Bodyweight Circuit Workout
Burn Fat and Build Muscle With This 6-Move Bodyweight Circuit Workout
Bodyweight workouts are effective for two reasons. For one, lifting, pressing, and moving your own weight is hard, making these moves effective at strengthening your muscles. And two, since they require no equipment, you can do them anywhere, which means you're more likely to do them (and not skip the workout!)
Personal trainer and strength coach Susan Niebergall says, "fitness is not an all or nothing thing. You don't have to spend 2 hours at the gym. The cool thing is we can get creative, and make the best of our current or changing circumstances, and STILL MAKE PROGRESS! So, if you haven't started, or have gotten a little bit off track, it's time to go."
Here's a basic bodyweight circuit workout created by Susan to burn fat and build muscle. When you can't get to the gym or don't have a lot of time to devote to your workout, "having some quick effective workouts that you can do anywhere is key." Here's one you can do without any equipment, but she adds that you can always add dumbbells to these moves (except the hand walkout) if you have access to them, and to make the workout harder.
The Workout:
Directions: Complete four rounds of these six exercises.
Squats: 8 reps
Hand walkouts: 6 reps
Elevated (or regular) push-ups: 8 reps
Alternating reverse lunges: 6 per leg
Glute bridges: 10 reps
Slow reaching plank: 3 sets of 8 reps per arm (48 reps total)
See below for the workout and directions on how to do each move. Susan says if you want to up the challenge, "add 1/2 reps to the squats, push ups, lunges, and glute bridges." She told POPSUGAR, "for the 1/2 rep, you will go all the way down, halfway up, all the way back down, then all the way back up." This creates more time under tension for your muscles.
Air Squat
Plank Walkout
Elevated Push-Up
Alternating Reverse Lunge
Glute Bridge
Elbow Plank and Reach
