How to Tone Arms, Thighs & Abs in 15 Minutes

A quick way to tone up - gym or home workout!
Time constraints can leave people thinking they have no time for exercise. A common perception is that in order to be fit and healthy you have to spend hours sweating it out in the gym. There is a way to make the most of what little time you have and gain health and fitness in less time whilst sculpting a better body.

This approach consists of just two exercises for the workout and involves exercises that will train the core and challenge the targeted muscles. The intensity of the workout will give the metabolism a massive boost and providing the resistance is challenging enough will tone and shape specific body parts.

It is best to start the workout with a warm up for about 5 minutes, this could be skipping, jogging on the spot or walking. Once the body temperature is elevated gentle stretches for the tightest muscles in the body are recommended followed by a shoulder girdle warm-up with dumbbells. To warm the shoulders up I do two rounds of ten reps of side raises, bicep curls and shoulder presses with light dumbbells.

The rules for the Quick Way to Tone Up workout is to do 10-12 reps on both exercises straight after each other followed by a rest of no more than 30 seconds. The aim is to strive for as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes without breaking form and dropping below 8 reps. When applicable, the same resistance must be used on all the sets for the workout. Choose a weight that allows you to perform 12 reps on the first set, if you can only manage 2 or 3 rounds before dropping below 8 reps stop the workout and continue to progress the next time with a little less weight. For intermediates and advanced trainers a 10-20-rep window is an option. Whichever rep window you choose make sure you select the correct weight that allows you to perform the target reps with safe and proper technique.

Exercise #1 Squat and Curl to Overhead Press
Before you begin, a warm up set for the first exercise is recommended, this should be around 50% of the weight you will be using for all your sets. Strong individuals using heavy weights should do a staggered warm up, for example 50%, 65%, and 75% of the working weight.

Begin the starting position standing with a good posture holding the dumbbells at the sides with the palms facing the thighs. Take a deep diaphragmatic breath and initiate the squat by bending the hips and knees keeping the shoulder blades down and together. Squat down as far as you can without breaking form. Slowly rise back to the standing position breathing out slowly. When in the standing position curl the dumbbells towards the shoulders and press the dumbbells above the head turning the palms forward. Reverse the arm action until the dumbbells are by the side of your thighs. This completes one rep.

Exercise #2 Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl
Start by lying on your back on the floor with the arms at the sides with palms facing up; place the heels on top of the ball with toes pointing up. Squeeze the glutes and draw the tummy in as you bring the hips of the floor. Bend your knees to bring the heels towards the glutes and slowly return to the starting position. Don’t allow your hips to drop and maintain the level of your hips throughout the set. Also keep the toes pointing up when bending the knees.

The options to progress on this Quick Way to Tone Up type of workout would be to either shorten the rest time in between rounds enabling you to achieve more rounds in the 15 minute window or to increase the resistance so the desired reps are more challenging to reach on every round. It is best to swap and change training principles as often as possible to keep the workout demanding. Work as hard as you can on every workout to force the body to change.
A quick way to tone up - gym or home workout!