The most common barrier to a consistent fitness routine is time. Some beginners even assume a workout doesn’t count unless it’s at least 30 minutes long.
But short, regular bursts of activity can actually improve your cardio fitness and overall health.
Kayla Itsines is one of the most popular fitness influencers around, and her recent lower body workout is just 20 minutes long!
And there’s no need for any equipment either, although you may want to roll out your yoga mat.
Even as a personal trainer, I still struggle to find time for a workout sometimes. So, on a jam-packed day, I decided to squeeze in Itsines’ routine.
How to do Itsines 20-minute no-equipment workout
Itsines suggests performing the following exercises for three rounds.
- Glute bridge x20
- Leg raises x10
- Single leg glute bridges x10 each leg
- Russian twist x30
- Push up x15
- Donkey kick x20 each leg
- Reverse lunge x10 each leg
- Squat x15
My takeaways after doing Itsines 20-minute workout
It’s great for all levels
Itsines includes exercises that are suitable for most fitness levels, and they target all of the major lower-body muscle groups.
The only move that might need to be modified for beginners is the leg raise, which I’d recommend performing with bent knees.
If you’ve been working out for a while, incorporating a dumbbell will amp up the difficulty of the exercises.
I kept things unweighted for the first round, then chose to use a 10lbs weight for round two and and three.
The push-up was a nice break for the lower body
Itsines bills this as a lower body workout, but she does throw in a few core moves.
She also adds a push-up, which provides a nice break from all the glute, quad, and hamstring work you’ll do.
The push-up gives your legs a rest, but you’ll still rely on your core muscles during the exercise—even if you’re modifying the move, as Itsines does.
20-minutes goes quickly
Sometimes a 20-minute workout can feel more like two hours, especially with repeated exercises and higher rep counts.
Thankfully, Itsines’ workout breezes by. Doing the recommended three rounds with a few brief rests took me around 18 minutes to complete—and I never felt the need to check my watch.
Itsines splits up the exercise order well, bouncing back and forth between core and leg work.
Having a bit of variety in programming keeps you on your toes and engaged in the workout.
I was impressed with how much was packed into the short and simple routine.
