Weeknight Workouts Â

If you’re like me, keeping up with physical fitness is more of a chore than a hobby. And by keeping up with fitness, I mean squeezing that workout time into my already packed day. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a good work out and have always been super competitive! It is just so easy to let my million other daily responsibilities kick my workout from my priority list. I have found that no matter how much you like or dislike working out, there are a few things that make that workout happen during your weekday, and those are different for everyone.
The following boxes need to be checked in order for my workout to happen:

âœ”ï¸Convenient location

âœ”ï¸Not time-consuming

âœ”ï¸Accommodating to shower schedule

âœ”ï¸ Does not take the place of time quality with family or dinner.

If any one of those boxes is not checked on any given day, I will easily excuse myself from the workout. If I excuse myself on one day, it is much easier to do so on the next day, and the day after that. SO, I have developed a method to ensure that (almost) EVERY day of the week can be conducive to checking all of these boxes! I am going to share with you a week’s worth of my favorite workouts that can be done AT HOME with MINIMAL (or zero) EQUIPMENT and that satisfy the first 2 boxes. (You have to come up with your own way to meet the last two – I can share tips on how I accomplish those on another post!)

WHY LISTEN TO ME?
To legitimize my ability to develop workouts, I’d like to provide you with a bit of a background on my experience with physical fitness. While I am not a certified personal trainer, I have been a gymnastics and cheerleading coach for a total of 9 years. I was a cheerleader at Kansas State University and was a state weight lifting champion in high school. My husband was a personal trainer for lifetime fitness back in his post – Stryker days and together we have developed almost a year’s worth of workouts that satisfy each of our individual needs. I currently keep up with my own personal fitness through a mix of boxing workouts (I have done Title & 9round for 4 years now), “SealFit WOD’s” (online workout program designed to prepare Navy Seal hopefuls for their initial training), and workouts that my husband and I design to accommodate our miniature garage gym. My workouts are designed to increase muscle TONE and to tie in cardio along the way. Below are home-modifications of the workouts that I design to train my cheerleaders and gymnasts – all which clock in at roughly under 20 minutes!

My Bridesmaids and I on my wedding day – the photographer told us to “STRIKE A POSE”, of course the girls copied me. Guess this was the first one to come to mind! #NotSorry ??

**For some of the lesser-known movements I’ve provided a links to videos from my YouTube channel. Yes, I made a Â channel specifically for this post. I plan to use it more often from now on to show you more fun workouts! ??? I took the videos at home in my living room so that you can see how these movements can be performed from the comfort of your own home.**

Doing one of Mondayâ€™s exercises from the comfort of my kitchen ??

Monday (focus on Arms):

WARM UP: 800 Meter Run (figure this by running around your neighborhood and determine a good route that is 1/2 mile). (Should be modified to 400M run if you have not been running consistently.) INDOOR MODIFICATION – 3 minutes of jump rope/jumping jacks. Stretch after!
WORK: 4 rounds of the following as fast as possible (time yourself):

– 20 pushups (modify to knees)
– 15 tricep dips (on coffee table – straight legs)
– 10 Pike Push-ups (CLICK HERE to see a video)
– 5 burpees
– 30 second handstand hold (modify against wall)

Cardio + Core (“CC”): 8Â minutes of the following as many times as possible (set your timer and repeat until it goes off):

– 20 leg lifts
– 20 corkscrews (CLICK HERE to see video)
– 20 ab rows (CLICK HERE to see video)
– 10 tuck jumps (jump knees up to chest)

**Finish with a few minutes of stretching – focus on arms!

Tuesday (Focus on Legs):
Warm Up: 800 Meter Run (figure this by running around your neighborhood and determine a good route that is 1/2 mile). (Should be modified to 400M run if you have not been running consistently.) INDOOR MODIFICATION – 3 minutes of jump rope/jumping jacks. Stretch after!

WORK: 5 rounds of the following (as fast as you can):

– 30 squat jumps
– 30 Bulgarian split squat – 15 each leg (CLICK HERE to see video – hold dumbbell if you have one!)
– 30 booty curls Â (15 each side) – CLICK HERE to see video
– 15 hamstring curls (with socks on non-carpet floor – CLICK HERE to see video )

Follow up with a 5 minute weighted wall sit (set timer and hold books, water jug, baby, anything that will add a bit of resistance) and 100 abs of your choice!

Wednesday (Focus on CC):Â
CARDIO: Go on a run around your neighborhood for 15 minutes (changing speed throughout from jog to sprint – use streetlights to mark your switch).

CORE: When you return, complete 3 rounds of the following as fast as possible:

– 50 flutter kicks
– 40 penguins (CLICK HERE to see video)
– 30 bicycles
– 20 leg lifts
– 10 V-ups

Don’t forget to stretch!

Thursday: (Full Body Toning and Cardio)

Warm up – jog to a spot that you can section off 40 meters (maybe that’s just up and down your culdesac or up and down the length of your backyard) – if you don’t have at least a 3 minute jog to get there, do about 3 minutes worth of jumping jacks or jump ropes before beginning!

Work: 8 rounds of the following as fast as possible