The 2-Minute Warmup is the minimum honest preparation a body can get, in a package too small to argue with. Six exercises at 20 seconds each, one pass, done: hip rotations, chest expansions, arm circles, hops on the spot, side-to-side hops and march steps. It is not a workout and does not pretend to be one - it is the difference between starting your session cold and starting it ready, purchased for the price of two minutes.

The two halves do two different jobs. The first minute is joints: hip rotations lubricate the body's biggest ball-and-socket, chest expansions swing the shoulders open, and arm circles take them through rotation - the three areas your workout will complain loudest about if they start stiff. The second minute is engine: hops on the spot introduce gentle spring at the ankles, side-to-side hops add a lateral demand, and march steps finish by rehearsing the knee drive most training starts with. Mobility first, pulse second - the order matters, because warming up joints under an already-elevated heart rate is doing it backwards.

Make the first three exercises big rather than fast - full circles with the hips, complete sweeps with the arms; 20 seconds of large, smooth movement beats 20 seconds of hurried small ones. Keep the hops low and springy, landing softly through the balls of your feet, and stay light in the side-to-side version rather than leaping for distance. March the final 20 seconds with knees to hip height and your posture tall, so the last thing your body rehearses is the shape most workouts begin in.

Two minutes is shorter than the time most people spend deciding whether to warm up - this settles the debate by simply being over before it starts.

Make it Harder: A warmup should not be hard - if you have more time, run it twice instead of pushing it faster.

Make it Easier: Swap both hop exercises for march steps and keep everything at 20 seconds.