Short bursts of training is just as effective as a longer session. For example, thirty minutes of running can be broke up into three ten minute sessions throughout the day. Obviously, not everyone has the time to break up a workout, but this can work wonders for your metabolism.

You don’t even need to join a gym to work out your body just thirty minutes per day. Here’s an easy example of how to cram thirty minutes of effective training per day. Rather than take the car, walk 5-10 minute journey to the shops. Grab a skipping rope and skip for ten minutes in the afternoon non stop. Later in the afternoon, perform set a timer for ten minutes and perform squats, press-ups, jumping jacks, squat thrusts, and sit-ups until fatigue.

These short intensive workouts will boost the metabolism because the muscles are worked. When the muscles are worked repetitively, they grow back stronger. It is important to eat protein after working the muscles to ensure the small muscle tears are nourished and build in strength.

This short workout is perfect for those who hate exercising. By breaking the exercise up, it also boosts the metabolism, and therefore increases the appetite. This is when thermogenesis takes effect, the calorie burn that takes place when the body undergoes the absorption of nutrients. This accounts for ten percent of the daily calories in the diet.

Thirty percent of calories burnt per day are through activities, such as walking, washing up, brushing teeth, sleeping, all those basic activities we perform daily. Finally, sixty percent of the daily calories are burnt through the basal metabolic rate, which is the rate the body burns calories at rest. Increase this with weight training, and you’ll burn more calories. One pound of fat burns one calorie but one pound of muscle burns fifty calories, so muscle bulk is very important with weight loss and tone.

I love skipping, and if you’re new to my blogs, you’ll find that I use skipping in every one of my workouts. This workout only takes 20 minutes, but it’s very intensive and keeps the heart rate up. It can be performed anywhere too. You need only a skipping rope and a stop watch or if there’s a clock on the wall watch the hand.

The Workout

For each minute of skipping you will perform 10 double unders (the rope slips under the feet twice). Double unders are tough, and you have to make sure you jump high enough for the rope to slip under the feet twice before the feet land for another jump. Double unders boost the heart rate and are great for improving the fitness in a short period of time.

Try not to take any breaks throughout. As it’s a fairly long time to skip, experiment with your moves. Perhaps perform one minute of heel digs, another minute of jumping jacks, and another minute of hopping on one foot for thirty seconds. The twenty minutes of skipping is yours to play with as long as you add ten double unders for each minute.

Firstly, I want to state that to participate in any of these workouts, you must already have a good level of fitness. These workouts are not basic, although you can vary the number of reps that I perform to suit your fitness ability.

I will mostly use a series of exercise disciplines: skipping, press-ups, squats, squat thrusts, burpees and sit-ups.

This workout, which I call the ‘buzzin’ workout, is very intensive, uses up a lot of energy, burns fat for up to 48 hours afterward and builds lean muscle tissue, as well as burning hundreds of calories.

For this workout you will require:

• 6-7 kg medicine ball (with handles if possible)
• Stability Ball (optional but adds intensity to a workout)
• Leather jump rope (try to avoid speed ropes, as they can get tangled up)
• 20 kg dumbbells
• Non-slip mat
• Plenty of funky music (optional, but motivating)

Firstly, do a little gentle skipping to warm up, or march on the spot. Try to use alternate feet when you skip. If you bounce using both your feet, you may find that you tire quick, you could get a stitch and you may reach exhaustion faster, which is not what we want with this session. Perform some gentle stretching, so do a calf stretch, stretch your back muscles and do a hip stretch on each side.

The Workout

I started the workout with 3 minutes of fairly fast skipping, or a short song length, can do longer if you really want to push your body to the limit. You may find out that early on in this stage of the workout, your body will start to warm up and you will start to perspire. This is normal as your body requires a lot of energy, especially for a high intensive workout such as jump rope. If you can, and you are an experienced jump roper, perform ten double unders (spin the rope at double the speed at which you normally skip and allow the rope to spin round twice for each rope jump). This move is very intensive but will really test your fitness. Try to build up to 10, but if you can do 5 that is excellent.

• Perform 15 press-up burpees (jump into a press-up, jump back into a squat thrust and jump up to finish. That’s one rep. Burpees are difficult so try to build up to 15. If you can only perform 10, work from 10-1, rather than 15-1.

• Pick the 20 kg weight and place it on your shoulders. Keep your back straight and perform 15 squats. When performing a squat you should be able to see your toes when you raise your body. Push your bottom out and keep your back straight. Remember your posture and perform them slowly rather than fast.

• Position yourself on the stability ball and use your medicine ball to perform 15 medicine ball curls. Again, perform these slowly for maximum muscle building.

• Perform 14 press-ups, 14 squat thrusts (full or alternate legs) and 14 jumping jacks.

• Perform 14 weighted squats, maintaining good posture.

• Perform 14 medicine ball sit-ups on the stability ball.

• Perform 13 burpees.

• Perform 13 weighted squats

• Perform 13 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 12 press-ups, 12 squat thrusts (full or alternate leg) and 12 jumping jacks.

• Perform 12 weighted squats.

• Perform 12 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 11 burpees.

• Perform 11 weighted squats.

• Perform 11 medicine ball sit-ups.

By this time, this workout should have taken you about 15-20 minutes. Remember to take your time and go at your own pace. Your body will be very warm, and in the fat burning zone. Burpees, press-ups, squats, squat thrusts, sit-ups and jumping jacks use your own bodyweight to perform the reps, so they burn a lot of calories, help to build lean muscle tissue and burn fat for up to 48 hours afterward. They will ‘whip’ your body into shape fast.

Skip for another song length or for 3 minutes to build up the intensity of the workout and try to perform 5-10 double-unders to complete.

• Perform 10 press-ups, 10 squat thrusts and 10 jumping jacks.

• Perform 10 weighted squats.

• Perform 10 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 9 burpees.

• Perform 9 weighted squats.

• Perform 9 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 8 press-ups, 8 squat thrusts and 8 jumping jacks.

• Perform 8 weighted squats.

• Perform 8 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 7 burpees.

• Perform 7 weighted squats.

• Perform 7 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 6 press-ups, 6 squat thrusts and 6 jumping jacks.

• Perform 6 weighted squats.

• Perform 6 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 5 burpees.

• Perform 5 weighted squats.

• Perform 5 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 4 press-ups, 4 squat thrusts and 4 jumping jacks.

• Perform 4 weighted squats.

• Perform 4 medicine ball sit-ups.

• Perform 3 burpees.

• Perform 3 weighted squats.

• Perform 3 medicine ball sit-ups

• Perform 2 press-ups, 2 squat thrusts and 2 jumping jacks.

• Perform 2 weighted squats.

• Perform 2 medicine ball sit-ups

• Perform 1 burpee.

• Perform 1 weighted squat.

• Perform 1 medicine ball sit-up.

Well done! Workout completed and you should be feeling completely ‘buzzin’ as well as looking full of glowing health. What this workout gives you is more energy afterward, which is motivating enough.

You may find in the last 10-1 set of exercises that your arms may be feeling the strain with the weighted squats. Remember not to over-exert yourself. Work to your own ability. You know your body and you know what it can do, what pain it feels. The best thing about this workout is that if you perform is regularly, say twice a week over a month, your lung function will increase and you will be able to work through the intensity, while pushing your body to the limit.

Again, if you cannot perform 15-1, try 10-1. This workout is more intermediate to the advanced stage. You may find that your muscles ache for up to 3-5 days afterward because the muscles in the whole body have been torn during the workout and are rebuilding stronger. It is important to eat good amounts of protein after your workout. A handful of nuts are good, as it a protein shake or a banana milkshake with a tablespoon of peanut butter blended in.

We will be working with this workout for the next 4 weeks, when your body has adapted to the workout. It will then be time to push it to the max again.