Life isn’t easy when you’re busy, I know. Going to the gym is time-consuming, what with
all that getting there, working out, and going back. So if you’re not keen on wasting your
time on the road, I’ve got something for you: a 10-minute, full body workout without
any equipment whatsoever. All you need is a mat to make you more comfy on the floor.
Surely you have one? Without any further ado (“ado” in this
case meaning “fussing about something unimportant”) , let’s get started with…
1. Jumping jacks These are a great warm-up and a nice cardio
exercise to get your blood pumping before strength training. If you don’t feel like
going for a run, jumping jacks will do the trick just as well.
Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart and arms along your sides. Now jump up, bringing
your feet apart and raising your arms to clap your hands overhead. As soon as you touch
the floor, jump up again, getting back into the starting position. Kinda like at a pop
gig. Do this exercise for a full minute, then immediately
get on to the next one. It’s important not to rest between the exercises in this workout
to make your muscles engaged for the whole time.
2. Pendulum lunges These are your basic lunges with a twist:
you don’t just do them forward or backward, but both ways at once. When you do them like
this, you engage your hips, thighs, and glutes from all sides, making it all the more effective.
Stand straight with your feet together and arms along your sides. Take a step back with
your right leg and land on the ball of your foot. Now bend your knees and touch the right
one to the floor, while keeping your core and glutes engaged. Don’t bend in the waist,
it’ll create unnecessary strain in your lower back and ruin the exercise.
Now push yourself up and forward, straightening your left leg and swinging your right one
forward in a pendulum motion. Without stopping at the standing position, step forward on
your whole foot and bend your knees again, this time touching your left knee to the floor.
Again, keep your core engaged and your back straight. Push yourself up and backwards into
another rep. All in all, it should look like the most hesitant spring steps before a run
ever. Repeat this move for 30 seconds, then switch
your legs and have another 30-second go with your left one.
3. Pause squats This is an upgrade to regular squats that
add some static load to the dynamic one. Your quads, hamstrings, and glutes will burn and
you’ll love it. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width
apart. Lower into a squat, bending your knees and pushing your buttocks out. Keep your back
straight and don’t lift your heels off the floor. Just imagine there’s a chair behind
you and sit on it — just don’t forget it’s imaginary, though. When you’re in
a squat, stay still for three seconds. Feel the absence of the chair! Then, finally get
up into the starting position and do it all over again.
10 reps should convince you there’s no actual chair.
4. Mountain climber twist We’re going up! This exercise will train
your core, abs, and — to a lesser extent — your hips.
Get into the push-up position with your palms on the floor right beneath your shoulders,
and your lower body propped on your toes. Bring your right leg to your chest, twisting
your core at the same time and trying to touch your knee to your left elbow. Put the leg
back down and repeat with your left leg and right elbow. Overall, imagine there are steps
you’re going up, but you’d like to do it in style.
Full 30 seconds of this catwalk will do the job.
5. Burpees Admit it, you’ve just rolled your eyes!
Don’t do that, please. What kind of workout it would be if there were no burpees? They’re
fast and furious, engaging almost your entire body and adding that much-wanted cardio effect
to the bunch. Anyway, let’s refresh it in your memory.
Stand up with your feet hip-width apart, then bend your knees and put your hands on the
floor. Kick those legs of yours behind you to get into the push-up position and do just
that! I mean, bend your elbows until you touch your chest to the floor and then push yourself
back up in a powerful move, simultaneously bringing your legs under your body. Push with
your legs to propel yourself up, straighten up and raise your hands in the air. When you
land, immediately go for another rep. That’s a burpee for ya!
10 times will be just fine.
6. Blast-off push-ups Here comes the serious stuff! Where regular
push-ups only train your shoulders, triceps, back, and chest, blast-off variation goes
much further: it makes your whole body work! Add the abs, hips, and glutes to the muscles
I just mentioned — it’s a real workout machine!
Start off in the standard push-up position, placing your hands right beneath your shoulders
and your feet on tiptoes. Lower yourself to touch the floor with your chest, then push
yourself back up. Now to the interesting part: when you’ve returned to the initial position,
bend your knees and push your buttocks back until you almost sit on your heels. Your hands
should remain on the floor where you put them, your back must stay straight, and your abs
tightly squeezed. It’s basically a love child of a squat, a burpee, and a push-up.
Return to the initial position again and repeat. If you want to add some more hardcore to this
exercise, you can push yourself up at the back movement and make a jump with your arms
raised to the ceiling. This way, you’ll burn your thighs and glutes — that is, if
you’re not tired of engaging them yet. If you are, just take it easy and do it like
I told you earlier. How about 10 reps for blast-off push-ups too?
I think it’s quite enough.
7. Diamond push-ups In fact, push-ups are quite a versatile exercise
if you know how to do them. This variation, for example, engages your biceps much more
than the regular one. Who needs dumbbells when you’ve got everything you need just
under your feet? I mean, the floor? Get into the regular push-up position first
with your hands right beneath your shoulders and bla-bla. We’ve done that several times
already, you know what to do, right? Now move your hands closer together until your forefingers
and thumbs touch, forming the shape of a diamond. Bend your elbows and lower your body to touch
the floor with your chest. Keep your back flat, and make sure your arms are as close
to your torso as possible. Keeping your elbows apart will shift the strain, and your biceps
will get less fun. Now push yourself back up and repeat.
Do 10 reps here as well.
8. Back extensions You don’t want to forget about your back,
do you? This exercise looks ridiculous but it’s awesome for your lats, which are the
largest back muscles, as well as your abs and even lower back.
Lie on your stomach face down with your legs straight and your arms along your body. Try
not to squash your nose on the mat. Now squeeze your abs and lift your head and shoulders
off the floor. Keep this position for a couple of seconds and get back down.
Repeat this for 30 seconds and get ready for the last exercise of this set.
9. Triceps dips Yep, triceps are the last muscles in this
full body workout, and you can target them easily with dips. All you need is a couch
or a chair, or any elevated surface for that matter — even steps will do, if they’re
high enough. Sit on the couch and place your hands at your
sides, grabbing the edge tightly with your fingers. Slide your butt from the couch and
prop yourself on the heels, keeping your legs straight, and the hands still there on the
edge. Make sure your elbows are straight, as well as your entire body from shoulders
down. Now bend your elbows at a right angle and push yourself back up. That’s it — one
rep’s done! As simple as that. Now repeat it 20 times, and you’re free!
Okay, so this is a workout for almost every muscle in your body, and it only takes 10
minutes a day. You can do it every other day without any harm because it only uses your
body weight and doesn’t strain you too much. Just don’t forget about a good old warm-up
before you start — well, jumping jacks are there for you, so good training to you!
By the way, before I forget, you can also add your own exercises and variations to this
list, or just increase the number of reps for each of the ones I told you about today.
It will make the whole routine a bit longer, but it’ll bring you much more benefits later.
And you’ll still not need to go to the gym, so time will be well-spent!
What other exercises would you add to this full body workout? Let me know down in the
comments! If you learned something new today, then give this video a like and share it with
a friend. But – hey! – don’t burpee just yet!
We have over 2,000 cool videos for you to check out. All you have to do is pick the
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