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Sometimes achieving an effective workout doesn’t necessitate visiting the gym; with some imagination and dedication you can perform a full bodyweight routine at home or wherever life may take you.
This 30-minute session follows an EMOM format (every minute on the minute), meaning one exercise for a minute followed by rest for twenty and then repeated several times throughout.
1. Leg Lifts
Leg lifts may seem simple, but they’re actually an effective bodyweight exercise designed to target abdominal muscles and the core. Perfect for beginners as it doesn’t require equipment and can be completed quickly; yet can also challenge advanced athletes by building strength and muscle endurance. And they come in various variations that make the workout accessible even for those suffering back injuries or pain, or those seeking an advanced fitness challenge.
Start in a sitting position on the floor, with knees bent at 90 degrees in front of you and hands by your sides. Push using palms, triceps, legs to raise hips off ground while breathing steadily and consistently until reaching starting position and repeat.
Add resistance by holding a dumbbell between your feet or wearing ankle weights, but be aware that adding resistance increases load on abs, hip flexors and hamstrings. Try lowering your legs straight down, but be wary not to overextend your spine. For beginners, aim for lifting and lowering twice as many times before gradually increasing repetitions until reaching 10-12 repetitions per set. Experienced athletes may wish to progress toward raising and lowering their legs while hanging, which will further target abs. As you spend more time hanging, this movement becomes increasingly challenging; but you can build up to it gradually by beginning with kneeling leg raises before progressing onto hanging leg raises.
2. Tricep Dips
Tricep dips may not look impressive, but they can pack just as much of an impactful punch in terms of fat burn and muscle growth. Tricep dips target your triceps, deltoids, pecs and core to strengthen both simultaneously-plus you can perform them anywhere with stable surfaces to place your hands upon.
Dips are an integral component of bodyweight workouts, yet can be dauntingly challenging for new lifters as you must support all your bodyweight with only your arms. To build strength safely for full dips and avoid injuries, begin with easier versions and progress gradually over time.
Utilizing a bar at home or the gym is an efficient and simple way to perform tricep dips. Simply stand on its footrests, extend both arms fully outstretched, hinge at your hips slightly forward and brace your core to prevent body swinging during movement. Bend elbows slowly until upper arms are parallel with floor surface before extending them back out for push back ups back to starting position.
One more challenging way of performing a tricep dip involves the use of parallel bars or rings – often known as assisted dips. Start by holding up your entire bodyweight using only arms while crossing one ankle over the other to float above the ground before gripping with straight arms on rails or rings and using overhand grip with overhand grip on overhand rails or rings for support while crossing your ankle over the other with both ankles crossing, holding one end at each time until crossing ankle over ankle, contracting your core, then lower yourself until elbows reach 90 degrees angle before repeating again!
3. Wall Push-Ups
Wall push-ups are an effective, beginner-friendly exercise to develop upper-body strength and muscular endurance. To maximize results and avoid injury while making steady progress, slow your movements down while paying close attention to proper form. By maintaining a controlled tempo and using all ranges of motion you can avoid injuries and make steady gains over time.
Start a wall push up by taking the starting position by standing with feet shoulder-width apart and palms against the wall at chest height, palms on either side. Bend your elbows to start leaning toward the wall while keeping your back straight without hunching hips; distribute body weight evenly across both arms so one doesn’t become stronger than another as you go along; when your upper arms reach parallel with the wall push yourself back up into starting position to complete one rep.
As you become more adept at this variation of regular push-ups, move to lower surfaces. This may help you feel the movement more clearly while increasing intensity of your workout. One way of making wall push ups more difficult is moving hands away from wall; doing this reduces body angle between you and wall, making exercise simpler.
Make this movement even more challenging by increasing time under tension by including an isometric hold at the bottom of each rep, or performing them on harder surfaces such as concrete walls or the ground. These challenges will not only help build muscle mass faster, but they’ll also strengthen core stability and prevent injuries by strengthening muscles faster.
4. Squats
A squat is one of the most effective exercises for your entire body, challenging muscles in both your upper and lower bodies as well as getting your heart pumping for better cardio fitness. Being a compound exercise (it engages multiple muscle groups and joints), squats produce more strength, force, and power than isolation exercises like bicep curls or leg extensions alone. Plus they’re great way to maintain balance as you age as well as perform daily tasks such as climbing stairs or carrying heavy loads more safely.
For a standard squat, stand with feet approximately hip-width apart and slowly lower yourself until your butt is parallel to the floor, before pushing back up into your starting position. Concentrate on keeping knees tracking over toes and actively contracting glute muscles during each repetition.
If you’re an advanced squatter, add weights into your workout to up the challenge even more. Either use dumbbells as part of your squatting workout, or hold them in front of your chest as you squat; just be sure that the weight chosen challenges without being so heavy that lifting back to standing poses too many difficulties.
Wall squats provide another variation on the classic squat without needing any equipment. Simply lean against a wall with your back flat against it, and squat until your buttocks reach near parallel with the floor before pushing yourself back up again. Be mindful to maintain contact between your back and wall during each rep of this variation as your buttocks go deeper and lower – this version works your inner thighs, core, and triceps muscles all at once!
5. Planks
Trainers love planks because they strengthen the core while also helping prevent back pain. “Planks provide an excellent foundation exercise to build up to more advanced moves such as push-ups and mountain climbers,” according to Jenna Langhans, C.P.T, an NASM-certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor in New York City who was interviewed by SELF. Additionally, moving plank variations add extra challenge while burning more calories more quickly.
To perform a classic plank, lie on your stomach with both legs extended on either side and your palms pressed firmly against the floor. Bring your thumbs together so they form an upside-down heart with your thumbs pointed toward each other; to add additional difficulty you could also move your feet wider than hip distance apart to engage thigh muscles and make this movement even harder. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds up to one full minute if possible.
An easy yet effective variation on the standard plank is to thread one arm under your body in the same position you would use when holding a plank on a forearm, then reverse this movement by raising one leg in the air – this requires more balance while challenging abdominal muscles often neglected by other exercises. Do four to five reps on each side for an efficient way of burning calories without increasing overall workout duration.
