I freely admit that I didn’t get a tough workout in last week, besides spinning and body pump. Life is sometimes hectic, as it was for me last week.

Anyway, back to basics. Here is a shortish workout of around 30 minutes, but sweat, you hopefully wll.

Equipment required:

  • An incline, perhaps a box or if training from home, a pouff
  • Mat
  • 7-10kg dumbells
  • Skipping rope (I love my rope)
  • Music (primarily for motivation – optional)
  • Stability ball – optional

The Workout:

  • Gently warm up the muscles by skipping lightly or marching on the spot. After five minutes of briskly skipping, jogging or marching, step up the workout and skip a little faster. Jump rope for a song length or around 5 minutes.
  • Pick up the weights, minimum of 7kg and perform 10 one-legged deadlifts on each leg. Remember to only briefly bend the knee but bring the weight up thigh height, keeping the back straight. That’s one rep. Perform ten on each leg.
  • Position your legs on the incline and perform 20 normal press-ups. Bring your abdominals in, keep your back straight and maintain your posture. It is harder on an incline, so remember to breathe.
  • Position your arms on a table or chair and do 20 tricep dips. If you want to make it easier, bring your knees in, harder, keep your body straight. Your arms will be challenged, especially after performing twenty press-ups.
  • Try not to have a break, but if you must, 1 minute minimum.
  • Sit yourself comfortably on the stability ball, grab your weight, again a minimum of 7kg and slowly curl with the weight. This is a tough one. Breathe out on the tension held in the abs and in on the release. If you perform this exercise slowly it will really work those abdominal muscles.
  • Pick up one dumbell and perform 8 one-legged squats on each. Try to bend down as low as you can. Focus on a spot on the floor so you don’t lose balance. This exercise works to build strong glutes.
  • Grab your weights, position them in your hands or on your shoulders and perform 20 squats. Really push your buttocks out. Do not curl your back, pull your abdominal muscles in at all times. When you push back, you should be able to see your toes. If you can’t, it is likely you are positioning yourself too forwards and maybe hurting your back. Practice by looking in front of the mirror. Excuse my French, but you should be squatting like you’re ready for a number two.
  • If that’s not exhaustive enough, you’ve two more rounds to go with this circuit.
  • Perform the above twice, and if you’r really eager four or five times.

There are a lot of tough bodyweight exercises in this exercise and because the weights are fairly heavy, and there are a lot of core balancing exercises, such as the one-legged squat, weighted sit-up and incline press-up, this workout will really torch those calories. If I remember, after the first circuit, I was perspiring heavily.

Remember to eat a nutritious meal afterward such as a banana, peanut butter on toast or a healthy milkshake.