This 10-Minute Workout Will Strengthen Your Full-Body Control

Sometimes during a HIIT workout, it can feel like you’re pushing, pushing, pushing just to get through the intervals. Working out at an intense clip has its cardio benefits, but it can also cause you to sacrifice form and full muscle engagement.

In this new 10-minute full-body workout from Well+Good Trainer of the Month Elisabeth Akinwale, a certified personal trainer who is leading our ReNew Year movement plan, the intervals will be short—just 20 seconds!—and you’ll move at whatever pace works for you. Seriously, there’s no need to push it. Rather than speeding through the moves, the focus is on being intentional about your positioning so that you really get the most out of the work.

Akinwale sets the tone right away. During a round of jump speed skaters, the first of six moves you’ll perform twice through, Akinwale stresses the customizable nature of the exercise.

“You get to choose how dynamic you want to make this movement, but your goal is to have control when you land and really work on some of that lateral power and balance,” Akinwale says.

Maintaining control during a movement isn’t just about your muscles. During dead bugs, burpees, and alternating pike touches, one of the goals is to intentionally breathe throughout, despite the fact that you’re working on your core.

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“It can be hard when you’re using your core to not hold your breath, but that’s one of the skills you want to build, is to be able to hold tension and position, but still breathe,” Akinwale says. (And there’s no need to be quiet either, she adds. Embrace the pant.)

After the six-move series, you’ll round out the workout with some final moves that combine stretch and strength, further promoting balance within the body.

Ultimately, keeping a handle on the way your body is moving during an exercise will help prevent injury and ensure you get the most out of a workout. So stay tuned in and move with intention, always.