4 Simple Home Workouts When You’re Short on Time

We’ve all been there. Whether it’s holiday season, a looming deadline, your kids, social commitments, or a new job that’s demanding your attention, suddenly your workout time has totally dried up and you realise you haven’t worked up a sweat all week!

It’s times like these when you need a back-up plan, so “no time for the gym” doesn’t turn into no training at all. Because it’s in times of stress and overwhelm that your body needs you to get up, get moving and get the blood pumping most. That rush of fresh blood and endorphins clears your mind and shifts your state, so you can be more productive, and actually enjoy your day or task.

Next time you find yourself in a tight spot, try one of these four mini home workouts.Because at the end of the day, exercise at home is still incredibly effective, even with no equipment at all!We’ve even included a special Christmas video for you ;)

Hint: we recommend downloading the free Tabata Pro from the App Store to time your workouts – it’s free, simple to use and keeps you on track with audio cues, so you don’t have to keep looking at your phone.

Turbo Tabata Circuit (10 mins)

Choose 4 exercises that really challenge you. Do each of them for 20 seconds at maximum intensity, resting for 10 seconds between each one. Now repeat the circuit 5 times through. Example combo: lunge jumps, squats, chest-to-floor burpees, compound crunches or high knee runs.Example workout:

• 20s Lunge Jumps

• 10s Rest

• 20s Squats

• 10s Rest

• 20s Burpees

• 10s Rest

• 20s High Knees OR Abs

• 10s Rest

  (RPT x4)

Or hit play to try our Merry Christmas themed Tabata workout, with these exercises: Starbursts, Silly Season Bounces, Twisty Candy Cane Planks & Floating Santa Jumps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUh8uw9Wueo&feature=youtu.be

Peak Interval Training (10 mins)

For this workout, you’ll need to pick one exercise that’s high intensity and totally exhausts you, plus one that’s of moderate intensity, which comes fairly easily to you. Good examples might be burpees, sprints, or squat jumps for the intense exercise, then something like skipping, jogging (on the spot works too), bicycle crunches, or walking lunges for the moderate intensity option. After a warm-up, do the high intensity exercise for 30s non-stop at max pace, then immediately start on the moderate intensity exercise for 60s at an easy pace. Repeat for 4 full rounds, then choose a challenging 1-minute finisher to wrap up your workout!

Example workout:

• 30s Squat Jumps

• 60s Skipping (RPT x3)

• 60s of alternating between 10x High Knees & 10x Mountain Climbers

Countdown to Success (5 mins… or a little more, your choice ;)

Choose 2 exercises, for example squat jumps and push-ups. Complete 10 repetitions of each exercise, then 8 of each, then 6, then 4, and finally just 2 reps of each exercise. Finish your workout there, or have a quick breather, then choose two new exercises and start again from 10 reps!Example exercise pairs:

• Lunge Jumps & Star Jumps

• Burpees & Compound Crunches

• Bicycle Crunches & Mountain Climbers

• Squat Jumps & Hip Raises

• Shadow Boxing & Skips (we add a 0 to the end of these, so 100/80/60/etc)

Flirting with Thirties

Choose 3 x exercises, which you’ll complete back-to-back, with no rest for 30 seconds each. When you’re done, take 30 seconds rest and start over, completing 3 to 5 rounds all up, for a 6-10 minute workout.Example session:

• 30s Reverse Lunges (alternating sides each rep)

• 30s Burpee to Star Jump (combo)

• 30s Skipping or Abs

• 30s Rest

  (RPT for desired number of rounds)