Finding time for a workout can be tough. Thankfully, there is no shortage of quick at-home workouts or quick ab workouts that you can do from anywhere.
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We all feel it: The pressures of time. It doesn't matter who you are, what your family looks like, or what you do: You are busy. That pressure impacts our lives in countless ways, including making sure that we can work out. Unfortunately, for many people — be it high-powered professionals or people who don't live in urban and suburban centers — going to the gym isn't an option, as there is no gym nearby. This means that you have to try to do a quick at-home workout or quick ab workout.
Thankfully, there's good news: You don't need fancy equipment or a modern gym to get the best workout possible. Indeed, there is no shortage of quick at-home workouts or quick ab workouts that you can complete, ensuring you get the workout you need and deserve. Here are three great workouts.
Understand the Circuit
Before reviewing quick at-home workouts, you must understand the critical idea behind home workouts. Circuit training is the idea that you engage different muscle groups with other exercises throughout a workout. This enables you to pack a lot of punch into your quick at-home workout, exercise many different muscles, and still get in your exercise.
Circuit training is possible for at-home workouts. You have to plan ahead of time and ensure that you aren't over-exercising specific muscles. Once you do that, you'll be set for a good workout.
How Does Circuit Training Work?
The thinking behind circuit training is simple enough: You set up stations of 5-10 muscles groups. Then, you complete a set at one of those stations, rest briefly (no more than a minute) between stations, and keep going. Depending on your endurance level and what you are looking to get out of a workout, you'll complete an entire circuit of these exercises three times.
Warm Up First!
It is vital to warm up all of your muscles before starting any circuit training, even if you are looking at a quick at-home exercise or a quick at-home ab workout. You never want to begin a workout cold: Doing so puts you at risk of damaging your muscles. A warm-up can vary, but it should be something that accelerates your heart and incorporates all of your muscles somehow. A quick run or bike ride — even just five minutes — is a great way to get started.
Don't Forget to Cool Down
When you are done working out, you may want to be done, but it isn't the best approach. Your best bet is to relax your muscles and nervous system to help you ease back into the real world and prevent injury. Stretching your muscle groups or a low-intensity run or walk can be a great way to relax your muscles once you have finished the intense part of your workout.
Circuit 1
Cardio:
• 10 Knee Highs: Stand in place and put your hands in the air, parallel with your abs with your palms down. Lift one knee to hit one palm, then rapidly do the same with your other leg.
• OR 3 burpees: Stand and drop to a plank position. Do one push-up, keep your hands in the push-up position, and bring your legs forward to squat. Push yourself back to a standing position.
Abs: Sit-ups
Quads: Reverse lunge. Stand straight and take a step backward with your left leg. Bend your right leg, so it is at a 90-degree angle, then do the same with your left leg. Push yourself back to the starting position, and repeat ten times.
Upper body: Tricep dip. You'll need some sort of flat surface that is about knee-high. Approach the surface, turn around, and brace yourself against it so that your hands support your weight with your palms facing down at either side of your hips. Keep your legs bent and your butt against the bench. Bring your body down until your arms are parallel with the floor. Squeezing your arms, push yourself back up.
Lower body: Squats, using no weight or weights. Stand straight and bend at your knees until your butt is parallel with your knees. Return to a full standing position.
Circuit 2
Cardio:
• 15 push-ups
• 15 burpees
Abs: Plank for 60 seconds. A plank is when you are straight on the floor, supporting yourself by keeping your elbows on the ground and your arms straight. Make sure to squeeze your abdominal and glute muscles while doing so. You should be in a straight line, slightly diagonal.
Lower body:
• 20 jump lunges. A jump lunch is like a forward lunge, but faster. It is great for cardio and exercises various muscle groups in your lower body. Start with one leg straight, and one leg bent forward like you are in the middle of a forward lunge. Jump in the air and rapidly switch legs. Repeat.
• 20 frog push-ups. Get on the floor with your hands perpendicular to the ground. Keep both of your knees on the floor like you are getting ready to start crawling. Lift your knees off of the ground. Push yourself down to the ground so that your head and knees almost touch the ground, but doesn't.
• One minute wall sit. Lean against a wall and slide down it, so your knees are as close to a 90-degree angle as possible. Press into the wall, keeping your hands flat against it. Support yourself with your back.
Upper body:
• 15 tricep dips
Circuit 3
Lower body:
• Squats and squat jumps: Do two squats, then two squat jumps. A squat jump is when you get into the lowest position while doing a squat, then jump as high as possible, landing in the lower squat position that you started.
• Lunges for thirty seconds.
• Jumping lunges for thirty seconds.
Upper body:
• Bear crawl and push-ups for sixty seconds. Squat on the floor and walk your hands forward, so you are in a plank position. Do a push-up. Then, using your toes, walk your feet upward until you are standing.
Lower body again:
• One-leg lift. Stand on one leg and keep your arms straight, then bring your torso, so it is parallel with the floor. Lower your other leg, ad bring your knee forward so that you hop. Repeat for thirty seconds, then switch legs.
Abs and lower body: Wall sits with a knee lift for sixty seconds.
• Do a wall sit, but instead of holding the position, lift one leg for a few seconds at a time.
Upper body: Tricep dips for sixty seconds.
Upper and lower body: Burpees for sixty seconds.
Upper body and abs: Tricep push-ups with side planks for sixty seconds.
• Start in a push-up position, but rotate to the side so that your entire weight is supported by one side of your body. Extend your arm straight in the air to be in a side plank position. Repeat on the other side.
Abs: Bridge with leg drops.
• Get your body into a bridge position. To do this, lie flat, with your back on the floor. Extend your legs and push up with them so that your head, neck, and feet are on the floor. The rest of your body should be bent at a diagonal. From there, straighten your right leg, dropping it to the side by a few inches. Repeat for thirty seconds, then switch legs.
Keep in mind that there is no rigid formula here. Switch things up if you like some exercises on Circuit 1 but others on Circuit 2. Furthermore, if you find one form of exercise to be too intense, remember that you can alter it, so it fits your needs