Let's start with a few assumptions. You don't have the luxury of spending hours in a gym. You don't have much workout equipment at home. You've found it hard to stick with an exercise plan over the long term.
The solution
It's called the Bodyweight 200, and it addresses all those obstacles. Total-body routine designed by Belly Off! Club advisor Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S., owner of TurbulenceTraining.com.
So you can do it in your garage, or even your bedroom. And while a weight-free workout may sound easy, the Bodyweight 200 will challenge every muscle in your body. (The 200 stands for the number of repetitions you do.)
Best of all, you can start today. And why wouldn't you? Now that you have this workout, you're all out of excuses.
Perform the exercises as a circuit, doing one set of each movement for the prescribed number of repetitions. Complete them in the order shown, without resting between exercises. Too easy? Rest one minute and repeat the circuit.
The Workout
1.Prisoner Squat
Stand with your hands behind your head, chest out, and elbows back
. Sit back at your hips and bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the natural arch of your spine
. Squeeze your glutes and push yourself back to the starting position.
Your toes should be angled slightly outward. Don't raise your heels as you drop into a squat.
2.Push-Up
Assume a classic pushup position, with your back and legs straight and your hands beneath your shoulders
. Brace your abs and keep your body rigid. Now lower yourself until your chest almost touches the floor
. Then push yourself up until your arms are extended.
Keep your back flat and lower your body until you're about an inch off the floor.
3.Jump
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Now dip down at your hips and knees
and explode up
, jumping as high as you can. Land as softly as you can, and then lower yourself and repeat.
Drop your hips back to generate power before jumping, and land on your toes before sinking into your heels.
4.Step-Up
Holding your arms straight out in front of you, place one foot on a step or bench that's about 2 feet off the floor
. Push down through your heel to lift your other leg
, and then return to the starting position. Complete all your reps with one leg before switching legs and repeating the movement.
5.Pull-Up/Chin-Up
Hang from the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart
. (Use an overhand grip for the pullup and an underhand grip for the chin-up.) Pull your chin up past the bar
, and then lower your body back down. If that's too hard, do negative chinups: Use a sturdy box or bench to boost your chin over the bar. Then lower your body as slowly as you can.
Focus on pulling your body up by squeezing your shoulders to use the muscles in your back.
6.Forward Lunge
From a standing position
, take a large step forward with one leg. When your front thigh is parallel to the floor and your back knee is off the floor
, hold for one second. Then return to the starting position and repeat with your other leg. Make it harder by holding the lowered position for five seconds.
7.Tucked-Elbow Push-Up
Assume a standard push-up position
, but keep your elbows tucked in against your sides as you lower yourself until your chest is about an inch off the floor
, and then push yourself up. To aid your form, place your hands closer than shoulder width, about 6 inches apart.
8.Inverted Row
Set a chin-up bar at hip height inside a door frame. Lie underneath the bar with your heels on the floor and grab the bar, your hands 1 or 2 inches beyond shoulder-width apart
. Keeping your body in a straight line, pull your chest up to the bar using your back muscles
. Slowly lower yourself until your arms are straight.
