Go grocery shopping for an hour.
Every 15 minutes of a shopping trip, which includes pushing the cart, loading items into the cart, and carrying heavy bags to the car or into the house can burn approximately 110 calories, Brooks says. “If you are like me and spend an hour doing this household task, you can burn at least 400 amazing calories.”
