We all know that strength training is one of the best things women can do to support bone health, stabilise blood sugar, reduce our risk of metabolic disease and boost mood. But how many of us have enough time in the week to do the 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise recommended by the NHS? Between work commitments, family life and an attempt to see our friends, it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to focus on our own fitness goals.

That mindset is where lots of us go wrong. You don’t need to workout for an hour; research confirms that just 15 minutes of exercise is enough to reap the benefits of moving our bodies. And if it’s too much, split that into three for a five minute boost in the morning, at lunch and after work. 

To help, we’ve roped in a bunch of PTs to share their favourite five-minute hacks for boosting strength. Exercise snacking at it’s finest!

1. Work on grip strength

“Adding five minutes of grip strength work into your regime can really aid your ability to train harder next time around,” says Ben Simpkins, head personal trainer at London Fitness Mamas. “So many times, when trying to go heavier and push yourself, your grip can be the thing holding you back, so adding simple things like farmer carries can really improve the rest of your training.”

Kirsten Whitehouse, trainer at Wolf Approach Fitness is a big fan of “taking a heavy kettlebell for a walk”. “Once your farmer’s carry starts getting uncomfortable, keep going. This is where grip training kicks in. For an extra kick, try working your core at the same time by holding just one kettlebell in one hand at a time, as opposed to having one in each hand.”

How to do a farmer’s carry

1. Hold a heavy kettlebell in your right hand
2. Walk slowly the length of the gym floor (or your living room)
3. Avoid leaning towards the right – you want to challenge your core to keep you upright
4. Aim to walk for 30 seconds before switching to the left hand

2. Prioritise compound moves

“Another good hack is to work bigger and smaller muscle groups at the same time. We call this compound training,” explains Whitehouse. “Great examples are lunges with bicep curls, squat and presses or renegade rows. It means you are engaging more muscles in the same amount of time, forcing fast adaptation and maximising overall change in the shortest possible time.”

How to do a renegade row

1. Place your dumbbells on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
2. Get into plank position, holding onto the dumbbells instead of having your hands flat on the floor. The further apart your feet are, the easier it will be to balance. If it’s too tricky on your feet, feel free to drop to your knees.
3. Ensure that there’s a straight line between your wrists, elbows and shoulders – body weight should be over the wrists.
4. Slowly bend the right elbow to bring the dumbbell up towards your hip.
5. Lower the weight back down and repeat on the left.
6. No other part of the body should be moving – only the single arm.

3. Do more push ups

“The basics never fail,” explains Simpkins. “If you want to improve your upper body strength then get used to adding a set of push ups to each workout. Break the exercise down to get the technique right and move forward from there, even if you can’t do one rep right now, keep at it.”

1. Start by taking a high plank on your hands and toes, making sure your shoulders are stacked over your wrists.
2. Make sure your core is activated so you’re pulling in your belly button and squeezing the glutes.
3. Slowly lower yourself to the ground, letting your arms and elbows come out to 45 degrees.
4. Stop when you’re about halfway down.
5. Exhale, squeeze your muscles and drive back up into a high plank position. 

4. Work on your core

“If you’re really pushed for time, prioritise a core workout as a strong foundation is needed for heavy lifting – ensuring your core can support you is essential when building strength,” explains Simpkins. You can choose your move, but you can’t go wrong with the classic plank.

How to do a plank

1. Make sure your body stays parallel to the floor.
2. Tuck the pelvis in, making sure it’s rotated to the front – don’t arch the lower back.
3. Keep your legs straight and glutes engaged by squeezing your bum.
4. Make sure your shoulders are over your wrists with your shoulder blades away from each other.
5. Pull your belly button in and hold. 

5. Try a superset

“A great five minute hack is to do a superset of opposing muscle groups,” says Whitehouse. “For example, a bicep curl combined with a tricep dip. Perform these exercises back-to-back for maximum impact.”

How to do a bicep curl 

1. Hold your dumbbells by your sides, arms straight, palms facing forwards.
2. Keeping the elbows close to the sides of your body, bend the elbows to bring the weights up towards your collarbone.
3. Slowly bring the weights back down by straightening the arms – making sure to maintain contact between your elbows and body the whole time.
4. Repeat. 

How to do a tricep dip

1. Sit with your back to a sofa, chair, bed or any raised surface. Place your hands on the surface, shoulder-width apart, fingers facing the same way as your toes.
2. To begin, bend the knees so your legs are at a right angle. A more advanced variation is to keep the legs straight with your heels touching the floor.
3. Open up through collarbone without overextending the chest.
4. Slowly bend elbows to lower down. Push back up through your hands.
5. Keep the shoulder away from the ears, and the bum close to the bench.

Images: Getty