Movement in any form is better for your health than not moving at all. And while many people don’t have an hour to spend in the gym each day, there are ways to weave a little exercise into your regular routine and reap the rewards.
“Do you have five, 10 or 15 minutes? It makes a difference,” trainer turned entrepreneur Joe Wicks tells me, speaking ahead of an appearance at EE Learn Live. “The people who are really stressed, time-poor and struggling to do any form of exercise; they are the ones who need support the most.”
As part of his efforts to provide this, Wicks has shared a quick bodyweight workout which Independent readers can try at home. It comprises five exercises performed as a circuit in as many minutes, raising your heart rate and recruiting muscles across your body.
“If you’re a beginner and you just have five minutes, this is what I would do,” he says. “And If you’re able to do it once, you might think, ‘Oh, that was good, maybe I can build up to two rounds in 10 minutes, or three rounds in 15 minutes’. Then you have a great little workout.”
How to do Joe Wicks’ five-minute workout
Complete the circuit below. Perform each movement for 45 seconds, resting for 15 seconds between exercises.
- Jogging on the spot x45sec work/15sec rest
- Bodyweight squat x45sec work/15sec rest
- Press-up x45sec work/15sec rest
- Alternating reverse lunge x45sec work/15sec rest
- Plank x45sec work/15sec rest
If you struggle with the press-up and plank, you can drop your knees to the floor for a more accessible version of each exercise. You can also start by squatting to a chair – repeatedly sitting down then standing up again.
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Benefits of this five-minute workout
Wicks says short bursts of exercise like this can be “so impactful” for your health – something he noted during a tour of UK workplaces in 2024.
“I visited all of these companies, and you’d see people who are really struggling; people who are really busy; people with kids who are working 12-hour shifts through the night,” he says.
“What I realised is that there are usually two groups of people. One of them is not exercising, and one of them is finding a little bit of time to do some form of exercise.
“Those people who are exercising, whether it’s 10 minutes walking to work, a 20-minute YouTube workout when they get home or even something on their lunch break, are healthier, more energised, have lower levels of stress and better mental health.”
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For the former group, short and accessible workouts can be a good way to squeeze exercise into a hectic schedule. This time-savvy movement method – vigorous activity, little and often – is often referred to as exercise snacking, and science suggests it can be an effective approach to exercise.
A 2024 review in Sports Medicine and Health Science concluded: “In comparison to traditional forms of exercise, exercise snacking is a viable, time-efficient and convenient strategy that leads to improvements in cardiovascular fitness, metabolic capacity and muscular function in sedentary individuals.”
In simpler terms: it can improve your heart and lung health, boost your ability to use energy and increase muscle size, strength and function. Exercise snacking is also effective at creating and reinforcing healthy habits – making this workout a regular fixture in your week, potentially when you make a cup of tea or as soon as you wake up, can help exercise feel manageable, autonomous and unobtrusive in your day-to-day life.
So, if you’re looking to include more movement in your days but struggle to find the time, start snacking – as Wicks says: “It makes a difference.”
Read more: Joe Wicks ‘would love to know’ King’s fitness routine
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