Don’t have time or money to spend on expensive gym memberships and training classes. 12 Minute Athlete may be a great option for you.

Their goal is to help you get in the best shape of your life with minimal equipment and no gym membership (unless you want one of course).

The 12 Minute Athlete focuses on functional fitness with an emphasis on strength and conditioning.

There’s a lot of talk about high intensity interval training (HIIT), bodyweight training, Tabata training, CrossFit-style training and pushing the overall limits of your body. The workouts can be done by seasoned athletes or complete novices – since they don’t use a lot of weights, you can always scale the load and intensity of the workouts.

The goal of the site is to :

  • Help you get in the best shape of your life
  • Provide you with exercise routines that can be done with minimal or no equipment in a very short amount of time
  • Rev up your strength and endurance so you can function
    better in real life, sports, outdoor activities, etc.
  • Help you make exercise a habit
  • Make fitness FUN!

Be warned though – If your goal is to get arms like twigs (ladies) or biceps like boulders (guys) you won’t like them.

But if your goal is to get in the best shape of your life while avoiding spending hours in the gym,  to challenge yourself and learn about nutrition at the same time then 12 Minute Athlete is just what you’re looking for.

How it works

You’ll find new posts on the 12 Minute Athlete five days a week. Here’s what you can expect:

Monday: Workout
Tuesday: Post on something informative, motivational, life-changing, etc.
Wednesday: Workout
Thursday: Post on something informative, motivational, life-changing, etc.
Friday: Workout

Most of you will want to work out more than three days a week (I typically take one or two days off a week), so if you’re looking for additional workouts, you can find past workouts in the workout archives.

There are also pages with recipes, awesome home workout equipment, workout videos.

They also have a 12 Minute Athlete app where you get access to the same information directly on your smartphone.

Check them out at www.12minuteathlete.com