Simple Workout Ideas

Have you ever spontaneously got ready to workout but not known where to start. This can be massively frustrating and creates a seemingly unnecessary barrier to exercise. In this article I outline some simple workout structures to assist you in workout planning. Allowing you to minimize time wasting and capitalize on motivation whilst it’s there.

This is one of the simplest ways to workout. Create 5-10 exercise stations in a circle shape, working your way round as many times as you see fit. You can this for time i.e. 45s on 15s off, which ensures a clear end to the workout. Or alternatively, for reps i.e., 10 reps per station which removes the faffing associated with a stopwatch. Try both and see what works for you.

Minimal equipment or even bodyweight will be more than adequate to create an effective circuit. If you use your imagination, you can even use household items i.e. sprints up the stairs, tricep dips on the edge of the sofa or bicep curls with water bottles.

As many rounds as possible within a given time frame. This is a good one for tracking progress, as you can easily note how many rounds you completed and aim to exceed that in coming weeks. I generally repeat around 5 different exercises for 10 minutes.

Complete a series of exercises every minute on the minute. The quicker you finish, the longer rest you will have between rounds. For example if you complete the exercises in 40 seconds, you will have 20 seconds to rest before starting again.

There is a cool variation of the EMOM which involves increasing the reps each round until you can no longer fit it all into the minute. You may do 1 burpee and 1 squat for the first minute increasing to 2 burpees and 2 squats for the second minute and so on. This ensures that you work to your full capacity.

TABATA is a type of high intensity interval training (HIIT). More specifically, it is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest and so on. The method was originally done using stationary bikes but also works well with bodyweight exercises like burpees, high knees etc. Of the various workout styles, this has to be the most efficient as it fatigues you very quickly.