I am a Fitness Pro and Here Are 7 Reasons I Only Train for 15 Minutes a Day

You don’t need an hour or day every day to get in shape. In fact, according to Cara Metz, a fitness trainer with over 20 years of experience and nearly 500,000 followers on Instagram, all you need is 15 minutes. In a new social media post Metz explains why shorter, more consistent workouts are the key to getting into and staying in shape. “Why do I swear by only working out for just 15 minutes?” she asks, going on to answer the questions.

Consistency Is Key, She Says

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According to Metz, it’s simple. “You must have heard the words ‘consistency is key’ 🔑So that is it!! Super simple, no frills, no fuss just plain old consistency!” she says.

If You Set Goals for Longer Workouts, You Are Less Likely to Actually Do Them

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“We are all busy and if I told you to workout for 1 hour per day, even maybe 30-45 minutes you may do it for a while but at some point, life will get in the way and something will steer you away from doing ‘the thing’ you promised yourself!” she continues.

15 Minutes Is More Realistic

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“BUT if I said to you just find 15 minutes, that’s it! You can find that time because I can guarantee you have been sat on your phone scrolling for at least 15 minutes now!! Am I right??” she points out.

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She Recommends Short and Intense Workouts

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“My workouts are short, sharp, intense and most of all fun!! You will be surprised what you can achieve in such a short time. Even after all these years of doing just 15 minutes I am still amazed how much the workouts work!” she says.

She Is “Living Proof”

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“I am living proof! Do you need to see a before pic? The short time is the best thing, the 2nd best is that they are designed for us ladies in midlife and beyond! I am there with you at the same stage of life, understanding the trials and tribulations this era can bring!” she concludes.

Here Is Her 15 Minute Arm Workout

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In another video, Cara gives her “workout breakdown” of her 15-minute arm workout. She says that you should do each exercise for 50 seconds each with 10 seconds of rest in between. Then, “repeat the sequence 3 times for a 15 minute workout.”

1️⃣ Cross bicep curl

2️⃣ Tricep kickbacks & hold

3️⃣ Upright row & clean

4️⃣ Back to front & front drive

5️⃣ Stepping shoulder press

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Here Is Her 15 Minute Step Workout

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In another post, she shares a 15-minute workout to get 1,500 steps in. “How many daily steps do you do? Do you struggle to get your steps in each day! Try this….Stick some music on, set a timer for 1 minute a move and let’s go!” she writes. Repeat twice.

1. March
2. Wide march
3. In & out March
4. Two side steps
5. Rock step
6. Box step
7. Walk forward & back
8. Let loose & boogie

💪🔥Body Booster: Set a goal to exercise 15 minutes daily and assess the situation at the end of the week. Did you reach your goal?

Want to get fit when you don't have much time? For me, circuit-style training allows for efficiency. If designed correctly, you can combine the benefits of strength and conditioning into what I consider a hybrid-style session. Not everyone has the time they'd like to train in the "ideal'" way: Upper Body sessions, Lower Body sessions, Conditioning sessions, etc. It's not to say you can't make those days circuit style either, but typically, you'll see circuits be more total body-focused and infuse conditioning within them as well.

While I've been a competitive athlete my entire life, my real expertise comes from co-founding Alpha Fit Club, a circuit-style strength and conditioning group fitness concept, in 2019. Over the last half decade, I have personally written thousands of circuit-style training sessions, and now I want to share one with you.

First of All, Start With Less and Increase to More

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Regardless of if you're going to attack a circuit workout or a workout in general, my recommendation is the same: start with less and gradually increase to more. Being able to train at 70-80% intensity consistently throughout the course of a week is far more beneficial and long lasting then hammering workouts out at 110% effort.

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Approach It With the Idea of Contrasting Exercises

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There's no right or wrong way to design a circuit but I would approach it from the idea of contrasting exercises. An example would be a Dumbbell Bench Press paired with a Dumbbell Bent Over Row; these are both horizontal push pulls and balanced one another out. You always want to think about balance.

Two Five-Exercise Circuits For You

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Below are examples of two five exercise circuits you could do within the same session...

1st exercise circuit

• 1 Minute Air Bike
• 10 Dual Dumbbell Front Squat
• 10 Dual Dumbbell Deadlift
• 10 Alternating Reverse Lunges
• 20 Mountain Climbers

2nd exercise circuits

• 1 Minute Air Bike
• 10 Hand Release Push Ups
• 10 TRX Inverted Rows
• 15 Band Pull Aparts
• 20 Alternating V Ups

Why Circuit Training is So Beneficial

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"Several studies have shown that circuit training can elicit increases in both upper and lower body 1-rep max, making it a great exercise to target whole body fitness. Studies have shown major increases in muscle mass in both trained and untrained populations (however, untrained populations demonstrate greater improvements since they have more ability to show improvements in shorter time periods)," says NASM. "Circuit training induces the same anabolic signaling and maximal muscle fiber recruitment that conventional resistance training does — but without the need to use as much weight since there are shorter rest periods between sets."

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It Can Even Help You Lose Weight

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"One meta-analysis investigated several studies looking at the effects of circuit training on aerobic fitness and changes in body mass. They found that circuit training can improve Vo2max and endurance performance by 6.2%! They also found that circuit training elicited major changes in body composition," says NASM. "From the 45 studies that were analyzed, they found that circuit training led to an average reduction of 4.3% in fat mass. The greatest fat loss outcomes were seen in groups that performed circuit training at least three times per week with higher volume training, shorter rest times, and moderate to high-intensity levels."

💪🔥Body Booster: Start your workout with lower intensity and gradually increase it. Consistency at 70-80% effort is better than pushing yourself too hard.