Thinking Out Loud

In the spirit of keeping with the “New Year, new you” mentality this February (and hopefully onward) I looked into a quick workout that you can do anywhere, using your own body weight. That’s right, even if you have a 30-40 minute lunch break, you can take 6-10 minutes, go outside and get that heart-rate up! Or if you’re just looking for a new program to add to your routine, you may want to give Tabata try. Tabata is a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout that lasts only four minutes. You’ll perform at high level intensity (all out) for 20 seconds and then take a 20-second in-between for a total of six rounds.

Try these out the next time you have 4-5 minutes to spare:

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  Burpee: Start standing, then drop to a low squat position with your hands on the floor. Now kick your feet back to a plank position then down into a pushup. Push off the ground and quickly return to the squat position. Finally, jump up as high as possible before squatting down again and jumping back into the next push-up.

  
  


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  Superman:Start in a pushup position. Keep your chin to your chest and lift your right arm at the same time you lift your left leg off the ground. Keep your core tight, hold each side for 20 seconds and repeat on both sides.

  
  


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  Jump squat: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward. Sit back into a squat (be sure you keep hips parallel to your toes) then push the whole body up through the heels. Try and keep your weight on the balls of the feet when you land and then immediately bend your knees back into the full squat.

  
  


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  Jump lunge: Start standing with your feet together and lunge one foot forward. Keep the bending knee at a 90-degree angle. Now jump straight up, and while in the air, switch your legs and land in a lunge with the opposite foot forward.

  
  

Tabata is a great way to squeeze in a quick workout and boost your current routine to build strength and endurance.