When you find your motivation waning and getting to the gym seems impossible, challenge yourself to a bodyweight workout you can do at home. We've made a quick workout that gets the job done! It works the legs, arms, and core while raising your heart rate. Best of all, you don't need any equipment — so you really don't have any excuses to not give it a whirl. Trust us: once you get moving, you will get into the groove, and this living-room sweet session will fly by.
Directions: Warm up with three to five minutes of cardio followed with a set of walkouts to prep your joints. Then repeat each three-exercise circuit twice. After finishing two rounds of each circuit, do a round of burpees to spike your heart rate. Cool down with three to five minutes of stretching.
If you need some inspiration for your warmup, here are some cardio moves [1] to choose from.
Warmup: Walkouts
Reps: 8
- Stand at the back edge of your mat and reach your arms overhead, lengthening your spine.
- Keeping your back straight, bend forward, hinging at your hips to bring your hands to the mat. If your hamstrings are tight, bend your knees a bit to take tension off the muscles.
- Walk your hands forward, moving into a plank, and hold each step to stretch your calves a bit.
- Hold the plank for a few seconds to really wake up your core before walking your hands back toward your feet, returning to the deep forward bend.
- Slowly roll up to standing, letting your head hang and keeping your neck relaxed. When your return to standing, reach your arms toward the ceiling to complete one rep.
This is a great exercise to prep your entire body for a workout.
Circuit 1: Breakdancer Reach
Reps: 20, alternating sides
- Start sitting with your feet flat on the floor with your hands behind you and your fingers pointing away from you.
- Push your pelvis up as you shift your weight into your left hand, circling your right hand across your body and ending with an overhead reach. Look down toward your left hand and feel an active stretch in your right side.
- Pull your abs in as you lower your pelvis to sit on the floor. This completes one rep. Repeat on the other side.
This move keeps the warmup going. You should feel a nice side stretch as you reach backward, but you're also working your glutes and arms. Hello triceps.
Circuit 1: Sumo Squat and Side Crunch
Reps: 20, alternating sides
- Start in a wide stance with your toes pointed out; bring your hands behind your head with your elbows wide.
- Bend your knees over your toes, coming into a squat with your thighs almost parallel to the floor.
- As you straighten your knees to stand, lift your right knee while bending to the right to bring your right elbow and knee together, doing a side crunch.
- Straighten your spine as you bring your right foot to the floor, and bend both knees, coming into a sumo squat. This completes one rep.
This move will also get your heart rate up; it offers many of the muscular strengthening benefits of jumping but is a joint-friendly, low-impact exercise.
Circuit 1: Single-Leg Toe Touch
Reps: 12, each leg
- Begin standing with all your weight on your left foot.
- Keeping your spine long, reach forward, bending your left knee and touching your fingers to the floor a few inches in front of your toes. Keep your abs engaged to stabilize your torso. Your right leg will go behind you to help you balance.
- Press your left heel into the ground as you lift your torso to stand, bringing the right foot to touch next to the left foot. This completes one rep.
This move really targets the glutes, but like any one-legged exercise, your core will kick in to help your balance.
Repeat this circuit twice.
Cardio Burst: Burpees
Reps: 10
- Jump up as high as you can, and land softly lowering into a crouching squat with your hands on the floor.
- Jump your feet backward coming into a plank position.
- Jump the feet forward to the hands, coming into a deep squat, and prepare to jump. Continue in this pattern.
Spike your heart rate with a quick set of burpees.
Circuit 2: Side-Walking Plank
Reps: 10 reps, alternating sides
- Begin at the end of your mat in plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders, body in one straight line.
- Simultaneously cross your right hand over your left, as you step your left foot to the left. Then simultaneously step your left hand and right foot to the left, returning to plank position. Your hands move together as your feet step apart.
- Repeat this for three steps to the left to complete one rep. Then reverse directions. Be sure not to let your pelvis lower or lift as you move side to side.
This full-body exercise is a great way to tone your deltoids (aka your shoulders) while firing up your core.
Circuit 2: Side Lunge to Curtsy Squat
Reps: 12 each side
- Step your right leg wide to the left, coming into a lateral lunge, bending your right knee. Keep your chest lifted and your weight in your right heel.
- Push off with your right foot, and cross the right leg behind your left, coming into a curtsy squat, bending both knees. This completes one rep.
- Step out to the right, returning to your side lunge; continue alternating between these two moves for a total of 12 reps. Then repeat on the other side.
This is a great exercise for working your glutes from all angles.
Circuit 2: Surrenders
Reps: 12
- Stand with your hands behind your head with your elbows wide, and bring your right knee to the ground.
- Bring your left knee down so you are kneeling.
- Lift your right foot up and place it in front of you. Bring the left foot forward to stand up.
- This completes one rep. Start the next by bringing your left knee to the floor.
Work your legs and core with one intense move.
Repeat this circuit twice.
Cardio Bust: Burpees
Reps: 10
- Jump up as high as you can, and land softly lowering into a crouching squat with your hands on the floor.
- Jump your feet backward coming into a plank position.
- Jump the feet forward to the hands, coming into a deep squat, and prepare to jump. Continue in this pattern.
End with another cardio burst of burpees.
Cooldown: Stretch
Take about three to five minutes to stretch out all the muscles you just worked. Makes sure to stretch your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and shoulders. Here's a list of stretches to choose from [2].