Building muscle and losing weight takes effort, consistency, and discipline. However, you do not need to spend hours at the gym in order to achieve results. In fact, performing just three 10-minute strength workouts per week can drive weight loss and muscle gain when combined with a high-protein diet and other healthy lifestyle habits for fat loss. The following is my top 10-minute workout to lose weight and build muscle. Perform each exercise for 10 repetitions, then move to the next exercise. Complete three rounds with minimal rest between sets.
Squats are the ultimate lower-body muscle-building exercise. You can’t go wrong with a functional movement that blasts your glutes, quads, and hamstrings in all the right places. You can add a jump to the top of the squat if you need more difficulty, or you can hold an external weight.
To perform squats, begin standing with feet wider than shoulder-width distance apart. Sit back into your squat position, and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Drive through both feet to return to the starting position. Repeat for 10 repetitions.
Pushups are a simple and effective way to work your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core in a single movement that requires no additional equipment. Keep your core engaged throughout the entire set, and do not allow your hips to sag downward.
To perform pushups, begin in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders. Lower your body as one full unit by bending your elbows and lowering your chest to the floor. When your chest is roughly one inch above the ground, push through both hands to return to the starting position. Repeat for 10 repetitions.
Lunges are one of my favorite exercises for the lower body for several reasons. They hit the glutes and quads very effectively from a muscular standpoint. Lunges also build coordination, balance, and stability for walking, running, sprinting, and hiking. Additionally, the unilateral nature of the exercise means that the muscles on your working leg get hit very hard without having to add a ton of overload to your whole body, which can reduce some wear and tear on your joints while still getting a major stimulus to your muscles.
To perform lunges, begin standing with your feet hip-width distance apart. Take a big step forward with your left leg. Descend into a lunge by bending your front and back knees, lowering your back knee directly towards the ground. Push through your front foot to return to the starting position. Repeat for 10 repetitions.
Pull-ups are tied with pushups in terms of upper-body strength exercises. They work the upper back, lats, and biceps, effectively the opposite muscles as the pushup, which means these exercises are great to combine with one another to fully blast your upper body muscles. You can use an overhand, neutral, or underhand grip.
To perform pull-ups, grip your pullup bar with the selected grip style, and extend your body weight from the bar. Pull your chest to the bar, keeping your shoulders from shrugging and attempting to pinch your shoulder blades together and downward as you pull. When your chest nears the bar, slowly lower to the starting position. Repeat for 10 repetitions.
Last but not least in this workout to lose weight and build muscle, we have V-ups. If I had to select just one core exercise to include in a workout, V-ups are my choice. They hit multiple layers of abdominal muscle and hip flexors, and you can make them easier or more difficult by bending or extending your legs, respectively.
To perform V-ups, begin lying on your back on a mat or soft floor. Extend your arms overhead. Engage your core, and raise your legs and torso off the floor. Lift both until the angle at your hip is roughly 90 degrees and your body forms a “V” when viewed from the side. Slowly return to the starting position. Repeat for 10 repetitions.
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Tyler Read