30 Minutes or Less is a blog series where trainers share their favourite 30-minute sweat session. Try it with your clients! Get inspired with more from 30 Minutes or Less.

“I don’t have time to work out!”

Sound familiar?

This is what we hear all the time from friends, family, and potential clients. As trainers, it is our job to develop quick workouts that can be accomplished in 30 minutes or less. People all have work, kids, activities, and household responsibilities keeping them from taking the time to work out. But excuses are excuses, and trainers know those all too well.

Given the right amount of time and priority, workouts can always be accomplished… provided they are quick and efficient! Workouts under 30 minutes can provide clients with a routine that they can get into and stick with, even when time is limited.

I give clients a 30-minute HIIT workout (high-intensity interval training) to clients that are short on time. This workout can be accomplished from virtually anywhere: at home, the gym, or the hotel while traveling (remember travel?). I like HIIT training because it gets the client’s heart rate up and provides them with some strength training along with burning the maximum amount of calories in a minimal timeframe.

This 30/30/60 is an intermediate/advanced circuit that can be used as a 10-30 minute workout. You can adapt it to support different levels of fitness, like by using shorter timeframes. For example, change the third exercise in each circuit for 30 seconds instead of 60 seconds, making it a 30/30/30 instead.

Your clients can go through each circuit once for a 10-minute workout, twice for a 20-minute workout, or three times for a 30-minute workout.

My Favourite 30-Minute Workout

Circuit 1:
Bodyweight Squats – 30 seconds
Squat Jump – 30 seconds
Full Plank – 60 seconds

Circuit 2:
Bodyweight Reverse Alternating Lunges – 30 seconds
Jump Lunges – 30 seconds
Side Plank (right) – 60 seconds

Circuit 3:
Lateral Lunge (right) – 30 seconds
Lateral Lunge (left) – 30 seconds
Side Plank (left) – 60 seconds

Circuit 4:
Push-ups – 30 seconds
Skaters – 30 seconds
Mountain Climbers – 60 seconds

Circuit 5:
Burpees – 30 seconds
Jumping Jacks – 30 seconds
Spiderman Plank – 60 seconds

Use this workout with your clients that are looking for quick and efficient training but are short on time. Feel free to change the exercise or modify the times to fit their abilities and needs. The 30/30/60 and 30/30/30 programs both provide time efficient training for your clients and give them the flexibility to modify the rounds based on their time availability and fitness level. Use this workout as an antidote to the “I don’t have time to work out!” excuse and show your clients that you do not need much time to stay in shape.