Active April Week 2: Quick Workouts
Hey mamas, it’s week 2 of Active April! All month, we’ll be sharing fitness advice from Baby2Body founder and CEO Melinda Nicci, workouts from the Baby2Body App, and answering your burning questions here in the blog and on our Instagram, so be sure to follow along!
Last week, we started with a focus on cardio, and you can see all of the posts and workouts we shared here.
Coming up in Active April...
11th - 17th April: Quick Workouts
18th - 24th April: Yoga Week
25th - 1st May: Strength and Resistance Training
Ok, let’s get into this week's focus, Quick Workouts!
Do quick workouts have different benefits than longer workouts?
Some research has found that a 10 minute workout, with just 1 minute at high intensity, can have the same benefits as a 45 minute jog! Whilst another study found that HIIT workouts, which usually last anywhere from 4 to 15 minutes burned more calories; in the study, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, men who did 13 minutes of HIIT burned more calories than men who did steady cardio for 40 minutes.
Remember though, a varied workout plan is what will help you get stronger, increase flexibility, and improve stamina. So whilst quick workouts are great, they’re even better as part of a varied routine!
What are some other benefits of doing quick workouts?
We’re sure you don’t need us to tell you this, but motherhood is hard work and usually keeps you very busy, whether you’re TTC, currently pregnant, or in postpartum. So, having 10-15 minute workout routines means you can fit exercise in around your schedule (and baby’s!). If you’re struggling to take time out for longer workouts, then 15 minutes can definitely still benefit you, plus, once you carve out 15 minutes a few times a week, it will be easier to build on your routine and add a couple of extra minutes when you can.
We’re sharing some quick workouts for you to get started this week…
Check out some sneak peeks of our quick workouts below and head to the Baby2Body Fitness Studio and look in the ‘Browse’ section to see our new Quick Workouts section, where everything you see will be 15 minutes or less and safe for your stage of motherhood.
For pregnancy:
Here’s a quick workout from the Baby2Body app that you can try if you are in trimesters 1 or 2 of pregnancy and have clearance to exercise – this is just a sneak peek, but if you head over to the app we’ll walk you through each circuit and rep, plus we have a warm up and cool down there too!
For postpartum:
Here’s a quick workout that you can try if you are 6+ weeks postpartum and have clearance to exercise – head over to the app if you want us to walk you through each circuit and rep!
Have a question about quick workouts or exercise in general? Leave them in the comments and we’ll be answering them all this Friday!