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Lightning Workout: These are the best fitness exercises for just 5 minutes
You have only a few minutes left for a workout and you want to use the short time perfectly? Fortunately, there are a few exercises that can help you get your body in a short time.
Workouts aim to challenge the body and make the most of the muscles. In the stressful everyday life, however, often lacks the time to pursue long and intense sports units.
Luckily, there are individual exercises that simultaneously address several muscle groups intensively. If you only have a few minutes left for your workout, it's worth trying the following exercises.
1st planking
In contrast to sit-ups or crunches, which also stress the abdominal muscles, the planking trains the entire middle of the body. This includes not only the front, but also the lateral and the deep muscle layers in the stomach.
With the right tension, the planking can also stress other muscle groups in the lower body and also in the back and in the arms.
"Planking also does not stress the joints too much, so the exercise can be performed daily," explains fitness icon Kayla Itsines.
Another benefit: you can do the exercise anywhere without any equipment. Different variants make the planking even more varied.
2. Spider-Man push-up
Pushups alone are extremely demanding. But if you want to stretch your upper body even more, this variation could be interesting for you.
"The Spider-Man push-up is more difficult than regular push-ups, as there are only three points of contact with the ground," boxing coach Dale Santiago revealed in an expert review at Greatist.com.
"Lifting one foot forces the upper body to carry more body weight, which means it has to work harder, which specifically promotes muscle growth in the chest, triceps, and deltoids," he explains.
3. Glute Bridges
If a trained butt is your goal, you should not neglect this exercise.
"The Glute Bridge is one of the most underrated exercises for strengthening the gluteal muscles and lower back," says certified trainer Kira Stokes.
Glute Bridges are not only gentle on the joints, they can also be used anywhere without a device. If the classic twist is too boring for you, you can change the exercise and add more tension to the matter by lifting one leg.
If you like, find an object that you can put as a weight on your hip. The increased resistance stresses the muscles even more.
4. Boat and warrior pose
Yoga should not be underestimated. Some of the poses speak to several muscle groups at the same time and can be quite exhausting.
"If you adopt a yoga posture, you build up muscles through isometric contraction, and while it does not look like you're doing much, your muscles work really hard," says yoga specialist Claire Grieve.
There are a few poses that are particularly effective at building muscle, such as the boat pose or the warrior.
"The boat's posture can strengthen the abdominals and spine and improve posture," says Grieve.
"Also, to perform the warrior pose properly, all major muscle groups need to be activated," says Grieve. "It's particularly effective at building muscles in the legs and strengthening and expanding the back muscles."
5. climbing stairs
Want to boost your cardiovascular system? Then an intensive round of stairs is just the thing for you.
In addition to your stamina, this exercise also trains your legs, glutes, and midsection.
"Climbing stairs not only requires more muscle, it can even help improve posture," says personal trainer and health expert Caleb Backe.
If you also carry a bag, especially your muscles in the lower body benefit. Make sure to always walk with your whole foot, as this is especially the back thigh muscles and the butt are addressed.
One more reason to always use the stairs and not the elevator.
Combine your mini-workout!
Depending on how much time you have left over, you can also put together a few longer workouts from these different exercises and work out a little more.
If you perform the individual movements precisely and cleanly, a training session of only a few minutes can also appeal to your muscles.
Especially the holding exercises are well suited to give the muscles a stimulus and thus to reduce the reduction of muscle mass in low-training periods.
Cornelia Bertram