Ditch the iron and master your bodyweight with this speedy 25-minute blitz that revs your heart rate, builds the muscle your body needs and blasts your abs on every single move.
Directions: Do this workout 3-5 times a week. All other days, go for a 10-minute walk or run.
Warm-up: Spiderman To Cat Cow
Start in push-up position, then shift your right foot to alongside your right hand. Return to push-up position, squeeze your abs and glutes, and repeat on the other side. Bend your knees, lowering your shins to the floor. Squeeze your shoulderblades and arch your back slowly. Then round your back and spread your shoulder blades. Return to push-up position. That’s 1 rep; do 4.
Bodyweight Circuit 1
Directions: Do each bodyweight move for 30 seconds, then do a 30-second high-knee sprint. Rest 1 minute. Do 3 rounds.
1A. Yoga Pushup
Get in pushup position, abs and glutes tight. Keeping your legs straight, raise your butt as high in the air as possible. This is the start. Lower your hips to return to pushup position as you simultaneously bend at the elbows and shoulders, lowering your chest to within an inch of the floor. Press back up and raise your butt high again. That’s 1 rep.
1B. Paused Bulgarian Split Squat
Stand on your left leg, right instep on a box, right knee bent. Bend your left knee, lowering your torso until your left thigh is parallel to the floor. Hold 3 seconds. Press back up. That’s 1 rep; do 30 seconds on each side.
1C. V Crunch
Lie on your back, arms and legs outstretched. Tighten your abs, pressing your lower back into the floor, shoulder blades and legs an inch off the floor, hands beside your butt. This is the start. Pull your knees toward your chest. Return to the start, and as you do this, rotate your torso to the right. Repeat, this time shifting your torso toward the left. That’s 1 rep.
Circuit 2
Directions: Do each exercise for 30 seconds, then move on to the next exercise. Rest 1 minute after completing the full circuit. Do 3 rounds.
2A. Back Widow
Lie on your back, heels near your butt, upper arms on the floor at a 45 degree angle to your torso. Keeping your abs tight, drive your elbows hard into the floor; this will raise your torso off the floor slightly. Hold for 2 seconds, squeezing your shoulder blades. Lower back to the floor. That’s 1 rep.
2B. Feet-Elevated Mountain Climber
Get in pushup position, abs and glutes tight, feet on a box or bench. Keeping your hips and shoulders square to the floor and tightening your abs, drive your right knee toward your chest. Return to the start. Repeat on the other side. That’s 1 rep.
2C. Single-Leg Hip Thrust
Lie with your shoulder blades on a bench, chair, or box, heels near your butt. Raise your right foot off the floor; keep your hips square to the ceiling as you do this. This is the start. Squeeze your left glute, driving your hips toward the ceiling; pause, then lower to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 30 seconds on each side.
2D. Two-Step Shuffle
Get in athletic stance, knees bent, feet about shoulder-width apart, weight on the balls of your feet. Explosively push off with your right foot and hop to the left, landing in athletic stance. Repeat the movement to hop back to the right. That’s 1 rep.
This story originally appears in the November 2022 issue of Men’s Health Australia.
