DENVER — Being stuck in your house does not mean you still can't complete a full-body workout.
As a certified personal trainer, I've redesigned all of my workouts for my clients and members to fit within a small room of their homes, using nearly 100% body-weight, resistance bands and/or small hand weights.
Every day must start with a warm-up. I always encourage dynamic stretching, which is moving while you stretch.
Use a double-pull for each of your lower body parts. For example, pull your knee to your chest twice, your ankles back twice and your feet toward your chest in a pigeon twice. That allows your muscles to activate and then elongate. A short jog in place or mock jump-rope is also encouraged.
Today's workout is centered interval training, but instead of using a tabata format like we did last week, we're using a format called EMOM, or every minute on the minute. This time, you perform a move for a specific amount of reps throughout a one-minute interval. If you finish early, you rest or hold a squat or plank. Once the minute is up, you move on to the next workout. Performing this EMOM two to four times will both increase your cardiovascular endurance and help with your pacing of lifts.
The benefits of HIIT workouts are huge! The short periods of anaerobic workouts help you to improve your cardiovascular capacity (VO2 max), significantly lower your insulin resistance over a period of time — and burn more fat.
WEEKLY WORKOUT: EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) Repeat 2-4 times
Minute 1: 15 Dumbbell squats
- Hold your heavy weights on your shoulders and squat shoulder-width apart
Minute 2: 10 Push-ups with renegade row
- Start in a high plank. Push up, and pull one dumb bell back by your side, keeping your arm tight to your rib cage. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep your hips evenly square. Repeat on the other side for 10 reps total.
Minute 3: 15 Squat jumps
Minute 4: 15 Sit-ups
Minute 5: 10 Burpees
- Start in an upright position. Jump your feet out below you, until you're in a high plank. Jump your feet back toward your hands. Stand or jump up.
Minute 6: 10 lunge lift right
- Start in a lunge position. Lunge down to your low point. As you come back up, lift your back leg and squeeze your glute. Repeat 10 times on same leg.
Minute 7: 10 lunge lift left
Minute 8: 30 mountain climbers (total/fast count)
Minute 9: 30 bicycles (total/fast count)
- Lay on your back with your knees toward your chest and your hands behind your head. Keep your shoulders off the ground at all times. Bring your opposite elbow to your opposite knee. Repeat 30 times total.
Minute 10: 12 thrusters
- See weighted squats for beginning position. On your way back up from the squat, thrust the weights above your shoulders. Use the momentum from the squat to push the weights, not your muscles in your shoulders. You will feel it there too, but this is primarily a lower body move.
While you wait, squat if you’re standing, plank hold if you’re on the ground. You may rest if you need it.
The most important part of every workout is the cool-down or stretch. Spend roughly 10 minutes on your stretch session, and no less than 15 seconds per stretch.
Start from the bottom and work your way up, stretch your hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, hips, lower back and quads, before moving to your upper body. Then stretch your shoulders, triceps, back and finish with chest.
Drink plenty of water, especially after your stretch. Once your muscles have been stretched out, they need to be replenished with fluids.
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