Get Ripped at Home in Less Than 30 Minutes

When you don’t have time or motivation to get in the car and go to the gym, you can still get a killer workout from your home – in 30 minutes or less. Bodyweight circuits are one of my favorite ways to get a ton of work done in very little time, not to mention jack up your metabolism and burn away excess fat.

Endless push-ups and sit-ups to failure suck. We’re going to move out of the 1950’s and implement some better options and exercises.

Make sure that you include both strength work and conditioning drills in your workout. Include something for the lower body and for the back if possible. This can be hard with bodyweight stuff, but if you go to Wal-Mart and buy a $20 doorway pullup bar or suspension straps, you’ll have a ton of options.

I like to do time-based circuits, rather than a set number of sets and reps. This makes your workouts very time efficient because you’ll push to get more done in less time. You’ll be very surprised how much you can accomplish in only 20-30 minutes.

You can also do ladders – start with a certain number of reps and ascend and descend in number. The classic example is starting with one rep of each exercise and adding a rep every set until you’re doing 10 reps per set, the subtracting a rep until you get back to one. This example isn’t ideal because you’re forced to do the most work when you’re already fatigued, and form can get a bit iffy.

Instead of the classic ladder, try multiple shorter ladders – for example:

5, 10, 15, 5, 10, 15, 5, 10, 15 reps

3, 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9, 12 reps

5, 8, 12, 5, 8, 12, 5, 8, 12 reps

Etc.

You can work through this more quickly since you have a low rep set immediately after every high rep set, giving you some rest so you can perform at your best on the high-rep sets.

Remember to warm up before each workout for 5-10 minutes. This should consist of dynamic flexibility exercises like leg swings, arm circles, glute bridges and inchworms.

Here are some sample circuits. Try these out 2-4 days per week, and try to keep a day of rest between each workout unless you’re already familiar with this sort of exercise.

Circuit #1 – Beginner time-based circuit: perform 30 seconds of each exercise and get as many reps as you can, resting 60 seconds at the end of each circuit. Do 4 circuits.

Modified Pushup

Jumping Jacks

Side Plank

Assisted Pullup (do pullups while your feet are on a sturdy chair)

Mountain Climbers

Squats

Circuit#2 – Intermediate ladder: 5, 10, 15 series for 3 rounds.

Squats

Renegade Row (elbow touches)

Modified Squat Thrust

Pushup

Assisted Pullup

“Spiderman” Mountain Climbers

Circuit #3 – Intermediate/advanced ladder: 3, 6, 9, 12 series for 3 rounds

Squat

Close Grip Pushup

Squat Thrust

1 Arm 1 Leg Plank

Negative Pullup (jump over the bar, and lower yourself to a 3 to 5 second count)

Circuit #4 – Advanced ladder: 5, 8, 12 series for 4 rounds

Reverse Lunge

Pike Press

Straight Leg Situp
Pullup

Burpee

Circuit #5 - Insane time-based circuit: perform 30 seconds or each exercise, and rest 60 seconds at the end of each circuit. Perform 4 circuits.

Pistol Squat

Lunge Jumps

1 Arm Pushup

Burpee+Pullup combo

Bodysaw

8 Count Bodybuilders

If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me

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