Life gets busy. Between work, family, and friends, sometimes it’s hard to get a good workout in to ensure you reach your fitness goals. Luckily, you don’t always need a full hour or more to get the job done. Keep reading to discover the ultimate quick bodyweight workout that’ll help you accomplish your goals even when you’re short on time.
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Are Bodyweight Exercises Effective?
Bodyweight exercises are simply that — exercises that only require your bodyweight! No additional fitness equipment is required. These exercises tend to be very simple, but extremely effective. They’re great for:
- Improving balance
- Increasing flexibility
- Gaining muscle
Another benefit of conducting bodyweight workouts is the fact that you can burn fat fast! In just 15 minutes, you can boost your metabolism and continue to burn fat after you’ve completed your quick bodyweight workout. It just goes to show that even a small workout a few times a week can really make a difference.
Choosing a Quick Bodyweight Workout
Now that you know the benefits of bodyweight workouts, why not try one for yourself? Certain bodyweight exercises target different parts of your body. When a few exercises are combined, the result is a full body bodyweight workout that you can get done in whatever free time you may have available.
Try one of our targeted bodyweight workouts, or choose our full body bodyweight workout to achieve maximum impact. They’re all designed to be completed in around 15 minutes so you can fit in into your morning routine or get it done during your lunch break.
Quick Bodyweight Arm Workout
Ready to fuel your upper body? Let’s get started with arms so you can show off those lean, muscular biceps and triceps to your friends later on. The following moves will work your biceps and triceps to the max.
- Walking Push-Ups — 15 reps
- Tricep Dips — 15 reps
- Inchworms with a Push-Up — 15 reps
- Diamond Push-Ups — 15 reps
- Tabletop Hold — 1 minute
Repeat the circuit 5 times. If you have a few extra minutes, increase your reps to 20 or 25. Your arms will thank you later!
Quick Bodyweight Ab Workout
This bodyweight workout routine focuses on your ab and oblique muscles. After a few reps, you’re sure to start to feel the burn!
- Plank — Hold for 30 seconds
- Crunches — 50 reps
- Bicycles — 50 reps
- Russian Twists — 50 reps
- Bird Dog — 50 reps
Repeat this circuit 5 times. With each circuit, decrease your crunch, bicycle, Russian twist, and bird dog reps by 10. After the first circuit, you’ll hold a plank for another 30 seconds, then decrease your other reps to 40. In the next circuit, you’ll hold a plank for 30 seconds, then decrease your other reps to 30 and so on.
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Quick Bodyweight Leg Workout
Let’s get to legs. The following exercises will isolate the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. With a stronger lower body, you can increase your fitness performance and help prevent injuries.
- Squats — 40 reps
- Lunges — 30 reps
- Long Jumps — 20 reps
- Donkey Kicks — 10 reps
- Wall Sits — 1 minute
Repeat this circuit 3 or 4 times. If you want to up the ante, increase the ladder reps to 40 each.
Quick Bodyweight Workout HIIT Style
HIIT workouts have long been proven to help increase strength and amplify weight loss. These exercises will focus on a few high-intensity intervals with short breaks in between. Don’t forget to use these HIIT workout tips to stay in the zone and get the most out of your quick workout!
- Skaters — 20 reps
- Tabletop Dips — 20 reps
- Burpees — 20 reps
- Rest — 30 seconds
- Jump Squats — 20 reps
- V Crunches — 20 reps
- High Knees — 20 reps
- Rest — 30 seconds
- Sumo Squat with a Hop — 20 reps
- Mountain Climbers — 20 reps
- Pop Squats — 20 reps
- Rest — 30 seconds
Complete as many circuits as possible within 15 minutes or make it your goal to complete 3 full circuits!
Full Body Bodyweight Workout
Now it’s time to pull it all together. In this workout, we’ll be hitting all of the muscles targeted above while also working in some HIIT (just because!). Thanks to its focus on the entire body, this workout will give you the most bang for your buck when you’re crunched for time.
- High Knees — 20 reps
- Inchworms with a Push-Up — 20 reps
- Crunches — 20 reps
- Squats — 20 reps
- Burpees — 20 reps
- Rest — 30 seconds
- Pop Squats — 20 reps
- Diamond Push-Ups — 20 reps
- Russian Twists — 20 reps
- Donkey Kicks — 20 reps
- Mountain Climbers — 20 reps
- Rest — 30 seconds
- Jumping Lunges — 20 reps
- Walking Push-Ups — 20 reps
- Bird Dog — 20 reps
- Long Jumps — 20 reps
- Skaters — 20 reps
- Rest — 30 seconds
- Jump Squats — 20 reps
- Tricep Dips — 20 reps
- Bicycles — 20 reps
- Sumo Squat with a Hop — 20 reps
- Fast Feet — 20 reps
- Rest — 30 seconds
- Plank — 1 minute
- Tabletop Hold — 1 minute
- Wall Sit — 1 minute
- Rest — 30 seconds
Alternatives to Quick Bodyweight Workouts
If you’re getting tired of the same bodyweight workout routines, try one of these methods to increase your motivation and get back in the fitness game!
Gather At-Home Fitness Equipment
There are a lot of small pieces of workout equipment that you can purchase for your home! Having them in your house allows you to mix up your quick bodyweight workout routine and increase your endurance. Even better — a lot of these pieces of equipment don’t take up too much space so you won’t have to worry about them crowding up your rooms.
Here are a few consider purchasing:
- Resistance Bands — Resistance bands are great for making your muscles work even harder to perform an exercise. They’re perfect for full body workouts and come in a range of resistance levels so you can level up to increase your strength.
- Kettlebells — These help increase ab, joint, hamstring, and glute strength. They’re also great for working on your stability and coordination to help prevent injuries. Kettlebells also come in a variety of weights so you can increase your weight to get a better workout over time.
- Exercise Ball — These balls allow you to work on your balance and stability while engaging abdominal and back muscles. They’re ideal for core muscle workouts!
- Ab Roller Wheel — A relatively new fitness tool, the ab wheel helps to train your abdominals in a way that you aren’t normally able to. Since the ab roller prohibits you from extending and arching your back, you can focus in on those muscles even more, making them more defined.
Get Outside
Want to mix up your bodyweight workout routine? Try interval running or jogging around the park or your neighborhood. This type of interval training mimics your bodyweight HIIT workout, but you’ll be outside and able to enjoy new views. You can also reap the benefits of soaking in vitamin D and simply being outside in fresh air.
You may also try signing up for local walks, runs, and races within your community. You can support local organizations, get a workout in, and have fun with others all at once. It’s the perfect activity during the spring and summer months with the weather outside is beautiful!
Find a Personal Trainer
A personal trainer, like the ones at iTrain Studio, is there for you whenever you need them! Don’t have a ton of time during the week? Personal trainers can work with you to find a time that works best for you and your schedule. Not only will they help motivate you during your workouts, but they can also provide you with new exercises to try to ensure you don’t get bored or stuck in a workout rut!
There are tons of other great reasons to have a personal trainer. In addition to helping you work out during your limited free time, they also supervise your exercise movements to make sure you’re doing them correctly. Without proper form, you may render your exercise moves ineffective. Even worse, you could injure yourself. A personal trainer will work with you one-on-one to ensure neither of these things happen!
Let the professional trainers at iTrain Studio make the most of your free time. Contact iTrain Studio today to schedule a free consultation.
Wayne Mutata is the owner of iTrainStudio and is dedicated to helping individuals reach their health and fitness goals. As a personal trainer, nutritionist, leader, and motivator, he brings light into the Studio every day and positively influences those around him. You can follow him on Facebook at @iTrainStudio and on Instagram at @iTrainWithWayne or @iTrainStudio.Lancaster. For a free consultation, visit theiTrainStudio website!