15-Minute Workouts for Every Fitness Goal

These exercise moves help lose weight, bust stress, and more

Goal: Lose Weight

Join the training circuit: In one study, dieting women who did fitness routines that combined aerobic and strengthening exercises shed up to 11 pounds in 10 weeks  and most of that was fat.

The moves: Do 30 seconds of cardio (such as jumping jacks), then 30 seconds of strength-training moves (like squats or push-ups); repeat 15 times.

Goal: Stress Less

Pausing to do yoga  even at your office desk  can help ease tension, reports an Australian study.

The moves: Try side bends (with arms overhead and hands together, bend gently from your waist) and forward bends (reach for the floor).

Bonus: To target neck and shoulder tension, reach over your head with your right arm, hold your left ear, and gently draw your neck toward your right shoulder; hold for 10 breaths, then switch sides, says psychologist and yoga instructor Rachel Allyn, Ph.D.

Goal: Prevent Injury

"Like muscle, your skeleton needs to be stressed to stay strong," says nutrition and exercise physiology professor Pamela Hinton, Ph.D.

The move: Jump! The impact signals bones to become stronger, says Hinton. As few as 10 jumps each day may bolster your spine and hips.

Bonus: Add jumps in different directions or on just one leg, since bones can become desensitized to repetitive motions. For upper-body protection, do a push-up between each pair of jumps.

Goal: Ease Back Pain

Strengthen your core. Try trunk-balancing exercises twice weekly for 15 minutes, say researchers.

The moves:

1. Kneel on a pillow with arms 90 degrees out to the side. Comfortably twist upper body, head, and arms to the right; hold for 30 seconds. Repeat twice for each side.

2. Start on all fours, with back flat. Extend your right arm forward and your left arm back so they're parallel to the floor. After a minute, switch sides.

Bonus: To add a challenge to the first move, close your eyes.

Goal: Improve Heart Health

The best way to train your ticker in a short time is with cardio intervals, which alternate intense bursts of exercise with periods of moving at a more relaxed pace, says Martin Gibala, Ph.D., a professor and the chair of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

The move: If cycling, pedal hard for 60 seconds, keeping your pace up so you can say only a few words before getting out of breath. Then let up for 60 seconds, cycling slowly. If jogging, go at a quick clip for 60 seconds, then walk for 60. Repeat seven times.

Bonus: Make a playlist of songs that pump you up. Listening to favorites may help you disconnect from the discomfort. Also, research from the U.K. and Germany suggests jamming out to music you like can make time seem to pass more quickly.