Regular exercise brings so many incredible benefits to the body, from reducing your risk of chronic diseases to slowing down the rate at which your body ages. If you are trying to exercise more, but are finding it difficult to make time for this in your busy life, here is a total body workout that you can follow, and it only takes five minutes.
The Dolphin Pike
The Dolphin Pike is the first move in this workout, and consists of beginning in an elbow plank position, keeping your hands clasped. Brace your abs and then lift your hips, pressing your chest backwards towards your thighs. Pull your abs in tighter before lowering your hips back to the initial position, and then repeat this 20 times.
Balancing Deadlift Row
To do the Balancing Deadlift Row, stand straight with your feet together and your knees slightly bent, while holding some dumbbells in your hands. Balance on your right leg and lean your hips forward, while extending your left leg up behind your hip. Make sure that you are keeping your spine naturally straight at the same time, and try to form a straight line with your left leg. Hold your abs in as tight as you can, as this will help you to stay balanced, and then row your dumbbells up by your sides, bending your elbows just behind your body. Hold this for a few seconds before lowering the dumbbells back down, and repeating 20 times with each leg, but alternating legs with each move.
Plie Curl to Press
Stand up straight with your feet slightly apart and your toes turned out, holding the dumbbells in your hand. Slowly bend your knees and lower your body into a plie, reaching your arms downwards towards the ground. Extend your legs outwards and curl the dumbbells in front of your shoulders, keeping your palms facing inwards. Tighten your abs and extend your arms, holding the weights overhead, before lowering your arms and repeating immediately 20 times.
Quadrupled Kickback
Kneel on all fours and place your hands on top of your dumbbells, keeping your palms facing inwards. Bend your left elbow and lift your right knee, just slightly, engaging your abs to help you to keep your balance. Using your left arm, extend your elbow while extending your right leg behind your hip, which is known as a tricep kickback. Return to your initial position and repeat this 20 times, before doing this another 20 times on the opposite side of your body.
Chest Press Leg Drop
The Chest Press Leg Drop is the final step in your five-minute workout and requires you to lie on your back, with your legs extended straight up over your hips. Keep your arms open to the sides of your shoulders, while you are holding your dumbbells, but have your elbows a few inches of the ground. As you inhale, lower your legs to a 45-degree angle and extend your arms over your chest. Slowly exhale, while tightening your abs, before returning to your original position and repeating 20 times.
While this five-minute workout may seem quite tedious at first, it will definitely get easier as your fitness levels improve. This workout does exercise your entire body, but it would still be beneficial to mix it up each day, adding in different moves, as this will ensure that your muscles are experiencing a variety of different exercise types.
