Let's be honest, the three weeks in between Thanksgiving break and the holidays are absolute hell. You're drowning in assignments, the sun sets at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and finals are lurking right behind you like Trump in the second presidential debate. You could use something to take your mind off of all the stress.
The best way to get yourself motivated during these final weeks is to get active. Give your brain a break and get moving with these 10 simple 15-60 minute workouts that'll leave you feeling energized.
1. Ab Series (Low intensity)
What you'll need:
Timer
What you'll do:
30-second Front-facing Plank
10-second Rest
30-second Right Side Plank
10-second Rest
30-second Left Side Plank
20 Raised Leg Crunches
10 Push-ups
60 Penguins
Repeat for 3 Rounds
2. Strength EMOM (Low intensity)
What you'll need:
Sandbag/Weights
Box/Elevated surface
Timer
What you'll do:
5 Box Jumps
5 Burpees
5 Hand Release Push-ups
10-second Rest
Repeat for 5 Rounds
5-minute EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute)
Set your timer for one minute and do the following exercises. If you finish before the minute is up, rest the remaining time.
10 Sand Bags over the head
6 Squats w/ same bag (not over the head)
Repeat for 5 Rounds
3. 3x3 Series (Low intensity)
What you'll need:
Dumbbells
Box/Elevated surface
What you'll do:
10 Lawn Mower Pulls (on each arm) To incorporate your core, do these in a plank position.
10 Step-ups with dumbbells
10 Dumbbell Scaptions
Repeat for 3 Rounds
10 Squats
10 Sit-ups
1-minute Wall Sit
Repeat for 3 Rounds
30-second Plank
10 Push-ups
30-second Right Side Plank
10 push-ups
30-second Left Side Plank
10 push-ups
4. Ab Series #2 (Medium intensity)
What you'll need:
Timer
What you'll do:
45 seconds each
Front-facing Plank
Straight Leg Lifts (don't let your feet hit the floor - go slow if necessary)
Right Side Plank
V-ups
Wide-armed Plank
Accordions
Left Side Plank
Penguins
Front-facing Plank
Russian Twists
Rest
Repeat for 3 rounds
5. Strength EMOM #2 (Medium intensity)
What you'll need:
Sandbag/Weights
Box/Elevated surface
Timer
What you'll do:
Complete as fast as possible
5 Box Jumps, 5 Burpees
4 Box Jumps, 4 Burpees
3 Box Jumps, 3 Burpees
2 Box Jumps, 2 Burpees
1 Box Jump, 1 Burpee
10-Minute EMOM
15 Air Squats, 10 Push-ups
8 Deadlifts
Alternate between exercises until 10 minutes are up for a total of 5 rounds of each.
6. Strength Relay (Medium intensity)
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What you'll need:
Track/Treadmill
What you'll do:
Run a ¼ mile (2 laps on an indoor track, 1 lap on an outdoor, 0.25 mi on a treadmill) and then perform the following strength exercises:
10 Squats
10 Hand Release Push-ups
Repeat this dynamic between running and strength for 5 rounds (total running distance of 2 miles on an indoor track and 2 ½ on an outdoor/treadmill. Reduce outdoor track/treadmill distance to a 300 meter to do a total of 1 1/2 miles).
7. Body Weight Ladder (High intensity)
What you'll need:
Track/Treadmill
What you'll do:
10 Push-ups
10 V-ups
10 Jump Squats
10 Tricep Dips
10 Walking Lunges (each leg)
Run a ¼ mile (2 laps on indoor track, 1 lap on outdoor, 0.25 mi on treadmill) in between working your way from 10 all the way down to 1 rep of each workout (total running distance of 2 miles on indoor and 2 ½ on outdoor/treadmill. Reduce outdoor track/treadmill distance to a 300 meter to do a total of 1 1/2 miles).
8. Abs, Ass, and Arms Ladder (High intensity)
What you'll need:
Track/court/field with lines
What you'll do:
Find an area with lines (track, athletic field, basketball court, etc) or mark a distance of about 20 meters.
At Baseline:
3 Push-ups, 3 Jump Squats, 3 Single Leg V-ups (on each leg)
Sprint (straightaway for a track, full court for a basketball court, 20-yard line for a field). Recovery jog back.
6 Push-ups, 6 Jump Squats, 6 V-ups
Sprint
9 Push-ups, 9 Jump Squats, 9 V-ups
Sprint
12 Push-ups, 12 Jump Squats, 12 V-ups
Sprint
9 Push-ups, 9 Jump Squats, 9 V-ups
Sprint
6 Push-ups, 6 Jump Squats, 6 V-ups
Sprint
3 Push-ups, 3 Jump Squats, 3 V-ups
Sprint
9. Endurance Burpee Ladder (High intensity)
What you'll need:
Track/Treadmill
Any lane with a distance of about 20 meters
What you'll do:
Jog 2 miles (20 laps on an indoor track, 8 on outdoor)
Get set in your lane and have an end line marked. The following should be done at a continuous pace:
Sprint to the end line
1 burpee
Sprint
2 burpees
Sprint
3 burpees
Continue increasing your burpees by one until you reach ten, then go back down the ladder until you get to one again. End with a sprint to the end line.
10. Iron Man Series (High intensity)
What you'll need:
Medicine ball
Box/Elevated surface
Track/Treadmill
What you'll do:
Complete all exercises in sets with a 20-second rest in between each set until the goal is reached.
For example, exercise number one is 40 wall balls. You could do 4 sets of 10 (10 wall balls, rest, 10 wall balls, rest, etc.), 8 sets of 5, or 5 sets of 8 - it's up to you.
40 Wall Balls
35 Box Jumps
30 Push-ups
25 V-ups
20 Burpees
15 Pike Push-ups
10 Lunge Jumps (both legs)
10 Sumo Squats
To finish, run a 400m (2 laps on an indoor track, 1 on outdoor, ¼ mile treadmill) as fast as possible and then do a one-mile recovery jog.
For definitions of exercises, check out this online exercise glossary:
