Open Minded Fitness

I have a friend who has worked out in the past and wants to continue working out, but has an extremely busy schedule and is having trouble making the time. He asked me to create a workout that he could fit in, and I figured that other people may benefit from this as well. The workout has to meet the following requirements:

• Take no more than a half hour session three times per week.
• Be able to be accomplished in the home with less than $50 worth of equipment.
• Build strength and conditioning.

We can accomplish these goals by organizing the exercises into circuits, taking few breaks, and choosing exercises that focus on many muscle groups at once. Also, you will notice that these workouts use a variety of exercises to target all your muscles and to keep things interesting. The first workout is listed below, with the second and third workout of this series to follow in later posts.

Workout #1
standing knee raises – 30 sec
walking lunges – 30 sec
arm circles – 30 sec
stretch – 2 min
water break – 30 sec

Burpees 10 – 20
L – sit pullups 6 – 12
Pushups with side-crunch 10 – 20
Reverse crunches 10 – 15
Deep knee squats 20-50
Water Break – 60 sec

Jump rope (or simulated jump rope) – 60 sec
Towel pullups 6 – 12
Fingertip pushups 10 – 20
Plank 60 sec
One legged squats 8 – 12
Water break – 60 sec

Burpees 10 – 20
Pullups with knee raise at top 6 – 12
Pushups with side balance 10 – 20
Lying Leg raises 10 – 20
Forward lunges 10 – 12
Water Break – 60 sec

Jump rope (or simulated jump rope) – 60 sec
Chinups 6 – 12
Chair dips 20 – 25
Crunches 20 – 25
Side lunges 10 – 12

Stretch

Explanation of exercises
Some of these exercises may be unfamiliar, so I am going to try and explain some of the less known ones.

Burpees – Begin standing up. Place hands on floor. Kick legs out and go to the bottom of a pushup position. Pull legs back in, stand up, and jump with your hands over you head.

L – sit pullups – Just like regular pullups, except you contract you abs and hold your legs parallel to the floor.

Pushups with side-crunch – At the top of each pushup, hold the pushup, lift one of your legs, and bring the knee forward and out to the side. You should feel it in your obliques.

Reverse crunches – Lay on the floor, with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor. Lift your legs and butt off the ground as if crunching up with your legs rather than your chest.

Towel pullups – Hang two towels over the pullup bar. Hold onto the towels and do pullups. This will strengthen your grip.

Fingertip pushups – Do pushups with the palms of your hands off the ground. This will also build grip strength.

Pullups with knee raise at top – Do a pullup. Hold it at the top. Bring your knees up as high as you can. Lower your knees. Lower the pullup.

Pushups with side balance – At the top of each push-up, lift one hand off the floor and point it towards the sky, while rotating your body. Your arms should be in a single line, one on the floor and the other pointing towards the sky.

Keep moving constantly. If you can’t workout for much time, make sure the workouts are intense. Good luck and enjoy!