Be Well Workout of the Week: The 29-Minute Challenge
This workout starts at the bottom of an exercise ladder with a measly two pull-ups. Then, you’ll work your way up the ladder, increasing by two reps with each new exercise, ending with 20 dead lifts. The goal is to get through the ladder four times as quickly as you can, and bam: You’re done! Our fitness testers told us this workout only took them 29 minutes — and we know you have 29 minutes, so we challenge you to see if you can match their time. Just note: Those measly two pull-ups will not feel nearly as easy the last time around.
Be Well Workout of the Week: Get Shredded in Under 30 Minutes
Instructions: Go through circuit four times for time.
2 pull-ups
4 twisting hanging knee raises
6 burpee box jump
8 lunge jumps on bench
10 chest flies on physioball
12 reverse flies on physioball
14 ab rocks
16 skiers
18 lateral raises
20 dead lifts
Explanations of exercises:
Pull-ups: Suspend yourself on the pull-up bar with your hands a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself up, keeping your body as straight as possible, until your chest reaches the bar. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. (If you’re struggling with pull-ups, try these alternatives instead.)
Hanging knee raises: Hanging from pull-up bar, use your abs to bring both knees up to touch (or get as close as you can) your right elbow, then repeat on the left side.
Burpee box jump: Do a burpee, then do a box jump. If you don’t have a box to jump on, follow your burpee with a tuck jump.
Lunge jump on bench: Facing away from a bench, put your right tow on the bench behind and you and lunge on your left leg. When you reach the bottom of your lunge, power through your leg to jump your left leg off the ground, landing back in a lunge. (If you don’t have a bench, just do lunge jumps on the ground.)
Chest fly on physioball: Lie on your back on the physioball with your head and neck on the ball. Keep your hips up and squeeze your glutes. Holding free weights, extend the arms up. Keeping elbows loosely locked, drop the arms out to the sides until the hand is in line with the shoulder, then raise them back up.
Reverse fly on physioball: With your feet against the wall and your stomach and hips on the ball, hold your chest up and raise the weights up and out to the side, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Ab rocks: Lay on your back with your arms extended over your head and your legs straight. Engaging your core, lift your legs and arms a few inches of the ground, keeping your lower back pressed into the floor. Rock back and forth slightly, keeping your arms and legs raised. Forward and back counts for one rep.
Skiers: Stand in a split stance, with right foot about a foot in front of the left. Jump in place and switch legs so your left foot is in the front. Repeat the motion, pumping your arms in rhythm: left arm forward when left foot is forward, right arm forward when right foot is forward. Left and right counts as one rep.
Lateral raise: Holding dumbbells, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise your arms out from on your sides to shoulder height, return to start and repeat.
Deadlifts 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.
>> 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 week right here on Be Well Philly.
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