10-Minute Stress-Busting Workouts

Chronic stress is not your friend. If you're dealing with a lot of stress in your life right now (let's be honest, who isn't?), you need to do something to counter the negative impact it can have on your body, mind, and soul. Here are three 10-minute workouts you can easily slip into your schedule when it fits. Do at least one workout a day just to get the blood and heart pumping, which helps to release those feel-good endorphins and eliminate stress.

Workout 1: Back To Basics

Remember during your elementary and high school days when calisthenics were the norm in your PE classes? Get back to the basics of exercise. Hop out of your chair and perform 1 minute of jumping jacks, then drop to the floor and knock out another minute of crunches. Now that your legs, arms, and abs are pumping, turn your body over and do as many pushups as you can for the next minute to target those chest and shoulders muscles. This simple yet highly effective “total body circuit” can be repeated 1 to 3 times and completed in less than 10 minutes. Not only are you working your muscles with these three basic motions, but you’re also working your heart with its cardiovascular system and your lungs with its respiratory system. Also, quick bursts of training like this will also kick up your metabolism.

Workout 2: Total Body Blast

Don a pair of tennis shoes and head outdoors to get your body moving. Start off walking at a brisk pace for 2 minutes. Move into walking lunges for 3 minutes, making sure your forward knee does not go over the toe as you dip down into each lunge. Next, do 20 full pushups on your toes. Do another 3 minutes of walking lunges, then finish off the workout with 15 reps of the following “plank-to-knees” exercise, preferably on the grass or back inside on a mat if you prefer. To execute, start on your forearms with your elbows bent and extend your legs out so you are on your toes. Your body should be in a straight line from the crown of your head to the heels. Inhale as you bend your knees towards the floor and exhale as you extend the knees back to start position.

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Workout 3: Super Stress Buster

First, warm up for 2 minutes with circle exercises. Do 8 circles per body part: neck, arm, wrist, hip, knee and ankle circles. Next, jump into jumping jacks for 3 minutes. Jumping jacks are a great exercise for strengthening your entire body and they help build bone and burn fat. Next, move into mountain climbers for 3 minutes. (To execute, place your hands on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder-width. Position one leg forward bent under your body and extend the other leg back. While holding your upper body in place, alternate leg positions by pushing hips up while immediately extending your forward leg back and pulling the rear leg forward under your body, landing on both forefeet simultaneously.) Hop back up for another minute of jumping jacks and then move into a glute stretch for one minute and you’re done! (To do a glute stretch, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Cross your right leg over your left thigh. Grasp the back of your left thigh with both hands. Pull your leg toward your torso. Keep your head on the ground and chin tucked. Hold 20-30 seconds. Switch legs.)

Man struggling while doing push ups