The 20s Bodyweight Shred Workout
For this workout you will do 20 reps of everything. For one-sided or unilateral moves, you will do 10 reps per side. Complete 3 rounds of each circuit, resting only as needed. Time how long it takes you to complete and beat it the final week! If you are short on time, set a timer and see how much you can complete in the time you have and/or simply complete 1 round of each circuit!
CIRCUIT #1:
20 reps Squat Jumps
20 reps Alternating Front Lunges
20 reps Plank Jacks
CIRCUIT #2:
20 reps T Push Ups
20 reps Plank Hip Dips
20 reps Full Sit Ups
CIRCUIT #3:
20 reps Skater Hops
20 reps Dips Off Bench
20 reps Side Plank Oblique Twists
Exercise Descriptions:
Squat Jumps:
To do Squat Jumps, stand with your feet between hip-width and shoulder-width apart. Sit your butt down and back into as low a squat as you can with good form (aka your heels stay down and your chest stays up and your knees don’t cave in). You can then swing your arms back as you squat or reach your hands down to touch the ground. Then explode up out of the squat and jump as high off the ground as possible. You can swing your arms and reach your hands overhead to help propel you up. As you jump, extend your body fully. As you land, sink right back into the squat so you can explode right back up. Do not land with your legs straight. Make sure to bend your knees as you land and try to land softly to protect your knees. Beginners may need to rest between each rep; however, that doesn’t mean landing with your legs straight. You should never land with your legs completely locked. Bend your knees to help you absorb the impact of landing even if you pause between jumps. Beginners can also start with a quick Basic Bodyweight Squat and even come up onto their toes as the stand up instead of completely leaving the ground. If they have good mechanics, they may want to leave the ground but not jump as high. To make the move harder, jump up and sink right back into the squat to repeat as quickly as possible. Really focus on a soft landing and then exploding quickly into as high a jump as you can.
Alternating Front Lunges:
To do Alternating Front Lunges, start standing tall with your feet together. Then lunge forward on one side, dropping your back knee down toward the ground as you bend your front knee to 90 degrees. Sink as if moving to half kneel on the ground. Make sure to keep your weight in your front heel and your chest up. All of your weight shouldn’t simply be going forward so you feel yourself loading your front knee. Make sure to load your front glute. Then drive back off your front heel to come back up to standing in one fluid movement. If you can’t, make sure you don’t lunge out too far next time and also make sure to drive back through your heel. Then lunge forward on the other side, again dropping the back knee down as close to the ground as you can. Move quickly, alternating sides and add weight if you want even more challenge!
Plank Jacks:
To do Plank Jacks, start at the top of a push up with your hands under your shoulders and your feet together. Your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your heels. Brace your abs then jump your feet out wide to each side as if doing a Jumping Jack. As you jump, do not let your butt go way up in the air or your hips sag way down toward the ground. Quickly jump your feet back in together, holding the nice plank position. Do not shrug your shoulders or bend your arms as you go. Also, do not let your hands move forward in front of your shoulders. Repeat, jumping them back out. Keep your core engaged as you jump your feet in and out. Do not let your butt go up in the air or your hips sag as you jump your feet out wide and then back together. Beginners may need to start by stepping one foot at a time out wide and then back together. You can also add some variety to this move and make it more challenging for your inner thighs by doing it with sliders or towels under your feet.
T Push Ups:
To do the T Push Up, start at the top of a Push Up from your knees (beginner) or toes (advanced). Your legs should be close together and your hands should be under your shoulders and outside your chest. Brace your abs and engage your glutes and quads as you drive back through your heels to make sure your body is in a nice straight line. Then drop your chest to the ground between your hands to perform a push up. Keep your body in a nice straight line. Do not let your hips sag or your butt go up in the air. Also, make sure your elbows do not flare up by your shoulders. Press back up to the top of the push up, moving as one unit, then lift one hand and rotate open into a side arm balance or side plank. Pivot your feet to rock onto the outsides of your feet as you reach your top hand up toward the ceiling and rotate your body open. Do not let your shoulder shrug as you do this. Pause for a second, then rotate the hand back down and the feet back forward. Perform another push up and then a side arm balance on the other side. Keep alternating side arm balances after each push up. Beginners can do the movement from their knees or lift up onto their toes after the push up for the balance. They can also do this move off an incline.
Plank Hip Dips:
To do the Plank Hip Dips, set up on your forearms and either your knees (beginner) or toes (advanced). Your elbows should be under your shoulders and your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your heels or knees. Squeeze your glutes and keep your core tight with your belly button drawn in toward your spine. Do not let your hips sag or your butt go up toward the ceiling. Then rotate, dropping your hips toward one side. Try to touch the ground as you rotate without your hips sagging or butt going up in the air. Also, do not let your elbows come up off the ground. Come back center then drop your hip to the other side. Alternate hip touches until all reps are complete. You will feel everything twisting even down to your feet or knees. Do not let yourself go all the way over. Make sure to control the twists and just touch the hip down before twisting to the other side.
Full Sit Ups:
To do the Full Sit Up, you can do a variation where you reach up overhead as you sit up or you can reach toward your toes. Reaching toward your toes can help if you struggle to roll up and keep your abs engaged and working. To do the Full Sit Up (with a reach toward the toes), lie back on the ground with your legs out straight and your arms overhead. You can also reach your arms up toward the ceiling if you want to limit the assistance you get from “swinging” your arms. Then roll to sit up, first lifting your shoulder blades then the rest of your spine and finally your low back. As you “roll” up, reach your hands forward and toward your feet. Then lie back down, reaching your arms back overhead. Repeat, sitting back up. If you struggle to sit up, you can hold light weights in your hands. The weights actually can make it easier.
Skater Hops:
To do Skater Hops, make sure you have enough space to hop side to side. To set up, start standing to one side of the space you have to use. If you start to the right side of the space, you will start standing on your right leg. Shift your weight so that you are standing on your right foot as you sink down into a little squat and swing your arms down in front of you and out to the right. As you sink and swing your arms out to the right, you will load your glute so that you can then explode up off the right leg and jump toward the left and land on your left leg. Keep your chest facing straight ahead as you jump and land. Swing your arms slightly up and across your body to help you power the jump. As you land on your left leg, sink right back into a squat, pushing your butt back so that you load your glute to help you jump back to the right. Your arms should also swing out to the left to help you not only balance, but also power the jump back. Then push off your left leg and jump back right, landing on your right foot and sinking back into the slight squat. Try not to touch the other foot down when you land. Only touch the other foot down if you need to for balance. Beginners may need to go slower and not jump as far to each side. It is important that you also work on your balance and don’t simply rush through the movement if you can’t stabilize on each side. If you can balance, try to move as quickly as possible and cover as much ground as possible to really make your legs work.
Dips Off Bench:
To do Dips Off A Bench (or box, table, or couch), sit on the bench and place your hands outside your hips on the bench. Your fingertips should hang over the bench and face you. Then press up off the bench so your arms are straight and your butt is right in front of the bench. Stretch your legs out in front of you. The straighter your legs are and the further your heels are from your butt, the harder the move will be. Bend your elbows and drop your butt down toward the ground, keeping your butt back by the bench. Drop your butt down toward the ground so that your upper arms end up parallel to the ground. Then press back up. Do not bridge your hips up as you press back up. Keep your butt and back right up against the bench. Do not let your body drift forward. Sink back down and repeat, dropping your butt back toward the ground. Regress the move by bending your knees. Be careful with this move if you have, or have had, shoulder injuries.
Side Plank Oblique Twists:
To do Side Plank Oblique Twists, set up in a side plank from your forearm with your elbow right under your shoulder. Do not let your elbow get way out beyond your shoulder or you will place more strain on your shoulder. By keeping the elbow “stacked” under the shoulder, you allow your back and lat to help support your weight. You can then either stack your feet and lift up onto the side of your bottom foot or you can place the top foot in front on the ground and lift up onto the sides of both feet. Unstacking your feet will make it a bit easier to balance. Beginners may need to place their bottom knee down on the ground. Lift up into a Side Plank, squeezing your glutes and keeping your chest open toward the ceiling as you drive your bottom hip up. Place your other hand behind your head or neck to create a “chicken wing” aka your elbow up toward the ceiling. Then, keeping your bottom hip up, rotate your top elbow down toward the ground and even back toward your elbow on the ground. Keep your hips up. Your butt may hike up a bit as you rotate. Don’t just flap your arm or let your butt go way up in the air. Make sure to actually rotate your core to drop your elbow down toward the ground. You want your chest to rotate toward the ground and feel your core working to twist. Then rotate back open and repeat. Feel your body working to stabilize as you twist. Complete all reps on one side before switching.