BY ERIKA D. WHITE

An AlphaBabe (or Diva, in the best sense of the word!) is an intelligent woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. She is extremely good at what she does, all while taking care of herself and her health.

Like most AlphaBabes, my life can be summed up in having just enough time, not enough time or, my least favorite, no time at all.

Working on “having it all” has been Hulk stomping all over my goal of a banging summer body for 2016! [Sigh] Finally accepting that Olivia Pope was not going to show up and fix my mess, I decided enough is enough!

A little less than two weeks ago, I booked an all-inclusive summer vacation to Southern South America for October, taking full advantage of the reverse seasonal calendar. Then, I began going over where I could carve a little time to start working on my bangin’ body for October 2016!

I commanded my British-voiced Siri to read through my calendar, which took nearly 2 hours, and I ended right back where I started – with not enough time! I felt myself completely morphing into a Debbie Downer. Second thoughts, which oddly enough sounded like Oliva Pope, chimed in my head:

‘What made you think you could cheat summer? Why didn’t you start earlier? Why didn’t you think of using that money for another type of trip…like a trip to a plastic surgeon! ARGHHHH!’

I was trippin’ out! (Pun intended.) This was truly one of the lowest moments of my life, until I heard the faint voice of Cathy Mitchell coming for the TV. (Side note: If you don’t know who Cathy Mitchell is, we can’t be friends.)

I really can’t go into great detail, because I can’t afford to cut into my 20 minute workout, but I think my big change came when I heard Cathy talking about some quick and easy “dump dinners.” I wasn’t at all interested in learning to cook any of those dinners – I couldn’t take the risk scaring off my future husband doing that – but what did draw my interest was the idea of saving time by dumping everything together without a lot of preparation.

Keeping my diva defined, I began dumping everything I learned from my background in fitness and hammered out a 20-minute, full-body diva workout using only my own body weight. I chose to combine an equipment-free series of shorter, more intense movements with the cardio and resistance intervals from my group fitness classes. Shorter, intense workouts have been scientifically proven more effective when it comes to burning fat and building cardio endurance. Meaning, just 20 minutes is now a powerful space to push past your expectations and gain major results!

Summer 2016 is like hot sauce in the bag! [Swag!]

Remember, divas, developing a plan is only part of a workout routine. Taking the time and making the commitment is just as important as the goal.

‘Uh-oh! Where did the time go?’ Divas! Don’t go there! Make sure to download an interval timer app before you get started. (Deltaworks Interval Timer is my top pick!)

The 20-Minute HITT Drop Workout for Busy Schedules

Unlike a traditional HITT workout, this version drops the last exercise done in the previous set when moving to the next repetition. It keeps the momentum going by having the satisfaction of working off a little of the load before beginning the next set, and it puts a fun twist on the boredom of repetition. Each exercise is 60 seconds in length, including the march/jog and stretching. Choose either the purple set or the red set and follow the set directions below:

Erika D. White is a fitness professional focused on shaking things up and promoting change by motivating others to run with life while remaining dedicated to faith, family, friends and fitness.