Have you ever walked into the gym and said to yourself “It’s too crowded today, I can’t workout”? Well worry no more! Here is bodyweight workout you can do anywhere.
These exercises only require a small space, a clock or stopwatch, and comfortable clothing. You can do them when the gym is packed, when you’re short on time, or when you want to squeeze in a workout on vacation.
This not only works your muscles to the max, but also pushes you aerobically. And here’s the great news — anyone can do it!
Here’s the program:
1. Jumping Jacks
To start the workout and get the blood pumping, the first exercise is your standard jumping jack. For this exercise the set scheme is 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest across 10 sets.
Perform as many jumping jacks in the 20 seconds of work as possible.
2. Body Squat
The next movement that you will perform is the body squat. To do the body squat, put your legs shoulder width apart and turn you feet slightly outward to about a 40 degree angle.
Once you’re in position, squat down as deep as you can and then push yourself back up. This exercise should have a certain amount of reps to it. When I do this workout with my clients, the minimum amount of reps I do with them is 30 reps, performed as quickly as possible.
If you need to take a quick break in between reps that’s no problem, but try to limit your rest to 10 seconds or less. If you feel 30 reps is too low you can increase it to fit your training level, anywhere from 40 to 100 reps.
The body squat will work every muscle in your lower body and is the perfect launching pad for the rest of the workout.
3. Push-ups
After finishing the body squats, immediately move on to push-ups. These are pretty self-explanatory but in case you need a refresher — start by lying with your stomach on the floor and hands at shoulder height.
From there you will push your body up into a position where your head, shoulders, back, and hips are in perfect alignment.
For this exercise you should have a certain rep count as well. The same rules apply as they did with the body squat where 30 is the minimum, but can range anywhere between the 30-100 rep range.
If you can’t do multiple reps of a standard push-up, try a kneeling push-up. The push-up gives your legs a quick break while working your chest, arms, and shoulders.
4. Lunges
After push-ups we move back to the lower body with some lunges. To perform a lunge, start in a standing upright position. From there reach one foot forward where your foot is flat on the ground, making sure that your knee does not go beyond your foot or toes.
If you can, the back leg knee should be touching the ground, but if you can’t touch the ground try and get as low as you can. Once in this position, return to an upright position and then do the same movement with your other leg.
The lunge can be performed as a walking lunge or just standing in place. Like the other exercises, the lunge should have the same rep scheme. This exercise works your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and your core.
5. Elbow Plank
For this exercise, start in push-up position and then adjust your body to where your elbows are on the ground and your head, neck, back, and hips are in perfect straight alignment.
Hold this position while also tightening your abdominals. Hold 4 sets of the elbow plank for as long as you can and try not to focus on the clock!
6. Line Jumps
For this exercise, find somewhere where two sides are separated by a line or find an object to help separate sides. Start by standing on one side of the line and jump side to side for one minute or longer.
It’s important that you land with both feet simultaneously and make sure your legs are not locked out. After you land, immediately jump back to the other side.
Do this for 4 sets of 30-45 seconds, with 30 seconds rest between each set!
7. Sit-ups
Again, these are pretty basic, but here’s the proper form. Start with your back on the ground and legs bent in the air with your feet planted on the ground. From here, you can either interlock your fingers behind your head or cross your arms across your chest.
One of the most common flaws I see when asking clients to perform sit-ups is they flex their necks, which takes away from working your abdominals and causes severe strain on your neck. To correct this I tell them to pick a spot on or close to the ceiling and stare at that spot the whole time.
For this exercise you could pick a certain rep count (50 to 100) or do 3-4 sets of as many sit-ups as possible in one minute.
8. Burpees
To perform the burpee, start in an upright standing position. From there, drop down to the floor as quickly as possible, simultaneously squatting down and kicking your legs back almost to a push-up position.
Once your chest touches the ground, spring up with your legs/feet back to the squat position and jump to where your feet are off the ground — enough to slide a piece of paper under them. The whole sequence is one rep, and after doing a rep, go immediately into the next rep as quickly as possible.
The burpee can be a very challenging exercise. If you’ve never done it before, start with a low rep count (around 10 or so) or a short amount of time (15-30 seconds). But if you’re more experienced, test yourself by doing between 30-50 reps as fast as possible or doing them for 3-4 sets of as many as you can in one minute.
If you like this workout, check out this book that goes deeper into how to burn fat and build muscle from bodyweight exercises.
What’s your favorite bodyweight exercise? Comment below.