I’m going to let you in on the golden rules of training! If you stick to these ‘four points’ of exercise, you’ll be able to create your own training style and pattern, become the creator and trainer of how you feel and look, and be in charge of your workout.

The four points of exercise are: arm and shoulders, trunk (core), legs and cardio. If you stick to this, you will benefit with fantastic health and fitness, and your body will be balanced.

You can spend just three minutes on each of the points and you are done, which means in just 12 minutes you have completed your workout – awesome! Of course, if you want to push a little harder, you can increase your time on each point or do a second lap of your workout.

How do you put your workout together?

Put all of your arm and shoulder exercises into a bucket. Pick out one of them at random and that is your exercise for the workout. Repeat that process for trunk, legs and cardio exercises. Your workouts could look something like these, doing each exercise for three minutes:

Workout 1

1. Shoulder press with dumbbells
2. Alternate twist sit-ups
3. Seated wall squat
4. Skipping

Workout 2

1. Barbell bicep curls
2. Plank
3. Toe taps
4. 10m shuttle runs

Workout 3

1. Push-ups
2. Lying knee raises
3. Squats
4. Spin bike

As you can see, there are lots of options for your workout. Alternating exercises keeps the body guessing as to what is next and this is of great benefit to your body and training, ensuring you will not plateau. Here is a list of exercises you could choose from:

Arms and shoulders: push-ups; dips; punching above your head or in front of your body; shoulder press; bicep curls; seated dips; chin-ups; chest press; incline press; lat pull down.

Trunk: elbow sit-ups; plank; alternating sit-ups; crunches; leg raises; knee raises; straight leg toe touch.

Legs: squats; standing calf raise; seated wall squats; single leg hops; lunge walk; tuck jumps; toe taps, step-ups.

Cardio: walking; jogging; shuttle run; spin bike; stepper; skipping; rowing; cardio climber.

Editor’s note: Our rotating wellbeing and fitness columns provide advice that is general in nature. Please always refer to your preferred health professional for advice suited to your personal healthcare requirements.

For more:

• Fitness foundation: seven of the best exercises
• Getting back to the gym
• Overcoming unhealthy habits