Brief, high-intensity workouts are science’s latest answer to weight management: Those intense, blood-pumping minutes leave the muscles at an energy deficit for hours after you finish the workout, helping the body burn tons of calories. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use high-intensity interval training to achieve more specific training goals, such as targeting the muscles of the upper body—even in as little as 10 minutes.
“This workout incorporates exercises that isolate muscle groups in the upper body (e.g., biceps curls and triceps dips) as well as other exercises that incorporate several muscle groups in the upper body (like pushups) to get in as much arms work as possible in 10 minutes,” says Mark Beier, co-director of training at Shred415 in Chicago. The jump rope interludes pump up your heart rate for increased calorie burn, while giving your arms a bit of a rest.
Directions:
Perform each exercise in order for one minute each, without rest. Aim for a mix of intensity and quality, using weight you can safely control and performing reps as quickly as you can while maintaining good form.
