The Men's Health Big Book of 15-Minute Workouts: A Leaner, Stronger Body--in 15 Minutes a Day!

The basic idea of this book is to work the body in about 15 minutes. Here's how you do it. You focus on a few key exercises and move quickly from one exercise to another, with mininal rest time between exercises. Then, you repeat the exercises in a circuit, again with minimal rest. These workouts work on increasing strength, by building muscle and strong bones, thus burning more fat. These workouts emphasize getting a lean strong body, rather than bodybuilding, and is, therefore, not a general bodybuilding book. In the number and variety of workouts, this book is excellent. It contains 78 workouts, all 15-minutes long. Some workouts are bodyweight or require dumbbells. Others use a pull-up bar, a barbell, a kettlebell, a medicine ball, a stability (Swiss or large) ball, an exercise band (tubing), a foam roller, a jump rope, a BOSU, a bench, a cable machine, a step, and so on. Instruction and exercises for each of the workouts vary, but in general, one may do a circuit of 3 to 7 relatively intense exercises, with little or no rest between each exercise. Then, rest for 60 between each circuit. Finally, repeat 2 more circuits. All exercise photos are large and in color, clearly showing their positions, with descriptions. ~~~ Here's a detailed list of the 78 workouts or exercise plans. I have listed the exercises for a few of the workouts. TOTAL BODY WORKOUTS Bodyweight exercises 1. Beginner: strength and agility workout Judo pushup Seesaw lunge Wall slide Plank reach 2. Intermediate: your body is your barbell 1 Y squat Spider-man pushup Squat and jump combo Single-leg romanian deadlift Spider-man lunge 3. Intermediate: your body is your barbell 2: (bench or step used) Squat Tucked-elbow pushup 5-second forward lunge Stepup Jump 4. Advanced: belly off! No gym classic 1: (bench or step and a pull-up bar used) Shoulder press pushup Single-leg bench getup Mountain climber Wide-grip pushup Inverted row 5. Advanced: belly off! no-gym classic 2: (bench, large ball, & a pull-up bar used) Front-foot elevated split squat Walking offset pushup Stability ball leg curl Single-leg hip raise Chinup Dumbbell workouts 6. The single: dumbbell blast workout 1 Woodchopper Arms-out squat Standing pressout Towel row 7. The buildup: dumbbell blast workout 2 Straight-leg deadlift Thrusters Bent-over row Squat thrust 8. Fast and furious: dumbbell blast workout 3 Incline bench press One-arm snatch Seated calf raise Chest-supported row Dumbbells, a barbell, and/or a barbell plate used. 9. Muscle definer workout 1 10. Muscle definer workout 2 11. Classic Powerlifter Workout Jump rope used. 12. Total-body stress-buster workout FAT BURNING WORKOUTS Dumbbells, barbell, and other tools used. 13. You're melting: A 14. You're melting: B One dumbbell used. 15. Strength, stamina, speed, and sweat Pull-up bar, dumbbells, and other tools used. 16. Superhero workout Dumbbells, bench and large ball used. 17. Supersweat Supersets ABS & CORE WORKOUTS Medicine ball and one dumbbell used. 18. No crunch core workout Medicine ball and other tools used. 19. Six pack abs workout 1 Large ball, slanted bench, and pull-up bar used. 20. Six pack abs workout 2 Dumbbells used. 21. Obliques obliterator workout Mix of tools used. Bodyweight workouts possible. 22. Build your own 15-minute core workout: choose 5 out of 19 exercises to create your own workouts. SHOULDERS AND ARMS Dumbbells, bench and slanted bench used. 23. Dumbbell total arms workout Concentrated curl Seated triceps extension Wrist curl Alternating grip hammer curl Cross-shoulder extension Standing scaption Barbell, slanted bench, and cable machine used. 24. Arms and dangerous Barbell, dummbells, cable machine and bench used. 25. Deltoid Definer workout Dumbbells and barbell used. 26. Shoulders and arms combo 1 Dumbbells and cable machine used. 27. Shoulders and arms combo 2 Dumbbells, rowing station, and slanted bench used. 28. Shoulders and arms combo 3 CHEST AND BACK Dip bars, barbell, bench, dumbbell, and barbell plate used. 29. Chest pound workout 1 Dip Barbell bench press Incline dumbbell fly Seated Single-arm external rotation Single-arm dumbbell row Weighted pushup Dumbbell, bench, cable machine, dip bar, and pull-up bar used. 30. Chest pound workout 2 Barbell, squat rack, dumbbells, and pull-up bar used. 31. Back attack workout Bodyweight exercises. No equipment used. 32. Strong and steady Cable machine, dumbbells, bench, and squat rack used. 33. Chest and back combo Bodyweight and TRX suspension straps used. 34. Perfect pushup circuit 1 Box and medicine ball used. 35. Perfect pushup circuit 2 BOSU, bench, and box used. 36. Perfect pushup circuit 3 LOWER BODY WORKOUTS Dumbbells, barbell, large ball, and bench used. 37. Flat butt fix Dumbbells and large ball used. 38. Iron glute workout Dumbbells and barbell used. 39. Ready for liftoff Dumbbells and other tools used. 40. Total lower body blast Cones and boxes used. 41. Lower body leaps and bounds Bench and circular band used. 42. Protect your assets SUPERFAST CARDIO: HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING Basically, go fast for short periods of time, to burn more calories. Treadmill workouts 43. Workout 1: speed demon 44. Workout 2: HIIT the hills Running workouts 45. Workout 1: dash it off 46. Workout 2: flying laps Cycling workouts 47. Workout 1: Lance Armstrong 48. Workout 2: rolling hills Elliptical workout 49. Boredom beater Swimming workout 50. Interval medley Jump rope workout 51. Skipper 2 SPECIAL GEAR WORKOUTS 52. Kettlebell workout 1 53. Kettlebell workout 2 54. Exercise band workout 1 55. Exercise band workout 2 56. Medicine ball workout 1 57. Medicine ball workout 2 58. Stability ball workout 1 (large or Swiss ball) 59. Stability ball workout 2 60. Sandbag workout 1 61. Sandbag workout 2 IMPROVING YOUR STAMINA WORKOUTS (actually called better-sex workouts in the book) Dumbbells used. 62. Stamina workout One dumbbell used. 63. Over the top workout Stability ball used. 64. Man on a mission workout 65. Pretzel position workout Dumbbells and a sandbag used. 66. Four on the floor workout HEALING WORKOUTS Dumbbells, stability ball, cable machine, and slanted bench used. 67. Shoulder stretch and strengthen One dumbbell used. 68. Knee saver Bodyweight exercises. No equipment needed. 69. Lower back booster Box or step used. 70. Age eraser workout 71. Foam roller workout SPORTS WORKOUTS Dumbbells and medicine ball used. 72. Golf workout Dumbbells and low step used. 73. Tennis workout BOSU, dumbells, step, medicine ball, and barbell used. 74. Ski and snowboard workout Barbell, bench, step, and plate used. 75. Running race workout Hyperextension station used. 76. Triathlon workout Dumbells, bench, and step used. 77. Cycling workout Dumbells used. 78. Basketball workout ~~~ I did workout #3 (bodyweight) and I was breathing heavily during the exercise and I did a modified version of workout #7 (dumbell blast 2) and it was intense and made me sweat. I loved the concept of 15 minute workouts and I liked this book. ~~~ If you liked this book, try the women's version of this 15-minutes book. This shows more bodyweight and dumbbell workouts. If you want just bodyweight exercises, (with no equipment), get this book, "You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises" by Mark Lauren and Joshua Clark. This is excellent in the range of exercises which, again, do not require equipment.

I got this as a supplement to my other workout routines. I wanted something to add variety and challenge me in different areas besides what I got with standard weight training. I have been working on the total body workouts and find many of the individual moves to be quite challenging, and the workout routines as a whole to deliver a decent cardio blast as well as fatigue the muscles intended. The recommended workout schedule is to do one routine for about 15 minutes three times a week, with a high intensity interval training routine once a week. I actually combine the 15 minute routine with a 10-15 minute ab routine for about a 30 minute workout, then on the rest days I actually do a light cardio and ab routine for about 30 minutes. I can feel and see results after only a few weeks on the program. I think one of the things that has also fueled results is a change in diet. Like others have mentioned, I found the nutritional suggestions in the book to be a bit lacking in specificity, but in general the emphasis is on eating more protein and vegetables, reduce carbs, and snack on fruit and nuts. I have been trying to be more conscious about this and it seems to be helping reduce the "spare tire" around my waist. Overall, I think the nutritional guidance is okay, but not great, but the workouts are really good and I'm glad I got the book. I look forward to getting into the workouts even more, maybe combining some of them for a 30-minute workout, and watching the positive results.

As a young father, my Wife and I do not have much spare time anymore to exercise nor do outdoor trips (hiking, mountain biking,etc.). We felt very sad about that. This book of optimized exercises helped us being motivated again by gaining results as impressive as if we were training 3 times longer !! But don't imagine these are miracle recipes... the basis is that you don't lose time resting between the workouts, so the 15mn are very, I mean very efficient... Results do come fast and after 2 weeks (training 1 day out of 2, as suggested in the book), I am already feeling my abs recovering their former strentgh, more durably than before. Needless to talk about the thighs and arms and shoulders... The workouts in this book won't help you build "big" muscles, but they will help you gain EFFICIENT muscles, EFICIENT strength, and endurance. You just have to complete your weekly workout by one "HIIT" (High Intensity Interval Training), ideally outdoor (in my case: skysurfing/paddling : ) ) and you're done. And the main benefit is that you have... more spare time to rest between the daily workouts and after each day's workout ! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for awesome (and motivating because of the variety!!) workouts, especially if they don't want to spend hours excercises because of her/his busy lifestyle !

Hello- I've purchased quite a few fitness books. I'm in my mid 40s and am forced to re-work my workouts due to time and requirement needs. The content of this book is very good. Exercises are great and routines are solid. If you need more workout, just combine 2 routines for a 1/2hr workout. But, you'll really get tired of looking at all the images of half naked people. It really gets tiring. I don't think there is a single shirt anywhere to be seen in this book. Because of this, forget photocopying and bringing the how-tos into the gym. It was embarrassing opening this book in front of my wife. She laughed out loud at me. The images really are way over the top. For this reason alone, it was very hard to give it 4 stars. But, the content is very good so I went with a 4. Honestly, if it weren't for the lite porno feel, it would have had received 5 stars. In the end, great workouts, well organized, well documented, too much skin. Very solid book for quick routines. Hope this helps.

Purchased for my boyfriend to inspire him to develop a gym habit. I was always telling him to get in the daily habit of going to the gym for just 15-20 minutes per day. When I saw this book of 15 minute workouts, I got it for him as a guide and for tips to enhance his routine. Interestingly, I enjoy flipping through it for tips too.

"The Men's Health Big Book 15-Minute Workouts" is a fitness game-changer. Packed with effective and time-efficient workout routines, this book is perfect for busy individuals seeking maximum results in minimal time. The clear instructions, diverse exercises, and customizable plans cater to all fitness levels. With this book, achieving a fit and healthy lifestyle has never been easier. A must-have for those looking to optimize their workouts!

I have been a regular at the gym for years and have kept a steady level of fitness since my early twenties (just turned 59). Keeping my weight at a healthy level has been difficult for the last 10 years or more. I have been as heavy as 225 but have maintained around 210 for several years. I have been trying to get my weight under 200 for many years with no luck. 205 was about where I would hit a plateau and just could not get under. I had tried running more, lifting more all to no avail. So I did some research and discovered the world of HIIT and Tabata exercise. I bought myself a gym timer and this book and went to work. Using only a couple of very basic body weight exercise routines from the book I started a whole new way of working out, along with skipping rope as a warm up. Using straight 5 minutes of skipping rope to warm up my new routine then only takes about 20 to 25 minutes. But they are the most intense 25 minutes I have put in at the gym since my days in the army. I have been using the exercises and methods in this book for almost eight weeks now and my weight is at just under 194 pounds. Some will scoff and say it does not work, but I am telling you it works for me. I am leaner and more muscular than I have been in years and I put it all on the methods I took from the book. If you are serious about getting something done at the gym besides spending time and you are not body builder (which I am not by any means) then I recommend this book. And you do not even need a gym. I just like the atmosphere of other people working out and the availability of some equipment and machines that I have worked into my work outs, still using the HIIT or Tabata methods of intensity and timing. Be prepared to work hard. I am expending more energy in my 20-25 minute work outs than I was in over an hour of just weights and cardio machines. By the end of my work outs I am completely gassed. And it feels great.

I've bought a couple of very good workout books over the last year, mostly as a reference and to get new ideas, I will say that by far this book and The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises: Four Weeks to a...