Head into the holidays knowing you can still hit beast mode on full-body workouts without weights. This 15-minute bodyweight routine torches muscles from head to toe, including building stronger shoulders, arms, back, chest and core muscles while working your hips, glutes and legs hard.
The routine also spikes your heart rate and ticks the cardio endurance element, making it perfect for those rolling out one of the best yoga mats for bodyweight training while traveling or visiting loved ones at this time of year when there may be limited access to dumbbells, kettlebells and other gym equipment.
Here’s how to fully access the bodyweight workout, how to do each exercise and the benefits.
What is the 15-minute bodyweight workout?
Here are the five full-body moves. You don't need any equipment to give these a try, but the main thing is to focus on doing each with perfect form and avoid rushing, performing each section of the exercise with control.
1. Sprawls
Sprawls are a burpee alternative requiring greater lower body mobility while removing the jump at the top of the movement. Start in a straight-arm plank position with your shoulders over your wrists and butt aligned with the shoulders.
Brace your core, glutes, quads and shoulders. Jump both feet forward to the outside of your hands, then raise your hands away from the floor. Sit your butt down low and raise your chest, keeping a flat back as you squat. Place your hands down, then jump both feet backward to return to the high plank position.
2. Plank hip dips
Rotational exercises like hip dips are the best plank variations to grill your torso, particularly the oblique muscles running down your waist. Start in a low plank position with your shoulders over your elbows and butt aligned with your shoulders. Brace your stomach, glutes, quads and shoulders to pre-tension the body.
Rotate your hips to the right while pressing through your elbows. Tap the outside of your right hip toward the right side of your mat. Pause, then rotate to the left, touching your outer left hip toward the left side of your mat. Continue moving from side to side.
3. Spiderman planks
Spiderman planks also hit your abs and obliques and work your hip flexors and shoulders as you drive your knee toward your elbow from the plank position, giving you some crunching action while holding a plank. Start in a low or high plank position, following the steps above.
With control, keep bracing your abs as you drive your right knee toward your right elbow. Slightly roll forward on the ball of your left foot to send your weight forward without lifting or dropping your hips. Return your right leg to the plank, then repeat on your left side.
4. Deficit push-ups
The deficit push-up involves raising your hands away from the floor so that your chest has further to reach its full range of motion. The simple tweak works muscles harder for slightly longer and increases the overall range of motion. I like to use push-up bars but you can use pretty much anything — weights, books, yoga blocks, for example.
Start in the push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart and raised from the ground. Brace your whole body to create a solid torso, then bend your elbows, keeping them close to your body as you lower your chest toward the floor.
Keep your gaze toward the top of your mat and butt aligned with your shoulders. Pause at the bottom, then drive upward to the starting position, extending both arms.
5. Curtsy lunges
Quad-dominant curtsy lunges work the outer glutes and legs, including the inner thighs, and the hips. You could raise your standing heel on a weight plate to target more of the quads or raise the front of your standing foot to target more of the hamstrings, depending on your preference.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, hands on hips, across your chest, or behind your head to make the move harder. Send your weight into your left leg, then slightly raise your right foot away from the floor. Using your tiptoes, draw a semi-circle across and behind you with your right foot, then rest on the ball of your right foot behind and to the outside of your left foot.
Bend your knees and lower into the lunge position. Avoid letting your knees cave in and keep your back straight and chest proud. Pause at the bottom of the lunge, then drive upward to stand and return to the starting position. Repeat on the left side.
5-move bodyweight workout to try
Set a timer for 15 minutes, then try this ladder workout:
- 2/4/8/10 reps plank hip dips
- 2/4/8/10 reps Spiderman planks
- 2/4/8/10 reps deficit push-ups
- 2/4/8/10 reps sprawls
- 2/4/8/10 reps curtsy lunges
Start with 2 reps of each move (1 rep per side), then go back to the start and increase to 4 reps per move (2 reps per side), performing exercises back to back each time. Try to save any recovery for between rounds rather than moves. Once you reach 10 reps per exercise, ladder back down the reps, or continue increasing by 2 reps for an even spicier workout.
If you get the pacing right from the start, you won’t need to rest too often. If you choose to add weights, I recommend a set of the best adjustable dumbbells or kettlebells for the push-ups and curtsy lunges.
More from Tom's Guide
- This 20-minute bodyweight workout builds full-body strength and it’s a great mood booster
- I did 70 weighted push-ups every day for a week — here’s what happened to my upper body
- Forget sit-ups — you just need 10 minutes and 2 dumbbells to strengthen your core with this standing ab workout
