Short on time but still want to get stronger? You’d be surprised what you can achieve in just five minutes. This high-intensity bodyweight workout is designed to work your entire body, targeting your legs, chest, core, shoulders, and back without the need for any equipment. All you need is your own body, five minutes, and a commitment to push yourself with each exercise.

This workout follows a time-based interval format that combines strength, mobility, and cardio all in one quick session. With four challenging movements that engage multiple muscle groups while keeping your heart rate up, this routine is perfect for those busy days when you need a fast and effective workout. Let’s get started!

Why Bodyweight Workouts Are Effective for Building Strength

Bodyweight workouts are sometimes underestimated as only suitable for beginners, but they can be just as intense and effective as weightlifting sessions. By incorporating compound movements and increasing the pace, you force your muscles to work harder to stabilize, coordinate, and produce power throughout a full range of motion. This type of training helps you develop practical strength that benefits not only your gym performance but also your daily activities.

The key is to work with intention. When performed with control and intensity, exercises like pushups, lunges, squats, and planks can build muscle endurance, core strength, and functional movement patterns that support injury prevention and athletic performance. You don’t need heavy weights to get stronger. You just need to move with purpose and precision.

How to Maximize Results From Short Strength Workouts

Time-based intervals are the secret weapon behind this five-minute strength builder. Instead of counting reps, you’ll perform each movement for 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest. This keeps the workout flowing while creating enough recovery to sustain effort across all four exercises. It also forces you to stay mentally engaged, because every rep counts when you’re up against the clock.

To maximize results, treat each set like a sprint. Focus on quality form, explosive effort, and full-body control. These short bursts of work stimulate your nervous system, recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers, and build cardiovascular capacity all in a fraction of the time you’d spend on a traditional gym session. When done right, five minutes is more than enough.

The 5-Minute Total-Body Interval Workout

What you need: Just your body! This workout will increase your heart rate without any weights or other equipment. It takes only five minutes to complete, perfect for busy days, warm-ups, or stacking with different workouts.

The Routine:

1. Squat Jumps (1 set, 40 seconds on, 20 seconds rest)
2. Pushup to Shoulder Tap (1 set, 40 seconds on, 20 seconds rest)
3. Alternating Reverse Lunge to Knee Drive (1 set, 40 seconds on, 20 seconds rest)
4. Forearm Plank to Down Dog (1 set, 40 seconds on, 20 seconds rest)

Directions:

Set a timer for 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest for each exercise. Perform each movement as powerfully and as controlled as possible for the full 40 seconds, then take 20 seconds to rest and transition to the next one. Focus on total-body control, core engagement, and steady breathing.

How to Do It:

Squat Jumps

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Drop into a deep squat, keeping your chest tall and weight in your heels.
3. Explode upward, jumping as high as possible.
4. Land softly and lower right into your next squat.

Pushup to Shoulder Tap

1. Start in a high plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
2. Lower your chest to the ground, keeping your elbows at about a 45-degree angle.
3. Press back up to plank, then tap your left shoulder with your right hand.
4. Tap your right shoulder with your left hand.
5. Return to the plank and repeat from the pushup.
6. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.

Alternating Reverse Lunge to Knee Drive

1. Step your right foot back into a reverse lunge, lowering until both knees are at 90 degrees.
2. Push through your front leg to return to standing and drive your right knee up toward your chest.
3. Repeat on the left side and continue alternating.

Forearm Plank to Down Dog

1. Start in a forearm plank with elbows under shoulders and body in a straight line.
2. Press into your forearms and lift your hips toward the ceiling, transitioning into a Down Dog shape.
3. Hold for a beat, then slowly lower back into forearm plank.
4. Continue moving between plank and Down Dog with control.

Jarrod Nobbe, MA, CSCS