Do you ever wake up on that day off or can go in late to work, but convince yourself that you just don’t want to go to the gym? Why not do that workout at home? Having an inventory of home workouts is necessary for those days when you don’t want to go to the gym. Let’s show you a way to do great home workout on those days and feel the burn. The goal is to target large muscle groups to help burn more calories and keep you psychologically feeling that you did a great workout, which you did. The targets are your legs, butt, and abs.
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There is a total of 8 exercises in this home/office workout. As you may imagine, squats work the large leg muscles and thus, burn lots of calories and are great for building nice legs and a killer butt. The jump-split squats will burn your legs and then some. Russian twists and crunches will target the abs and lifts target your lower abs. The initial exercise, mountain climbers and squat jumps will both get your heart pounding. These two exercises will also strengthen your core muscles, as well as quads and hamstrings.
The goal is to burn baby, burn. Therefore, you will be working your muscles hard and fast; both burning calories and lean muscle. To do this proper will require going from one exercise immediately into the other without resting. The rest is at the end of the 8th exercise – this will force your muscles to respond, as well as build your cardio endurance.
Required equipment: a basic flat bench and if you desire, a gym mat for the crunches. If you do not have a flat bench, substitute one-legged squats in lieu of the double-leg straddle.
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Performance: You must complete all the exercises in order below without resting between each exercise. Proceed immediately from one exercise to the next and rest 1.5-2 minutes after the final exercise (crunches). Completing all 8 exercises as prescribed is one full set. Once rested, complete the next set. The recommended number of sets is based on anticipated skill level. Thus, beginners should do 2-3 sets; intermediate fitness buffs 3-4 sets, and advanced-level fitness participants should complete 4-5, preferably 5, sets.
Exercises:
1. 40 Mountain Climbers
2. 30 Sumo Squats
3. 8 Jump-split Squats
4. 35 Russian Twists
5. 12 Squat Jumps
6. 10 Double-leg Straddle
7. 50 Calf Raises
8. 40 Crunches
About half-way through the first set, i.e., 4th or 5th exercise, you’ll realize that because the workout is non-stop it’s also high intensity and commonly referred to as high-intensity interval training. No one said getting that killer butt, abs, and legs was going to be easy. Depending on your level of fitness, the workout will take between 20-40 minutes’ total time.
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You’ll also notice that the workout includes not only basic strength movement, but athletic movements in the form of plyometrics – what athletic coaching professionals call lower-body explosives. These explosive-type exercises are the best way to burn fat and calories in a hurry. In fact, you’ll be burning calories due to elevated metabolism, at least 2-2.5 hours after the workout.
Exercise Workout Progression:
1. Squats
2. Jump-split Squats
3. Alternating Forward Chopping Lunges
4. Jumping Hammer Lunges
5. Reverse Curtsy to Glute / Leg Raise
6. Reverse Curtsy to Glute / Leg Raise (both sides)
7. Sumo Squat Jumps
8. Angry Sumo Walks
9. Lunge to Single Leg Russian Deadlift (RDL)
10. Lunge to Single Leg RDL (both sides)
11. Figure 4 Glute Bridges
12. Figure 4 Glute Bridges (both sides)
So, go burn those calories on that next snow day or work from home day. The important thing is to have fun and really, the time for beaches and that summer beach body is just around the corner.
