Doing this for 20 minutes a day can actually eliminate body fat

You don't have to spend hours in the gym to stay in shape. For those of you who use lack of time as an excuse, we've come up with an exercise program that will strengthen your entire body in just 20 minutes (for the first two weeks), and just 30 minutes when you're at your max. Let's face it, even the busiest among us can squeeze in 30 minutes: still less than the time it takes to watch an episode of TV.

Joan is the head of Peak Performance Systems at Boca Raton in Florida, and we asked him to design a dumbbell workout that would be the fastest total body workout you could do. It uses five movements, two of which are twisting exercises, namely the one-arm row and push-up, and the other three are compound movements, including two or three strength exercises.

This strength exercise works multiple muscles at once. With these compound movements, you can do some of the exercises back to back, just like there is no rest between sets, which can help you save time. You can burn more calories because you make your muscles and heart stronger while exercising.

Dumbbells may be more time-efficient and effective than weight machines. The no-stand exercise requires you to use your abdominal muscles and lower back muscles to keep your body stable, so you get rewarded.

What equipment do you need?

You will need a set of 5 to 15 pound dumbbells. For each exercise, choose an appropriate weight that makes you feel a little strenuous, but you can complete all the movements with the correct posture. With compound exercises, you work more than one muscle group at a time, so you may need to use a lighter weight than usual to complete the entire movement. In other words, you might normally do a squat with two 15-pound dumbbells, but with double biceps, you'll only be able to lift 10 pounds. So, you'd want to use 10 pounds on your squats; bottom line, you're only working your weakest muscles.

Mistakes to avoid:

Don't play on the tennis court, ice rink, soccer field, or basketball court without first warming up with exercises that include strength, flexibility, balance, and agility exercises. Exercising is a good way to stay agile, but you have to avoid getting injured.

Before each exercise, do a 2-3 minute warm-up: walking, jumping, doing high-knee raises, using a cardio machine or other equipment of your choice. After each exercise, shake off all the muscle mass you have.

Dumbbell fitness exercise

1. Squat, bend, and press down

Action analysis: Hold dumbbells in your hands, stand with your feet apart, stand straight, let your arms hang naturally, palms facing each other, tighten your abdomen, and keep your balance. Supporting your entire body weight on your heels, bend your knees and squat, lowering your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Even your legs, elbows at shoulder level, bend your elbows, and raise the dumbbells above your shoulders. Even your arms, lift the dumbbells overhead and rotate your arms so your palms are facing each other. Keep your shoulders down and your shoulder blades neutral. Return to starting position.

Works: Strengthens the buttocks, thighs, quadriceps, biceps, shoulders and upper back.

2. Lunge Variations and Lateral Raises

Action analysis: Stand as in the starting position of action one, take a big step forward with your right foot, and bend your right knee; your right knee should be in line with your right ankle; bend your left knee and lift your heel. Bend over and extend your arms forward with the dumbbells on either side of your right foot. Straighten your body, place the dumbbells back on both sides of your body, push your back foot forward, straighten your front foot, and return to the starting position. With your body upright, do a lateral raise; raise your arms to shoulder level; keep your elbows and wrists slightly bent. Lower your arms and return to the starting position. Then repeat the movement, this time stepping out with your left foot.

Key Points: Works quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and mid-section of shoulders; uses back and abdominal muscles for balance.

3. A one-shot effort

Action analysis: Stand with your feet naturally apart and your legs straight (do not bend), place the dumbbells in front of your thighs with your palms facing inward. Keeping your spine balanced, perform a deadlift, bending forward from the hips until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Then bend your knees slightly, bring your shoulder blades as close as possible, stretch your arms out to the sides with your elbows slightly bent, maintain an upright flying posture, and then focus your weight on your thighs. Squeeze your glutes and return to the starting position.

Exercise parts: Mainly exercise the thigh ligaments, buttocks, posterior shoulders and upper back.

4. Lunge Single-Arm Exercise

Action analysis: Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, stand with your feet apart, left foot in front of right foot, and feet 2 feet apart. Bend your left leg and place your left arm on it; lean forward from the hips until your upper body is at a 45-degree angle to the ground (hold on to a chair if necessary). Let your right arm hang naturally in line with your right shoulder, with your palm facing inward. Keep your head, neck, spine, and hips in line. Try to bring your shoulder blades as close together as possible; then contract your back muscles and bend your right arm, moving it up and down. Even the arms, do the same with the left arm to complete one rep.

Parts of the body that are worked: Mainly the middle back, rear shoulders and some biceps.

5. Dumbbell push-ups

Movement analysis: Kneel on a mat, holding dumbbells on the floor. Place your hands wider than shoulder width apart, with your palms facing the floor. Bend your arms and lower your body until your forearms and upper arms form a 90-degree angle. Lift your body back to the starting position.

Exercise parts: Exercise chest, front buttocks and three pairs of muscles.

Think like a pro. Athletes never think about when they go to the sports field. Prevent other activities from taking up your exercise time.

Choose a workout partner you can trust. It's hard to brag about your exercise routine when you meet a friend. Plus, the camaraderie and competition can make sports more fun…