Happy Friday!

I am SO SORE today from a 20-minute workout that I did at home yesterday that totally kicked my butt.

I haven’t been able to make it to the gym to get a strength or CrossFit workout in since I got home from vacation. I was really hoping to make it yesterday but ended up with a really short window to workout before meeting a friend. It wasn’t enough time to make it to the gym and I really didn’t want to go for a run because it was 95 degrees out. I decided to do something I rarely do and workout at home.

I rolled out my Premier Protein mat and took off for a quick one-mile run to warm up. I pushed myself on the run to get warm and get my heart rate up. I think I averaged an 8 minute pace. While I was running I brainstormed workout ideas and ended up with a 20-minute tabata workout that seemed not so bad but ended up pretty much crushing me.

20 minutes later I was a sweaty noodle! Tabata workouts are my go-to when I’m strapped for time and needing to get a good workout in. You can read all about tabata training in this post that I wrote.

Here’s yesterday’s workout.

The exercises are all simple bodyweight movements that can be done at home with no equipment. Here are a few helpful hints:

– If jumping doesn’t work for you, stick with the air squats and forward stepping lunges for all 8 intervals instead of the jump option
– Pace yourself on the push ups. If you’ve never done tabata style push ups before, get ready to feel the burn. They are intense! Don’t compromise your form for more reps and drop to the knees if you need to in order to keep good form and full range of motion. – The bicycle crunch and mountain climber interval is meant to strengthen both the core and the hip flexors. Don’t be surprised if you find this more challenging for the hip flexors than the abs!
– I did full burpees down to my belly but modify as needed.
– I counted my reps for each round of 8 intervals to a) keep my mind occupied and b) give myself a benchmark for next time I do this workout.
– Download a tabata timer app on your phone so that you’re not constantly watching the clock. I like this one.

Like I said, this workout looks pretty tame but it’s killer. I felt like jello for the rest of the night after this one. I put my small group training clients through it this morning at 5:30 a.m. and they agreed that it gets two thumbs up.

As always, I would love your feedback if you try the workout. Let me know if you have any questions and happy sweating!