Benefits of Short Workouts

You might have heard of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) - Workouts before - meaning, you do short bursts of intense activity followed by a break. I quite like the idea and use one form called "Tabata" a lot. Invented by Japanese scientist Izumi Tabata, you complete 8 intervals of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds break. It will take you a total of 4 minutes to complete an exercise.

Of course, there are many variations and ways you can go about this but they all have one thing in common:
Short workouts (about 5-15 minutes) can have many of the benefits you get from a typical one hour workout.

Here are the 5 most common ones:

1) Increased blood circulation
2) Increased mental alertness
3) Increased cardiovascular health
4) Acts as a mood stabilizer
5) Makes you feel refreshed and energized

Given the problems people encounter when trying to carve out time for fitness (no time, can't leave the house, no money, etc.) this is a great way to incorporate more movement into your day and become healthier. It will also help you become more aware of your body's abilities and limits.
This is a major part of reconnecting with ourselves and gives us the opportunity to spend some time checking in on what we need.

 Tip: Try your workouts at home!
Grab some basics - like bands or a big bottle of orange juice and work on full-body exercises or just use your body weight.
For low impact: Alternate between step touches and fast squats
For high impact: Burpees
For core: Planks all around (front, right side, left side, back)

Have fun and tell me know about your favourite tabata exercises!