Studio 5 Health & Fitness Contributor, Melanie Douglass, shares “The Perfect 10” exercises to help shape up your entire body… in 10 minutes or less.
There’s this fun workout I love to share that I like to call: “The Perfect 10”. It’s comprised of ten dynamic moves that require your arms, legs, heart, lungs, mind and pretty much your entire body to work together. It makes you stronger – inside and out. These total-body movements are great for burning calories and shaping lean, healthy muscles.
March or jog in place for 3 – 5 minutes before you start. Then, follow this basic layout:
1. 10 exercises
2. 10 repetitions each
3. Repeat 10 times
· To customize for fitness level, you can:
· Do 2 cycles for a 10-minute beginner workout
· Do 5 cycles for a 20-minute intermediate workout
· Do 10 cycles for a 35-minute advanced workout
*10 exercises x 10 reps each = 1 cycle
Here are the 10 Total-Body Shaping Moves (many of these are viewer favorites form the 10 Pound Challenge 2013 – people asked me to repost, so here they are!)
1. Pendulum Swing
Bend forward from your hips and leg your hands rest on a bottom stair or a chair. Alternate lifting your legs side to side. Advanced: pop swing side to side (add a little jump as you swing the legs up and to each side)
Count 10 reps and quickly move on to exercise #2!
2. Airplane Lunges
Push your weight through your left heel and balance on your right toes. Pull your elbows in toward your rib cage and point your fingers up to the ceiling. Bend forward and extend your right leg straight back, so that it is parallel with the floor. Arms go out to the side, fingers point to the wall.
Count 10 reps, each leg, and quickly move on to exercise #3!
3. Sumo Squatters
Stand in a low, wide stance with your toes turned out. Arms straight out to the side, palms down, parallel with the floor. Baby step front (or jump squat) and turn your toes front while moving your arms straight up overhead with palms facing each other. 10 reps and move on to exercise #4!
4. High Crunch Kicks
Hold your hands overhead and cross at the wrist. Now kick front with your right leg and cross your wrists under your right leg as you kick. Alternate kicks while crossing the wrists both overhead and under your leg. 10 reps and move on to exercise #5!
5. Speed Skaters
Baby hop to the right and swing your left leg back behind when you land. Try to touch the floor with your left hand and reach the right hand overhead. Then baby hope to the left and swing your right leg back behind as you land. 10 reps and move on to exercise #6!
6. Plank Jacks
Get down on hands and toes and balance in a plank. Low impact version is to step the legs out out in in (right out, left out, right in, left in). High impact is to jump out to jack with the legs and slightly bend the elbows for an upper body burn. 10 reps and move on to exercise #7!
7. Plank Tap Turn
Stay in plank position, on hands and toes. Bring your right foot up and out to the left side. Open your body to the left and balance on your right hand. Then bring your right foot back to plank and repeat on the left side. 10 reps and move on to exercise #8!
8. Ski Jumps
Hold your hands in tight fists overhead and stand with feet shoulder width apart. Jump forward and land in a low squat and swing your arms straight back behind you (watch knees, they stay right above the ankle as your push your weight through your heels) 10 reps and move to #9!
9. Furious Football Runs
Just like football tire jogs: run fast with feet, out in out in. But have your arms follow (and keep up with!) your feet. Arms go out in out in.. same pace. Not as easy as it sounds! 10 reps and move on to #10
10. 3 Count Lunge Kick
Step back and sink down into a low lung (front knee should be right above the ankle, push weight down through your heel). Hold 3 counts, come up one count and kick on 4. So it goes “1 – 2 – 3 – kick! 10 reps, each leg, then rest 1 – 2 minutes and repeat the cycles based on your fitness level and/or goal.
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