Allison's Big Toe

10 Minutes a Day, Five Days a Week

What single activity do you spend ten minutes a day doing, five days a week? It would have to be something pretty inconsequential, right? That’s not very long to get much accomplished, is it? Actually, I’m surprised at how much progress I’ve made in just a few months of a 10-minute yoga/exercise workout that I created to target various areas of my body that needed strengthening. I got the exercises from a variety of places over the years (aerobics classes, yoga, sports, etc.), and have included an informative link or explanation with each exercise if you’re not familiar with it.

All the equipment you’ll need (seriously):

You can skip to the end if you just want to see my workout, or read on for…

The Background Story

My husband always says that doing five or 10 push-ups a day for forty years can lead to great things, arm-wise. I usually pooh-pooh the idea. Five push-ups a day? That’s not going to do anything, even if I stick to it for years. Plus, my morning routine is so busy already between making my lunch, eating breakfast, picking out my clothes, etc. etc., that the last thing I want to do is add a component. That was until I took a good look at my arms a few months ago and immediately flashed back to seventh grade English class. We girls would sit and snicker as Mrs. ___’s arms flapped around while she wrote on the chalkboard everyday. Wait, I’m an English teacher, I thought. I write on the whiteboard. Thank god I don’t teach seventh grade (you all are saints), but what if my ninth graders are snickering!?? Horrible thought. I will NOT let that happen. My arms will not be flappy.

Another area I realized I wanted to work on is the always talked-about “core”. ChiRunning has a lot of great suggestions on how to improve core strength, because lower abdominal muscles are so crucial in keeping the pelvis level and achieving the optimal posture stance. I learned a few that I feel are best for me and included them in my routine.

Then there’s the legs and feet. Yes, I’m a runner, but I still lack the strength in my quads that could help me run faster and maintain my form better. Also, barefoot running puts its own strain on the foot muscles, and in developing a comprehensive routine, I wanted to make sure to stretch and strengthen them, too. So, here we go!

My 10-Minute Morning Workout

When: 10 minutes each morning, Mon-Fri. I wake up at 6:00 am to get ready for school. First I go for a 30 min. speed walk with my husband, then I unroll my yoga mat on the carpet and get started.

What: (This is the routine I’ve worked up to after one year, from start to finish. You can modify the times/reps listed here based on your current fitness level. I count all seconds 1-1000, 2-1000, etc. in my head)

20 sec. plantar stretch (sit on your heels with your toes on the ground and your feet dorsiflexed)

20 sec. ankle stretch (sit on your calves with your knees on the ground and your toes pointed)

20 fist push-ups (on my knees, but with toes on the ground like a real push-up. My thumbs in the fist point in towards each other in a narrow hand position for 10, then I do 10 wide hand position push-ups)

10 sec. modified Child’s Pose with arms outstretched to stretch arms, back, and tops of feet

60 sec. Plank exercise

30 sec. Cobra

40 sec. Side plank L arm (shown)

40 sec. Side plank R arm

25 lying side leg lifts on each leg

40 glute kickbacks on each leg

30 sec. calf squat (I made this one up to stretch calves and Achilles tendon. Squat with the backs of your thighs resting on your calves, and lean from your ankles until you feel the stretch in calves and Achilles)

30 sec. Extended Standing Forward Bend (the “extended” part comes from moving your hands about 2 feet forward from what is shown in the picture)

Two spine rolls (Click the link and scroll to minute 2:30 of my video to see the demo. Go slower than I show on the roll up.)

40 thumbs up, SMALL arm circles

40 thumbs up, BIG arm circles.

40 thumbs down, SMALL arm circles.

40 thumbs down, BIG arm circles. ( I alternate clockwise/counter clockwise daily)

30 shoulder presses (no free weights, just my hands)

Lastly, I go over to my couch and do 30 Triceps dips.

And then I’m done! After the routine, I take a shower and finish getting ready. It feels great knowing that every weekday I start out with something productive.

Does this all make sense? Would you want to do this too? Comments?

**Note: I updated this post 10/1/11 to reflect my current workout.