BeWOW: 25-Minute Total-Body Workout

Put five minutes on the clock. Ready … Set … Go!

This week you’re going to work in five-minute rounds with three exercises each. You’ll do seven reps of one exercise, five reps of the next, and three reps of the last, then repeat the pattern as many times as you can for five minutes. It may not seem like a lot of reps, but believe me, they add up during those five-minute intervals. So challenge yourself to work as hard as you can for those five minutes, really pushing to complete as many rounds as possible before time’s up. Here are your exercises.

BeWOW: 25-Minute Total-Body Workout

Round 1
7 squat jumps
5 sit-ups
3 burpees

Round 2
7 lunge jumps (on each side)
5 push-ups
3 pull-ups

Round 3
7 skiers (on each side)
5 squat with overhead press
3 plank rows (on each side)

Round 4
7 dead lifts
5 tricep dips
3 box jumps (onto whatever stable surface you used for your dips)

Round 5
7 reverse fly
5 bicep curls
3 ab twists

Explanation of exercises
*Click the links below for video demos.

Squat jumps: Stand with feet hip-width apart and perform a squat, dropping your rear until your knees are just behind your toes and your hamstrings are parallel to the floor. As you stand, propel yourself upwards and jump. Return to standing and squat again.

Sit-up: Lie on your back with feet on the floor and knees bent. Put your hands behind your ears. Without pulling on your neck and using only your abs, lift your shoulders off the mat and come to a full sit-up position. Lie back down slowly.

Burpee: Just like an up-down in football. Put your hands on the ground, jump your feet out behind you so you’re in push-up position, lower to the ground, bring your feet back in, and stand up.

Lunge jumps: Start standing with feet together and step forward with the left leg into a lunge, bending knee to about 90 degrees. Jump as you stand back up and switch legs before you land, so your right leg is forward. Lunge again, then jump, putting your left leg forward, and so forth. Left and right counts as one.

Push-up: Start lying face down with your chest on the floor, with hands facing forward and palms down in line with your shoulders; elbows should be pointing back. Push up until arms are extended (the inside of the elbow should be facing forward) and drop back down.

Pull-ups: Perform these gripping the bar with palms facing forward. If pull-ups are too challenging or if you don’t have a bar handy, do rows instead.

Skiers: Start standing with feet together. Jump to the right, land on right foot, left foot goes behind you. Push off your right foot to jump left and land on left foot, right foot goes behind you.

Squat with overhead press: Hold the weights at your shoulders, do a squat.  As you stand back up, press the weights over your head.  Return them to your shoulders as you squat back down.

Plank rows: In a push-up position with your hands on free weights, row one weight up and back, keeping your hips square to the floor and squeezing your shoulder blade. Lower and repeat on the other side.

Dead lifts with dumbbells: Hold dumbbells with arms extended down so they’re resting on your thighs, feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping shoulders back and abs tight (and without locking your knees), bend at the hips and let the weights lower towards the floor, going as far as you can without bending your knees too much. Drive your heels in to the floor and stand to return to the starting position.

Tricep dips: Sit on a bench or chair with your hands gripping the edge, fingers forward. Scoot your butt off the edge and walk your feet out a few steps. Drop your body and bend your elbows until they’re at 90 degrees. Push yourself back up until your arms are extended all the way.

Box jumps: Pick a sturdy surface you can jump up on to safely (maybe a bench or a step). Jump on the box, landing with both feet and in a squat at the top. Step back down.

Reverse fly: Stand with one foot in front of the other and bend at the waist. Holding a weight in each hand, keep your arms slightly bent and using your back, squeeze your shoulder blades together, lifting your hands to the side.

Bicep curls: Hold dumbbells at your side with palms facing forward. Pretend your elbows are glued to your midsection and curl the weights toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arms still. Slowly return your weights to the starting position.

Ab twists: Sit on the floor with knees bent, heels pressing into the ground. Lean back slightly and use your abs to twist side to side.

>> Did you complete this week’s BeWOW? Tell us how you did in the comments! Or, feel free to tweet at us about it using the hashtag #BeWOW. Check out all the BeWOW workouts here.

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Audrey McKenna Hasse is the owner of A.M.Fit, a personal training and healthy consultation business on the Main Line. You’ll find her workouts every Monday right here on Be Well Philly.