5 Best Fat Burning Workouts You Can Do in Under 15 Minutes

Below we introduce you to five of the quickest and best fat burning workouts you are going to come across.

Are you among those who are of the firm belief that if something “sounds too good to be true,” it probably is just that? It may be why you’ve resisted delving deeply into the whole “15-minute” workout issue.

After all, for years, most of us were told that you had to exercise at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes per day to enjoy the best benefits.

So, what’s with this whole 15-minute fad?

The interesting thing is that it is actually valid! There are profound benefits to be enjoyed from 15-minute workouts. The thing to remember is that they are not your garden variety workout. They are relatively brisk and intense periods of activity.

Let’s take a few minutes to understand them a bit more and then look at five routines that anyone can use to boost metabolism, fat burning, muscle activity, cardio health and all around strength and well-being.

Why Only 15 Minutes?

The European Journal of Applied Physiology conducted studies to determine if the whole 15-minutes to fabulous body concept was valid.

What they discovered was that 15 minutes of resistance training could boost your metabolism by the same amount as 35 minutes of the same exercise.

An entirely different study found that just 2.5 minutes of exercise in an intense burst of energy can easily burn up 200 calories and keep burning them throughout the day.

Short Bursts of Energy = Maximized Results

You are seeing the theme here, right? You are required to use short bursts of energy in the 15-minute workouts to yield maximum results. By “bursts” we mean you are using an “all out” level of energy, or what others describe as “to fatigue” levels.

This is often known as the “ Tabata ” method, and it typically works as twenty seconds of maximum intensity and then ten seconds of movement at a resting pace before going back to that high intensity. This high-low pattern is repeated eight times and a typical Tabata set is done.

While this is something you can use to create your own 15-minute routine, we’ll give five workouts that incorporate some Tabata concepts, but also other movements to make it fun and enjoyable.

When you add this level of high intensity to your day, you will notice the boost in metabolism and energy, but you will also enjoy better sleep and you will feel much less stress .

You’ll also begin to swap out any stored fat for muscle – further enhancing any workouts simply because muscle needs more calories. This is so effective that U.S. Navy has documented recruits results.

Most lose four pounds of fat and add two pounds of muscle in less than eight weeks. And what’s so amazing is that they can do it using only four different movements.

5 Fat Burning Exercises to Try at Home

So, are you ready to look at five workouts that can radically change your physique, energy level, metabolism and even your entire outlook on exercise? Here they are…

Workout #1

This routine uses only four moves, but they target every muscle group. You do these moves one right after the other without a resting period, and try to fit this into your routine four to six times per week.

Ten squats
Ten lunges on each leg
Ten push-ups
Ten narrow push-ups
Ten jump squats

Do this routine for 15 minutes, as intensely as you can and repeating moves until your time is up.

Workout #2

This is both an intense routine as well as a “butt building” workout. It focuses on lower body movements, but these gobble up the big calories and keep burning them for hours after the workout is done.

Again, this is to be completed in sequence, and you can rest for a few beats before repeating sets, but not so long that your breathing returns to normal. Think ten to twenty seconds, maximum.

50 alternating forward lunges
50 squats
50 jumping lunges
50 jump squats

Workout #3

This is one of the hardest workouts you might ever do, and though it is limited to just two moves, it is going to create amazing results in terms of toning, strengthening and fat burning. You’ll do what is known as a “pyramid” count.

Start with one of each, then move up to two of each, then three, four and so on. Continue doing this until you have done ten sets of each move, and then go backward until you are back at one of each. Continue this as intensely as possible for 15 minutes.

Pull up – You can use an assisted pull up if you are not strong enough to do a traditional “lat” pull up, but your strength will increase over time.
Burpee with a push-up at the bottom and a jump at the top

Workout #4

This series is what is known as a plyometric workout . That terms typically means “explosive” movement. Like you might do a jump at the top end of a burpee to give it more bang for the buck, each of the movements in this routine are just that same level of explosive.

Clearly, this is going to require a lot of energy, but it does deliver maximum returns for just 15 minutes of work.

You need to do each move for a full minute and then move to the next without any rest. Once all four are done, rest for one minute and repeat the entire series twice more.

Squat jumps
Jumping lunges
Burpees with a push-up at the bottom (no jump at the top)
Mountain climbers

Workout #5

This is for the already fit but looking to boost it up a few notches. It is a cardiovascular routine that asks you to really use your sprinting skills and is the essence of that classic Tabata model we mentioned much earlier.

It involves running at a pace that many people may not be inclined to typically do, but as it is only 15 minutes, it goes very fast.

Find a spot that has an incline or a hill you can use for the uphill sprints. If you have a treadmill, this is ideal, but a track or stretch of road that you can use might work just as well.

Warm up briefly with some simple stretches
Sprint all out for a full minute
Jog or walk for one minute
Sprint uphill, all out for a full minute
Jog or walk for one minute

You’ll need to do four full circuits, but your recovery times will be cut in half on the second half of the workout. So, jog or walk for 30 seconds after you complete the first two full sets.