This workout program features only bodyweight exercises as not everyone has resistance bands, pull up bars or gymnastic rings. These are great pieces of kit, but for now I’ll start from the ground up - no equipment at all (aside from a stopwatch and maybe a chair/box for one exercise). There may be workouts that utilise such equipment in the near future, so keep an eye out!
With enforced social isolation in full effect, there’s been a flood of at home/bodyweight workouts on social media - which is great as it helps more people to find a way to move and exercise, but many are aimed at beginners. While there’s nothing wrong with that (exercising at any level is better than no exercise at all), these workouts might not be enough to stimulate the muscles of the regular gym goer or iron veteran. This may be a bit off putting, making the Netflix and more Netflix an attractive alternative to exercise time, but we should still give bodyweight workouts a shot - we just need to up the intensity.
RATIONALE - Why bother at all?
You’re used to throwing around stacks of iron, grinding out reps and bracing like your life depends on it - why bother with any flimsy bodyweight exercises this isolation season at all, what could they possibly offer?
Something is better than nothing.
While I agree a few weeks off training isn’t the end of the world - thanks to the science of muscle memory we know the strength and muscle size will be back after a few weeks of regular training - but sitting around the house isn’t necessarily doing us any favours. Getting a sweat on will offer us some physical and mental benefits (e.g. improved recovery by getting more blood into the muscles, preservation of current muscle mass, endorphin release, better sleep, etc), and by tackling some new exercises we might be able to improve upon some weak areas (muscle groups or stability/mobility/coordination).
HOW TO USE WORKOUTS AND PROGRESS
Before you there are 3 workouts: one lower body (A), one upper body (B) and one full body (C). I would recommend performing each once per week (any order), with at least one day of rest between each workout, and progress week to week by adding extra time to the exercises (5-15 seconds depending on how you found the previous week) to give the muscle progressively more stimulus. Each workout on its own can be completed in about 20-30mins depending on how many total rounds you do. As with any intense or jumping exercise, avoid eating 30-60mins before working out to avoid surprise voms.
If you’re looking for a challenge, combine the A and B workout into one giant set for a gnarly full body blast.
To keep things simple, I’ve set all working sets to 30 seconds. This is a starting point that should be at least survivable for most folks - of course, individually it may be too easy, just right or too difficult. As such, the main way to adjust the difficult levels here is to adjust the time you're moving - add or remove 10 seconds to each exercise to make it more or less challenging. This can be done mid workout if you’re struggling to make it to the end of each set, or having difficulty with particular exercises.
I’ve got an alphabetised list of all exercises with descriptions and wee pics at the end of this post (after the workouts), just in case I use different exercise names or you find an exercise you’re unfamiliar with.
WARM UP
1 min jogging or jogging on spot
10 squats (start high and get lower with each rep)
10 walking lunges/on the spot lunges
30 secs shoulder circles
5 press ups
10 Russian Twists (5 reps to each side)
WORKOUTS
EXERCISES
Angels and Devils - lying on front with arms stretched out in front, contract back, glutes and hamstrings to bring knees and shoulders off the ground. Holding this position, swing arms out and behind you (as far as is comfortable) in a controlled manner and without touching the ground. Bring them back to the front in the same way and repeat - keeping back/glutes/hamstring contracted throughout exercise.
Ankle Taps - lying on your back, bring your knees up to about 45 degrees with feet on the floor. Crunch your torso up slightly, and squeeze your obliques (side muscles) to twist and touch your hand to your ankle. Twist to touch the other side, and you’ve completed one rep.
Ankle Touch Squats - balancing on one leg, bend at the hip and knee to squat down and touch the ankle of the standing leg with your hands. Extend your leg to stand back up and return to the start position.
Bicycle Crunches - lying on back, have hands at side of head and legs out straight with feet held together a few inches off the ground. Bring left knee up towards head and crunch/twist upper body to bring right elbow to almost touch left knee (keeping right foot in the air). Return to start position and repeat with opposite elbow/knee (this completes one rep).
Bodyweight (BW) Side Lateral Raise - get into a plank position (resting on forearms and toes, body held straight and off ground), and rotate your body to bring one arm up into the air (balancing on other forearm). Initiate and control the movement using your shoulder, not your obliques. Control body back to start position and repeat with opposite arm.
Bridge Plank - similar to a plank, but walk your hands a few steps out in front of you and balance on hands (slight bend in elbow). By taking out the forearms to balance on we ramp up the core engagement.
Cobra Press Ups - similar to a press up, but bring your chest up (and arch back) when extending your arms to hit the triceps.
Cossack Squat - standing with feet shoulder width apart, take a step out to the side and squat down as far as you can on that leg (keeping the opposite leg outstretched and helping with balance). Extend the leg to return to the start position and perform on opposite side.
Elbow Chest Raise - lying on your back, bring your arms out to about 45 degrees (halfway between down at sides and straight out horizontal), with pointing up towards the ceiling. Drive your elbows into the floor, squeezing your back muscles to bring your torso off the floor. Hold for a second, then lower yourself back to the floor.
Elbow Chest Raise Hold - Similar to the elbow chest raise, but hold the position at the top for as long as possible.
Explosive Press Ups - get into a press up position (facing the floor, hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart, arms straight, torso straight, legs straight or sitting on knees), then lower your chest to the floor (keeping body rigid). Once your an inch or two away from the floor, extend your arms and squeeze your chest muscles as fast as you can to explode up and leave the floor behind. Try to get some air (hands leaving the ground) and land softly for the next rep.
Flutter Kicks - lying on your back, with legs held straight, raise your feet up a few inches off the floor and alternate raising/dropping one foot higher/lower than the other(imagine your in the swimming pool doing front crawl kick). Once both feet have fluttered, this is one rep.
High Hip Thrust - this is a hip thrust with feet up on a high surface (bend at hips and then contract glutes to extend hip).
Hindu Press Up - start in a pike position (about a 90 degree bend in hip, legs straight and arms extended), and swing your toso down towards your hands. Press up and through with your arms to bring the chest up (like a cobra press up) and arch the back. Reverse the movement to get back to the start position and complete one rep.
Jumping Sprinter Lunges - similar to a jumping lunge, but touch the ground either side of your lead foot with your hands as you lunge down. As you extend the legs, explode up to jump off the ground, switch legs (lead foot is now behind, hind foot is now leading), and land softly into the next rep.
Long Leg March Hold - lying on your back, squeeze your back, glutes and hamstrings to bring your butt off the ground (balancing on upper back and heels, arms out by side on the ground). While holding this arched position, raise one foot into the air and hold for 15 seconds. Swap feet and repeat for 15 seconds.
Lying Leg Raise - lying on your back (with your hands either by your side or under your hips), squeeze your core to raise your feet up towards the ceiling - keeping your legs together and as straight as you can (if you have less flexible hamstrings, keep a bend in your knee). Lower the feet back down to the ground to complete one rep. Can also be done with knees bent to 90 degrees to make it a bit easier.
Pike Press Ups - similar to a press up, but in a pike position to put the focus onto the shoulders. Get into a pike position (arms and torso held straight, legs held straight, with about 90 degree bend in hips), and bend your elbows to bring your head towards the ground. Extend the arms to return to start position. This is tricky to do from the knees, but is easier to perform if knees are on an elevated surface (boxe, small foot stool etc).
Reverse Corkscrew - similar to a lying leg raise, but when legs reach the top of the movement bring your hips up and twist, then lower your legs for the next rep.
Russian Twists - sitting on the ground with feet on the floor (or held in the air if you want to make it more challenging), bring your torso to about 45 degrees (halfway between lying down and sitting upright) and twist to one side. Go as far as is comfortable, then twist to the other side to complete one rep.
Single Leg SL Deadlift - standing up, have a slight bend in the knees and begin to bend forward at the hips and raise one foot off the ground behind you. Balancing on one leg (keep this one rigid throughout), keep your torso and rear leg in alignment as you bend forward - imagine a seesaw with your standing leg as the pivot point. Reach forward with one hand (the one opposite to the leg in the air) and try to touch the ground, keeping your torso and rear leg in as near a straight line as you can. Return to the start position and repeat with opposite leg.
Squat Hold - drop into a squat position (feet shoulder width apart, torso upright and slightly forward, sitting your butt back and dropping your hips low enough to be in line with you knees - or as low as is comfortable) and hold for as long as you can. If you need to stand up before the time is complete, shake the legs off and get back into the position. Repeat as many times as is necessary.
Squat Hold to Reverse Lunge - drop down into a squat position (feet shoulder width apart, sitting back with hip and knee joints about parallel - or as far down as is comfortable), and take a step backwards into a reverse lunge. Hold for a moment, then step back to the starting squat position and repeat with the other leg. Aim to stay low in the squat position for the whole movement.
Squat Jumps - feet shoulder width apart, drop into a squat and as your coming back up power through into a jump. This can be a tuck jump (bring knees up towards chest) if you’re feeling energetic, but as long as your feet leave the ground we’ll count it. Land softly on your feet, and repeat.
Standing Elbow to Knee - imagine the bicycle crunch but while standing upright. Put your hands on your head, and bring one knee up and across your body. Touch the opposite elbow to the knee (or as close as you can get) and return to a standing position. Repeat with opposite knee/elbow.
Swimmers - lying face down on the ground, arms stretched ahead, raise your head up to look forward and arms up off the ground. Squeeze your back and bring your elbows down to your sides, hands hovering just above ground, then back to an outstretched forward position.
Trifecta Press Ups - perform a normal width press up, then a wide grip press up, then a close grip press up - keep repeating until time is up. Doesn’t have to be super wide/narrow, just a hands width of distance will be enough. Can also be performed from knees.
Tuck Jumps - squat down, bringing the arms back and ready to launch yourself up into the air. Extend the legs explosively, bringing your chest and arms up to jump into the air. Try to bring your knees up as you’re in the air, then extend the legs back out and land softly on your feet, ready for another jump.
V-Tucks - start by balancing on your butt and in a tucked position. Slowly stretch out legs and lean torso back, avoid touching the ground. Stretch as far as you can, then return to the tucked position. Repeat until time is up. The lower you can keep your legs/torso the harder this will be.
