You know you don’t have to spend hours in the gym to get results…

You know that short bursts of exercise can actually be more beneficial than those 60+ minute workouts that are so 2013…

You know that if you want to get tight and toned you have to lift weights…

But you might not know where to start!

What do you do once you get into the gym?

Or what do you do with those dumbbells that have been collecting dust for the past year in your guest room?

I’m going to give you my top 5 moves (videos are linked to the exercise names below) to help you get started. These five moves will get your heart rate up, get you strong from head to toe and will keep your workout time down to a minimum!

1. Front Squat Press

Why? Because this single move works your quads, glutes, core, shoulders and gets your heart rate up like crazy! This is a move where even the most fit people will ask me “why is this so hard?!” and it’s because it’s working everything from head to toe!

2. Pushups

Now, admittedly, pushups are not a personal favorite of mine, LOL! They’ve always been a super challenging exercise for me BUT I still do them because I know how beneficial they are. If done correctly, they’ll work the chest, lats, shoulders, triceps, core and quads. And they’re really easy to modify, too. My favorite modification is doing incline pushups on a bench at the gym or your couch at home.

3. Deadlifts

When it comes to super effective, most bang for your buck, total body exercise, the Deadlift is King. The deadlift utilizes every muscle in the backside of our body as well as our shoulders, core and quads. When done correctly it can help us perk up our booty, decrease lower back pain and improve posture among other amazing benefits, and will make you feel seriously badass! In the video you’ll see me using dumbbeels, but you can use a barbell, kettlebells, sandbags, your kids…anything, really!

4. Kettlebell Swings

Think about these as the cardio equivalent of a deadlift. Swings utilize the same positioning as a deadlift (hip hinge, shoulders pulled back, chest tall, low back flat, weight in heels and squeeeeeze your butt tight at the top) but you’re adding a whole lot of power behind it to swing the kettlebell (or dumbbell) between your legs and up to shoulder height. If you want to get your heart rate and your strength up, add some kettlebell swings to your routine. Your booty will thank you, too!

5. Bulgarian Split Squat Jumps

I have a true love/hate relationship with these. Love because they’re SO AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE and hate because they’re TOUGH! Even without the jump they’re hard, but single leg stuff is important and this has got to be my all time favorite single-leg move. These split squats are amazing at targeting quads, hammies, glutes and integrate A LOT of balance work!