I was so excited when several of you told me last week’s workout helped you overcome obstacles to exercising at home. Many of you said you’d either skipped workouts because you didn’t want to disturb your neighbours, or you’d wasted money on noise-absorbing mats that didn’t do the trick. In this second instalment, I give you a 20 minute circuit that uses only your bodyweight for resistance and makes you sweat by working multiple muscle groups across a wide range of motion. As it requires zero equipment and minimal space, it’s a great option for keeping fit over Christmas. Do it alone or pair it with the no-noise dumbbell workout from last week for a longer, more intense training session (you know, when the guilt sets in after devouring an entire box of truffles…).
How it’s done
Perform each move in the full-body circuit below for 45 seconds, and leave no rest between exercises. When you’ve completed the circuit, rest for 30 seconds and repeat twice more.
Single leg squat and reach
Ready. Steady. (I mean really steady). Go! Hover your right leg over the floor and stay strong through the core as you squat very low and reach down in front of your standing left leg. Don’t allow your right foot to touch the ground. Pause at the bottom, then return to standing and shoot your arms above your head. Perform a full 45 seconds on one side before switching legs.
Sliding single leg bridge
Come down to the floor and lie on your back with your feet close to your bottom. Press through your heels to come into a full bridge position – the front to your body should look like a 45-degree ski jump (no bumps or dips to trip anyone up!). Taking the weight out of your left leg while maintaining level hips, slide your left heel along the floor and slowly slide it back to the start. Repeat all your reps on one side before switching over. Your glutes and hamstrings should feel hot and heavy after the full 1.5 minutes!
Single leg tricep dips
Time to give your legs a rest. Resume the bridge position but place your hands on the floor behind you. Make sure your elbows are pointing straight back as you press away from the floor. Switch legs around the 20 second mark, or make this move slightly easier by placing both feet on the ground.
Lateral press-ups
Turn over and place your hands directly beneath your shoulders. Make sure you have a bit of space either side of you – you’re going to cover a lot of ground with this press-up. Take your right hand as far out to the right as possible and lower your chest until it’s hovering just about the floor. Press back to the start then plant your left hand as far out to the left as possible and lower to the floor. By covering a greater distance, your heart has to pump faster to keep up and your back and core muscles work extra hard to stabilise you.
Two-way forearm plank
Now those abs are warmed up, let’s crank up the challenge. From a high plank position, lift your right leg behind you and crunch it in to your left elbow. Extend it behind you then bring it up to the outside of your right elbow – you should feel a very intense contraction in your obliques. Perform a full 45 seconds on this side before repeating the sequence on the left.
Alternating crunch and V-up
Almost done! This one is a great for retaining (or recovering) a flat stomach over the holidays. Contract your abdominals and gently lift your shoulders off the floor. Slowly lower, then explode off the floor and simultaneously lift your legs. Think about coming down to the floor with as much control as you come up – that’s where you’ll feel (and see) the change.
You’ve done it! Take a 30 second break, then run through the whole thing twice more.
Thank you for following this short workout series! I’m always open to suggestions and happy to take requests, so do let me know if there are any particular workouts you’d like to see on Fit Brit Collective!
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