20-Minute Strength Workouts Trainers Recommend For A Quick Sweat

Strength training is a foundational workout modality that can boost both your mental and physical health. And you don’t need to sweat for an hour to do it: Here, trainers share their fave 20-minute strength workouts for a quick but effective sesh.

AMRAPs from WRKOUT’s Kelsey Sciberras

Do as many rounds as possible of the below exercises until 20 minutes are up.

1. 20 squats
2. 20 lunges
3. 10 push-ups
4. 20 mountain climbers

Bodyweight Circuit from iFit’s Bryn Knowles

Do 10 push-ups, 15 supermans, and 20 tricep dips.

Do 30 seconds each: reverse lunges, sumo squats, and a wall sit.

Do 30 seconds each: bicycles, mountain climbers, and V-ups.

Do 30 seconds of burpees between circuits. Rest.

Repeat 3X.

Lower-Body Strength from Barry’s Bootcamp’s Tommy Stracke

1. 30 seconds of squats
2. 30 seconds of jump squats
3. 1 minute of sumo squats
4. 1 minute of front-load squats
5. 30-second squat hold
6. 30 seconds of jump squats
7. 1 minute of lunges
8. 1 minute of skaters

Repeat for 20 minutes.

Knowles's Lower-Body Sculpt

1. 10 side lunges (per side)
2. 10 hamstring curls
3. 15 clamshells
4. 15 hip raises
5. 30 side-to-side steps
6. 30 seconds of donkey kicks
7. 30 seconds of fire hydrants
8. 30 seconds of rainbow kicks

Use sliders or bands if you like. Repeat for 20 minutes.

Sciberras’s Quick-HIITer

Do each exercise for 40 seconds, then rest for 20.

1. Three-point lunge (forward, side, and back), right leg
2. Three-point lunge, left leg
3. Skaters
4. Pop squat
5. Frogger

Repeat twice.

1. Hang snatch
2. Squat press
3. Bear crawls
4. Banded row

Repeat twice.

Knowles’s Core Burner

Do each exercise four times for 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off:

1. Russian twists
2. Plank jacks
3. Scissor kicks
4. Mountain climbers
5. V-ups

Repeat twice.

Stracke’s Upper-Body Dumbbell Workout

Do each exercise for 1 minute. Repeat three times through.

1. Push-ups
2. Bent-over rows
3. Suitcase bicep curls
4. Hammer curls to shoulder press
5. Bear crawl rows
6. Tricep extensions
7. Burpees

Sciberras’s No-Standing Bodyweight Workout

1. 15 glute bridges
2. 15 glute bridge walkouts
3. 15 fire hydrants (per side)
4. 15 plank jacks (per side)
5. 15 pike toe touches (per side)
6. 15 side plank knee-to-elbow reaches (per side)

Repeat four times.

Stracke’s Core Circuit

1. 1 minute of hip dips
2. 1 minute of high-plank knee drives to down dog
3. 30 seconds of mountain climbers
4. 1 minute of jackknifes
5. 1 minute of weighted crunches
6. 1 minute of basic crunches
7. 1 minute of bicycles

Repeat three times.