6 Workouts that Help You Burn 100 Calories in Just 10 Minutes

By Paige Waehner, Exercise Expert

Updated July 10, 2015.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

Too busy to exercise? It's easy to feel that way, particularly if you're trying to follow theexercise guidelines, which suggest an hour a day most days of the week. However, experts have found that short workouts, two or three 10 minute workouts a day, for example, can be just as effective as longer workouts. The key is to focus on intensity and use your time wisely.

So how do you add intensity to your workouts? Try high impact activities like jogging, jumping rope or plyometrics. If high impact isn't your thing, you can absolutely get a great workout with low impact exercise. The key is to try compound moves to work more than one muscle group or, if you're doing low impact cardio, speed and range of motion will definitely get your heart rate up.

The sample workouts below offer a variety of cardio and strength ideas to get the most out of your exercise time. Remember, the number of calories you burn is based on a number of factors like your age, weight, body composition, intensity level and more, so it may not be exactly 100 calories for each person.

One other point: The warm ups in these workouts are very short and you may need more time to get your body ready for exercise to avoid injury. Feel free to add more warm up time and don't forget to cool down and stretchafter each workout.

10 Minute Cardio Blast

- Getty Images/Dave and Les Jacobs — Getty Images/Dave and Les Jacobs

To get the most out of 10 minute workouts, you'll need to work harder. Make sure you're warmed up before high impact exercise and do each exercise as hard and fast as you can, keeping good form. Try these exercises for a 10 minute cardio blast.

1 minute - Brisk walk or march in place
1 minute - Light jog in place or outside, moving the arms up and down
1 minute - Jumping jacks
30 seconds - Long jumps - jump forward, landing with both feet, turn around and jump back
30 seconds - Jog in place
30 seconds - Long jumps
30 seconds - March in place
30 seconds - Burpees
30 seconds - Mountain climbers
30 seconds - March in place
30 seconds - Burpees
30 seconds - March in place
30 seconds - Jog in place
1 minute burn: Squat jumps
1 minute - Slow march in place to cool down

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10 Minute Sprint HIIT Workout

186543840.jpg - Getty Images/ Dave Long — Getty Images/ Dave Long

Running is another activity that can burn calories and, if you only have 10 minutes, you can burn more calories by trying a little high intensity interval training. This workout includes short bursts of speed that gradually increase until, by the end of the workout, you'll be in an all-out sprint. Don't like running? Try hill repeats or speed walking in stead.

1 minute - Brisk walk or march in place
1 minute - Start a light jog to get your body even more warmed up
1 minute - High Knee Jogs - Jog, lifting your knees high to around waist-level
30 seconds - Increase your speed so that you're at around Level 6-7 on this Perceived Exertion Scale
30 seconds - Jog or walk
30 seconds - Now run at a Level 8 on the PE Scale
30 seconds - Jog or walk
30 seconds - Run even faster than your last work interval
30 seconds - Jog or walk
30 seconds - Run at the same pace or faster than the previous interval
30 seconds - Jog or walk
1 minute - Sprint as fast as you can, all out
1 minute - Slow Jog
1 minute - Walk to cool down

- Getty Images/B2M Productions — Getty Images/B2M Productions

Jumping rope is a great way to burn more calories, but it's very hard to jump rope continuously even for a few minutes, especially if you're out of practice. I like to do intervals, jumping rope for about 30 or so seconds and then jogging or marching in place between bouts of jumping. That gives your body a little rest while you're still burning mega calories.

1 minute - Brisk walk or march in place to warm up
1 minute - Light jog in place moving the arms up and down
30 seconds - Jump rope
30 seconds - Jog or march in place
30 seconds - Jump rope
30 seconds - Jog or march in place
30 seconds - Jump rope
30 seconds - Jog or march in place
30 seconds - Jump rope
30 seconds - Jog or march in place
30 seconds - Jump rope
30 seconds - Jog or march in place
1 minute - Jump rope as fast as you can
1 minute - Jog or march in place
1 minute - Walk to cool down

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10 Minute Low Impact Workout

- Getty Images/Adrianna Williams — Getty Images/Adrianna Williams

You don't have to run, sprint, hop and jump if you want to get a great workout. There are tons of great exercises you can do that don't involve jumping at all, such as some of the exercises listed below. Try these moves, going as quickly as you can and getting the biggest range of motion you can for the biggest calorie burn.

1 minute - Step touch- Step side to side, swinging the arms to warm up
1 minute - Med Ball Knee LIfts - Hold a med ball overhead and alternate knee lifts, bringing the ball down to touch the knee
1 minute - Squat and Sweep with Med Ball - Squat and touch the med ball to the floor, stand up and sweep the weight overhead
1 minute - Squat Kicks - Squat and, as you press up, kick out with the right leg. Alternate kicking with each leg.
1 minute - Side to Side Lunges with Punches- Pivot to the right, stepping the left foot straight back into a lunge while punching out with right hand. Switch sides and repeat.
1 minute - Low Impact Jumping Jacks - Step the right foot out to the side and swing the right arm up and overhead. Switch to the left and repeat.
1 minute - Straight Leg Kicks - Lift the right leg straight up and circle the right arm around and down towards the toe. Repeat on the other side, alternating.
1 minute - Puddle Jumpers - Push off the right foot as you step out with the left foot as wide as you can, arms wide. Step left foot in and then repeat to the other side.
1 minute - Side Knee, Side Kick -Bring the left knee up to the side while bringing the elbow down towards the knee. Take the left foot down and shift the weight into the left leg while kicking out to the side. 30 seconds on the right and then left.
1 minute - Bear Crawls - Squat to the floor and walk the hands out into a plank. Do a pushup (optional), walk the hands back and stand up.
1 minute - Walk to cool down

See Also: Yes You Can Find Time to Exercise

10 Minute Home Circuit Workout

Cardio isn't the only way to burn more calories. Strength training exercises, especially when done in a circuit format, can really burn some serious calories.

For the workout below Do each exercise for about 30-60 seconds or to fatigue before moving on to the next exercise with little or no rest. Use enough weight that you're challenged for each exercise.

- NPHOTOS/Moment/Getty Images — NPHOTOS/Moment/Getty Images

Even if you don't have equipment, you can burn calories with just your body as your resistance. The key to making that work is to work as hard as you can for each exercise. Try the following body weight circuit, doing each exercise for 30-60 seconds and moving as quickly as you can with good form.