Forget burpees — build muscle all over your body with this 30-minute bodyweight workout

a woman's back muscle
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Getting fitter and healthier is rarely an easy process, but it doesn’t have to be a complicated one. If you have 30 minutes to spare, enough room to stand and lunge, and the motivation to work hard during that 30 minutes, then the only thing you still need is some idea of what to do during your workout.

That’s where this 30-minute bodyweight workout from fitness trainer FitByMik comes in. YouTube is a great place to find workouts and I always enjoy sessions from Mikala’s channel, and this low-impact session is perfect for all fitness levels.

You can do it anywhere you have space to roll out one of the best yoga mats, and it not only strengthens muscles all over your body, but will also get your heart pumping to boost your metabolism and improve your cardiovascular fitness.

Watch FitByMik’s 30-minute workout

30 min FULL BODY WORKOUT | No Jumping | Sculpt & Sweat | Bodyweight Travel Friendly | No Equipment - YouTube 30 min FULL BODY WORKOUT | No Jumping | Sculpt & Sweat | Bodyweight Travel Friendly | No Equipment - YouTube
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During the workout you’ll be working for 45 seconds and resting for 15 seconds. Mikala demonstrates the move coming up during the rest periods, and also does the workout with you and gives form tips during the working sets, so keep your eyes and ears tuned to the screen for her advice throughout.

The video also has a quick warm up and cool down, which it’s well worth doing if you have the time — it only adds around five minutes to the workout in total and you’ll feel better at the start and end of the session if you do them.

Since you’ll be doing 45 seconds of each move the sets are quite long so you don’t need to go in all-guns-blazing and blasting out reps as fast as you can. Instead focus on getting your form right and engaging the right muscles. Move with control and you’ll certainly feel the burn in your muscles by the end of the 45 seconds.

The sets are quite long so you don’t need to go in all-guns-blazing and blasting out reps as fast as you can.

Of course if you are already quite experienced with workouts and want to push harder, then speeding up is always an option, as long as you keep your form on point. You can also introduce some weights if you have them handy to progress some of the exercises in the workout.

Mikala has designed the workout to be low-impact, which means there are no jumping exercises like burpees, so it goes a little easier on your joints while still strengthening them and a wide array of muscles. Since you’re targeting different muscle groups all over the body during the session the time will fly by as the exercises you do are varied.

If you do have weights and want to workout without doing any floor-based moves, then you can try this 15-minute full-body workout with dumbbells instead, while this 30-minute bodyweight workout is another great option to help you get in shape without needing any equipment.

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Nick Harris-Fry
Senior Writer

Nick Harris-Fry is an experienced health and fitness journalist, writing professionally since 2012. He spent nine years working on the Coach magazine and website before moving to the fitness team at Tom’s Guide in 2024. Nick is a keen runner and also the founder of YouTube channel The Run Testers, which specialises in reviewing running shoes, watches, headphones and other gear.

Nick ran his first marathon in 2016 after six weeks of training for a magazine feature and subsequently became obsessed with the sport. He now has PBs of 2hr 27min for the marathon and 15min 30sec for 5K, and has run 13 marathons in total, as well as a 50-mile ultramarathon. Nick is also a qualified Run Leader in the UK.

Nick is an established expert in the health and fitness area and along with writing for many publications, including Live Science, Expert Reviews, Wareable, Coach and Get Sweat Go, he has been quoted on The Guardian and The Independent.