A “Pocket Workout” For Anytime, Anywhere
This is what I call a ‘magic pocket workout’. Something you can pull out of your pocket and bust out at any time, in any place. And with no equipment needed!
Working only with bodyweight, and playing with things like speed and work-to-rest ratio, can get you huge gains. So let’s get to this workout for the butt and legs!
For this type of routine, your main workout indicator will be your heart rate. To maximize the fat-burning and cardiovascular effects, you’ll need to bring your heart rate up to 70% of it’s max, and then hold it there throughout the entire workout. To accomplish this you may need to shorten your work-to-rest ratio. Meaning 40″ on with 30″ off, or 40″ on with 20″ off, or down to 40″ on with 10″ off. (Note: ” stands for seconds) Alternatively, rather than doing each exercise for a certain amount of time, you can do them for a certain number of reps. For example, do 15 reps with a rest interval of 10-30 seconds.
In either case: make the necessary tweaks to your workout to make sure you hit your target heart rate BPM.
How do I calculate my max heart rate?
You can estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, for a 30-year-old person, the estimated maximum heart rate would be calculated as 220 – 30 years = 190 beats per minute (bpm).
So working at 70% of your maximum heart rate would mean; 190 x 70% = 133bpm
Remember to warm-up and cool-down
With such workouts it’s always important to warm up before (and cool down after) asking such high demands from your heart. You want to steadily bring your heart rate up to where it needs to be during the workout. And then once the workout is over, you want to ensure you actively bring it down by light walking and stretching. Dispel the heat and bring the heart rate down; hence the term “cooldown”. This portion of a complete, healthy workout is very important and often overlooked. So take this time to transition out of your workout.
POINTERS:
- KEEP THE KNEES TURNED OUT AS YOU LUNGE, SQUAT, OR STEP UP.
- MAINTAIN A BRACED SPINE THROUGHOUT EACH MOVEMENT, BY SQEEZING ABS, ASS, AND LATS.
- SLOW DOWN THE MOVEMENT IF YOU ARE FEELING FATIGUED. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT STOP!
- USE YOUR BREATHING EFFICIENTLY TO SUPPORT YOUR TRAINING.
3-4 Rounds
40 seconds Work
10-30 seconds Rest, depending on target heart rate
MOVEMENT 1
Alternating Lunges
MOVEMENT 2
Jumping Squats
MOVEMENT 3
Alternating Step Ups
MOVEMENT 4
Alternating Squats w/ Oblique Twists
MOVEMENT 5
Alternating Curtsies
Cool Down & Stretch
As stated above, rest time between sets will vary depending on your goal.
To understand more about rest timings, read our post on rest intervals.
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