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My Simple 20 Minute Workout Routine

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My Simple 20 Minute Workout Routine

It’s been five months since I started exercising regularly. I’ve exercised 6 days a week on average! From home! No gym membership even.

I’m actually quite impressed with myself since I’ve tried over and over to work out more with little or short-lived success.

You might want to check out these other posts about fitness and working out:

How to Motivate Yourself to Workout

8 Tips for Living a More Active Lifestyle

How to Enjoy Exercise – Even If You’re Not Sporty

So let’s get into exactly what my daily 20-minute workout looks like:

My routine might work for you if:

  • You want to burn some calories
  • You want to develop the habit of doing something to get moving every day
  • You want to gain some lean muscle
  • You want to get your heart rate up
  • You don’t have an hour to spend at the gym
  • You want to exercise at home without buying tons of equipment

My whole routine can be done without any equipment. Over time, I have acquired a few things for my home gym living room that I love. Here’s my favorite gear:

My Simple 20 Minute Workout Routine:

Day One: Strength Exercises

I do 3 different 5-minutes sections with a minute or two to catch my breath and get a drink in between. You’ll be surprised how much you can get out of breath and work your muscles in 5 minutes!

I set a timer for 5 minutes and do as much as I can in that time.

Section One:

Jumping Jacks, Lunges, Squats, Sumo Squats, High Knees

Section Two:

Planks, Donkey Kicks, Bridges, Bicycles Crunches, Russian Twists, Clamshells

Section Three:

Push-ups, Arm Strengthening with 3lb Weights

If you don’t know what any of these moves are, I recommend googling them. You should be able to find instructions or even a video of how to do each move.

I mix up these exercises here and there, but try to keep a good balance of legs, butt, core, and arm exercises.

Pinterest is a great source of bodyweight exercises if you need some new ideas. I’ve also been really inspired by following some fitness Instagrammers. Plus, I’m loving these bodyweight exercise cards I just got.

Day Two: Light Cardio

Day two is for 20 minutes of light cardio. You should get your heart rate up a little but not so much that you can’t carry on a conversation.

We have an exercise bike that I ride for 20-25 minutes on day two. I usually try to do 5 miles on the bike while I watch some Netflix.

If you are looking for a budget-friendly exercise bike, I highly recommend this one. It’s completely silent and folds up. We’ve had ours for 2 years with no problems. Love it!

Other ideas would be:

  • A bike ride outside
  • A light, 20-minute run
  • A medium-intensity workout DVD
  • Swimming laps
  • Water aerobics
  • Yard work – We did 2 hours of yard work last weekend and o my goodness, I was sore. That definitely counted as light cardio!
  • A hike with moderate hills
  • An extra-long walk is also a great option!

Repeat

This is my whole routine!

It’s just 20 minutes a day. Every other day is strength exercises and then light cardio.

If I get bored of my routine, I mix it up with a different kind of cardio or new strength exercises. It’s also fun to try a new workout DVD here and there. And now that the weather is getting nicer, I’m excited to ride my bike outside and go swimming.

Bonus: It’s not uncommon for me to watch Netflix while I do my workout every day. And since I was probably going to watch TV anyways, my workout isn’t inconveniencing me at all. 🙂 I’ve found that exercise just doesn’t happen if it’s inconvenient, no matter how committed you are in the beginning.

It's a slow process, but quitting won't speed it up!

Let’s Talk About A Rest Day

Do I plan for a rest day every week? NO.

Let me explain:

Almost every week, something comes up that makes it so I don’t have time to exercise or I don’t feel good enough to exercise. If that happens, I don’t work out that day and it becomes a rest day.

I don’t plan for a specific rest day each week, because I know something will come up and the rest day will just happen out of necessity.

Example: If I planned to rest every Saturday and then I got super busy on Tuesday and didn’t exercise… Then I would have taken two rest days. It’s easier for me to plan on working out every day. Then when something comes up, I take a rest day and don’t worry about it.

⇒ What’s your exercise routine? Do have a favorite fitness class or DVD?

Super simple workout routine that can be done at home with little equipment!
My Simple 20 Minute Workout Routine

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34 Great Goals to Set to Change Your Life - The (mostly) Simple Life

Wednesday 23rd of November 2016

[…] Exercise for 20 minutes per day 4x a week (take a look at my 20-minute workout routine) […]

Julianna Morlet

Saturday 25th of June 2016

Was just reading this trying to find quick workouts and realized, "HEY I KNOW THAT GIRL!" #gbcdays :)

Christine

Saturday 25th of June 2016

O my goodness, that's so cool Julianna! How funny!

Lisa @ Fun Money Mom

Saturday 2nd of April 2016

These are great tips. I just started running again but I need to do some of these other exercises too! Thanks for sharing with us at Share The Wealth Sunday! xoxo

Christine

Saturday 2nd of April 2016

That's great you've been running! I can't stand running, so I try to do lots of other things.

Jill Campbell

Friday 25th of March 2016

This is great! I need to shed about 15 postpartum pounds and these tips are practical and realistic. I think I can do it :) Thanks for sharing!

Christine

Friday 25th of March 2016

Thanks Jill! You can totally do it! Any little bit of exercise is always better than nothing.

Jen

Friday 25th of March 2016

I love short and sweet workouts, busy mom's that is all we have time for. Pinned to workouts for mom! Thanks for sharing found you at the Friday link up :)

Christine

Friday 25th of March 2016

Thanks Jen!!

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