Time for a workout!  This week the boy has agreed to let me post the workout that he has been doing at home over these past couple of weeks.  His Australian roots don’t leave him that much of a fan of running in our minus fifteen and lower temperatures of late, so he’s been working it out at home instead.  I tried it out with him after work earlier this week, and it’s certainly a good one!  Challenging, high intensity, works out several areas of the body, and the best part: I was sore the next day! A great indoor option for bad weather, cold temperatures and just those times when you are feeling an at-home exercise session is in order.  Enjoy!

HIIT Skipping Workout

Most of the exercises are very common and familiar, but here is an explanation for the cycle crunches and mountain climber:

Cycle Crunches (or bicycle): Lie on your back, bend your knees and lift them up so they are at a 90 degree angle off the floor.  Lift your shoulders off the floor, firm your core and placing your hands behind your head, bring opposite arm to opposite leg.  Repeat on other side until you have done 30 per side.

Mountain Climbers: Come to a plank position with your hands and feet on the floor hip width apart.  Firm your core and lift your right leg, bend it and bring it towards your right elbow.  Return it to the floor and repeat on the left side.  It is important that your body remains straight and firm, and that you do not arch your back up or let it collapse as you move your legs.  Repeat 30 times on each side.

Modifications:  In addition to the modifications mentioned above, the boy is stronger on the strength side than me and does 100 push ups and then chin ups/pull ups, sit ups and 100 more push ups.  I’m still working on my pull up abilities, so I do the workout as shown above.  but the circuit is easy to modify according to your abilites and still challenges you and leaves you feeling like you got a great workout!

Points to Remember:

• Complete the circuit 1-4 times depending on how long you would like to workout
• The objective is to have a high intensity workout, so make sure there is minimal rest during the transitions between skipping and exercises.
• If you don’t have a skipping rope, you could substitute any other intense cardio exercise such as box jumps, burpees, step ups, or plain jumping.
• Likewise, feel free to modify the exercises depending on what your fitness goals are.  For example if you are trying to work on your legs and glutes, you could sub lunges for one of the ab exercises, or do a plank in place of the cycle squats if you prefer a different core exercise.

What are your favourite at home workouts?