Think there’s not enough time in the day to exercise? How about finding a spare 10 minutes? Trainers like Megan Roup have been coming up with 10-minute workouts to help overcome this “ten”-dency to think that you are too busy to exercise.
One of the problems with longer workouts is that even if you start doing them, over time they may drop off like too much avocado on a piece of toast. That’s because other stuff in life—you know like all the work stuff, the house stuff, the crying kids stuff and the crying spouse stuff—can get in the way. Plus, getting through a one-hour or even a half-hour workout can seem much more daunting.
Doing just 10 minutes a day can seem a lot easier to sustain while still making a positive difference in your health. For example, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2022 showed that if all adults over 40 in the U.S. were to incorporate just 10 more minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise into their daily routines, it could prevent over 110,000 deaths each year. And it’s not as if something magical happens at age 40 where 10 minutes of exercise suddenly becomes enough to be helpful. “People think they have to do hours of exercise,” Roup explained. “It’s more about the habit and the consistency. How do we build a sustainable habit?”
Roup knows something about not having enough time in the day. The former professional dancer for the Brooklyn Nets and founder of The Sculpt Society has a busy schedule herself. Plus, Roup’s been the trainer to high profile folks like Dakota Johnson, Miranda Kerr, Molly Sims, Elsa Hosk and Whitney Port, all of whom have very busy work, travel and appearance schedules. “Celebrities are so busy,” said Roup. “They often don’t have an hour a day to do a workout. So it’s about getting a mindset, showing up consistently and doing shorter workouts rather than trying to kill themselves.” She added, “The reason why many exercise routines are not working is because they are not sustainable.”
Of course, something that lasts only 10 minutes has to be relatively easy to do and quickly start and stop. It’s hard to go from sitting at your desk to instantly bench pressing a zillion pounds and then right back to your desk after 10 minutes. Similarly, most people not named Tony Stark can’t simply flip a switch and have a whole workout gym descend on to wherever you happen to be located. Therefore, the 10-minute exercise programs that Roup designed as part of The Sculpt Society had to be “attractive to everyone,” in her words. “It works because people can fit it into their schedules,” she explained. “You can do it anywhere with just two hand towels or a roll of toilet paper.”
Here’s an example of a plank-based workout from Roup that falls within the 10-minute mark:
Planks in general are a good exercise to get on board, so to speak, since they work your core muscles—the abdominal, back, butt and pelvic muscles that stabilize your body while you are sitting, standing or in motion. But Roup’s planking in the video isn’t just a mimic-a-coffee-stable-and-stay-in-one-position type but instead involves moving different body parts in different positions. This can end up working different core muscles and adding cardio to your workout.
Roup also has armed people with this 5-minute “Dancing Arms Workout” that leads primarily with the arms:
Note that the arms remain attached to the body throughout. So that even though it seems focused on the arms, the rest of the body is moving as well. As you can see, such a workout can be done almost anywhere. Just make sure you aren’t directing traffic at the time or right next to someone whom you may end up smacking in the face.
As you can see, Roup’s work-out can get quite dancy, which is not surprising given her dance background. Shaking your booty can help make exercises more fun so that people are more likely to do them. Of course, any 10-minute dance routine can’t really include the Moon Walk, Headspin, Grand Jeté or some other complex dance moves that the average Joe or Joan can’t do without extensive training or a talent transplant. “I wanted to simplify and combine dance and cardio exercises with full body sculpting,” emphasized Roup. “Someone with no dance background can do these. Anyone at any level.”
Speaking up shaking your bootie, Roup has also offered this “6 Minute Quickie Booty Combo,” which largely works guess what body part:
This routine consists of bridges in different positions that work your glutes. Your gluteal muscles not only give you the badonk in our badonkadonk, they also help stabilize your spine, trunk, hips and pelvis. In the end, though, it’s easy to neglect these muscles. And when they get neglected, they can basically forget how to work, resulting in what’s called gluteal amnesia or “dead butt syndrome,” which I have previously described for Forbes.
There are other 10-minute workouts out there. For example, the American Heart Association also offers a 10-Minute Home Workout that offers a series of exercises including shoulder rolls, squats and calf raises, interspersed with 30 seconds of rest or cardio. The British Heart Foundation has a 10-minute workout from their physical activity specialist Lisa Young that consists of sit-ups, squats, jumping jacks, punches and high knees.
In many ways, 10 minutes seems to be a bit of a magical threshold. For example, there’s the so-called “10 Minute Rule for Productivity,” which recommends breaking work down into 10-minute chunks that are more manageable. There’s also the “10-Minute Rule” popularized by Steve Jobs that says that if you’ve been struggling with a problem for 10 minutes without making headway, take a break and go for a walk. “As humans and how we think in time, there’s something about 10 minutes that says, ‘I can do 10 minutes,’” Roup explained. Of course, this isn’t to say that you should stop at 10 minutes if you are motivated to do more exercise. “Committing to less can help you show up do more,” she added. “You can end up stacking and do another 5-10 minute video and another and another.”
Ten minutes is also a lot easier to fit in between other things in your schedule than something that’s an hour or even a half-hour. This is important to keep in mind as things get busier and busier with the upcoming Holiday Season. For example, when you encounter stressful interactions such as political arguments with family members, you could always exercise your right to take 10 away from them. And do some exercises.
