Quick Bodyweight Workout
Summer months often have us busy with kids, holidays, vacations, camping, and BBQs and many struggle to find the time to get to the gym and maintain their workout routine.
No worries and no excuses because there are literally hundreds of exercises you can do anywhere with no equipment whatsoever. Body weight exercise is a lifesaver during any busy time when a workout at the gym just isn’t going to happen.
Here’s a simple full body workout that you can do for your entire body:
Complete each of the following exercises for 12 reps.
Then perform each exercise again for 10 reps.
Repeat dropping the reps by 2 until you complete the entire workout with 2 reps of each exercise.
12 Reverse lunges each leg
Start by standing on the spot and then stepping the right foot backwards dropping the knee towards the ground and assuring that the front/left knee is positioned over the ankle or the foot. Then push back to the starting position pushing from the leg in front and using your glutes/buttock muscles to gain power from the deep lunge position back to the starting position. When lunging, keep your body weight positioned over the front leg – this is your working leg. Maintain proper posture and keep your abdominals contracted. Finish the set and then complete on the other leg.
12 Pushups
Lie on your stomach. Position your hands on the floor a few inches beside your shoulder. Make sure that your elbows are directly over top or to the inside of your wrists. Keep your abdominals contracted and your back in its neutral position. Now slowly push up, then slowly return to the starting position. Pushups can be done from the toes or knees.
12 Single leg bridges each leg
Lie on your back with your knees bent and one foot flat on the floor and the other leg suspended in the air. Tighten your abdominal and buttock muscles and slowly lift your buttocks off the floor until your body weight is resting on the top of your shoulder blades and your knees and shoulders are in a straight line. Keep your hips square to the ceiling. Try to avoid letting your pelvis rotate to one side. Finish the set and then continue on the other leg.
12 Double leg lifts
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and ensure your low back is in a neutral stabilized position. There should be no major space between your low back and the floor. Hold this position throughout the exercise as you slowly lift both legs off the floor a few inches. Be sure that the movement of the leg occurs from the hip joint, not the knee joint. Be sure that your head stays down for this one and that your back is braced throughout the exercise so that there is no movement in the spine.
12 Oblique crunches each side
Place your hands behind your head to lightly support the weight of your head. Keep your chin away from your chest and focus your vision at about 45 degrees into the ceiling. Avoid looking straight up to the ceiling or towards the opposite wall. Now slowly lift your torso up on an angle. Simultaneously, lift the opposite leg off the floor. An oblique crunch does not need to involve a large twisting action. Contract your abdominals on each repetition. Complete the set on one side and then switch to the other side.
Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Sherri McMillan
Sherri McMillan, holds a master's degree in exercise physiology and has been inspiring the world to adopt a fitness lifestyle for more than 33 years. She has received numerous industry awards including 2010 CanFitPro International Presenter of the Year, 2006 IDEA Fitness Director of the Year, 1998 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year, 1998 CanFitPro Fitness Presenter of the Year and 2005/2006 ACE Fitness Educator of the Year - Runner up. She is a fitness trainer, fitness columnist for various magazines and newspapers, author of five books and manuals including "Go For Fit - the Winning Way to Fat Loss" and "Fit over Forty" and the featured presenter in various fitness DVDs. She has presented hundreds of workshops to thousands of fitness leaders throughout Canada, Australia, Mexico, Jamaica, New Zealand, Germany, England, Spain, South America, Asia and the U.S. She is the owner of Northwest Personal Training in downtown Vancouver, the founder of WHY Racing Events & WHY Community, participates in various community fundraisers and can be found running, biking, or hiking around the community. Find more information at nwpersonaltraining.com.