Ready. Set. Action. At Home Workout

Ready. Set. Action. At Home Workout

Inside FitnessApr 9, '20
In light of the Corona outbreak, and the closures of most public spaces, there is an increased need for workouts that can be completed at home. While we all want to respect the guidelines being set out to all of us by the health organizations worldwide, that is no reason that we have to break our routine and set ourselves – and our gains – back. 

The following workout, written by Craig Bongelli and photos taken Brendan Meadows at Salt Studio in Vancouver BC, originally appeared in our June/July 2019 issue along with an interview with Alek Paunovic, featured below.

For more great workouts, and informative articles to indulge in on our quarantines, be sure to get an online subscription to Inside Fitness and check out our latest issue, the 2020 Motivation Guide!

Exercise                                             Sets                                         Reps

Shadow Boxing                                   3                                              90 seconds
Squat Jumps                                       3                                              10
Sit-Up Punches                                   3                                              45 seconds
Mountain Climbers                              3                                              60 seconds

You can complete the sets for each move at the same time or you can do it as a circuit, completing one set of each move for three rounds. Aleks does three rounds of these exercises as a circuit, and focuses on putting as much into each movement as he can without worrying about how much or little he did last time.

SHADOW BOXING

Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 90 second reps, with a 15-second break in between each set

Start: Stand up straight with your hands in fists and next to your cheeks. Take a step back with the leg on your dominant side. Keep your knees slightly bent and your weight on the balls of your feet. 

Execution: From here, imagine yourself in a boxing match — blocking, dodging punches, and returning punches to an opponent that is in front of you. Keep your core engaged, and try different combinations of jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts, and blocks. Do three sets of one minute each.

Tip: Don’t forget your feet! Boxing is only 50% hands — you need to step, slip, and roll to get the most out of this move.

SQUAT JUMPS

Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 10 reps, with a 15 second break in between each set.

Start: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Engage your core, and push your hips back and down, keeping your back straight and your knees over your ankles. Go as low as you can without rounding your back or lifting your heels off the floor.

Execution: Go as low as you can without rounding your back or lifting your heels off the floor. Explode up as high as you can into the air. Land with your knees soft and make sure you’re balanced and stable before squatting into the next rep.

Tip: Aleks says that the key here is a slow eccentric on the squat down to get more muscle burn and less wear on your knees.

SIT-UP PUNCHES

Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 45 seconds, with a 15 second break in between each set.

Start: Lie down on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Sit up by flexing your rib cage down with your abs, keep your back straight, and hold your hands by your face.

Execution: Turn and punch out across your body at a 45-degree angle, coming back to the middle and then punching out to the other side.

Tip: To get the most out of this movement, don’t simply reach out with your arm, but turn your shoulders to each side as you punch to engage your entire core.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 60 seconds, with a 15 second break in between each set.

Start: Assume a plank position, supporting yourself on your hands. Keep your back flat, your shoulders over your wrists, and your rib cage flexed down with your abs.

Execution: Maintain the position of your body and, one at a time, bring your knees up to touch the outside of the elbow on the same side. Alternate as fast as you can without shifting your weight from side to side or rounding your back.

Tip: For the best cardio workout, don’t worry about increasing the time you do this for, but focus on more reps in the same amount of time. To get the most out of this movement, remain completely motionless except for the leg you’re pulling up to touch your elbow.

Bonus Movement: Still have a bit of gas in the tank? Aleks developed a killer push up technique that requires a 7 second negative AND a 7 second concentric phase without locking out at the top. Try a set or two of max reps on these and we guarantee you’ll be sufficiently cooked!