5 Minute Bodyweight Workout
Are you wanting to get in an effective workout but only have a few minutes to spare? No problem – I’m about to lay out for you a changing bodyweight workout that is only going to require five minutes of your time. Yet within that 300 seconds, you will be hitting your quads, lats, chest, shoulders and arms.
What You’ll Need
This is a five-minute bodyweight workout so you don’t need much. In addition to your body, you will want to have access to a pull-up bar and wall, along with enough room to be able to perform push-ups. You also need a stopwatch and a water bottle – though you won’t have time to sip from it until the workout is over!
The Protocol
For this workout, we will be dedicating 60 seconds to 5 different exercises. On four of the exercises, your goal will be simply to rack up as many quality reps as you can within that minute. We will provide targets according to your experience level. On the last exercise, the wall sit, your goal will be to maintain the position for the full 60 seconds.
The structure of the workout is that you begin with the hardest exercise and work your way through them so that as you fatigue you are doing a slightly taxing movement.
During this workout, there will be no rest at all. You move directly from the one exercise into the other without missing a beat.
The Workout
· Pull-ups
· Handstand push-ups
· Feet elevated push-ups
· Chin-ups
· Wall sit
The Exercises
1. Pull-ups
Grab the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width overhand grip. Beginning from a dead hang, pull yourself up until your chin passes over the bar. Lead with your chest, retracting your scapula and keeping your elbows behind your torso. Do not swing, sway your hips or kip your body up. Rather than folding your legs, keep them straight and pointed at a slight angle. Lower under control and repeat.
Target:
Beginner – 10 reps
Intermediate – 20 reps
Advanced – 30 reps
2. Handstand Push-ups
Position yourself about a foot in front of a wall facing away from it. Dropdown onto your hands and walk your feet up the wall until your body is upright. Your hands should be a little wider than shoulder-width apart. From a fully extended arm position, lower until your head touches the floor. Now push back to the starting position.
This is a difficult exercise and you will probably have to take a few breaks throughout the minute. Each time you do, allow yourselves only five seconds of rest before you begin again.
Target:
Beginner – 6 reps
Intermediate – 14 reps
Advanced – 20 reps
3. Feet Elevated Push-ups
In this version of a push-up, your feet are against a wall with the bottom of your toes roughly a foot above the floor. You maintain that foot position by pushing back into the wall as you perform the push-up. The rest of the push-up is performed as per normal, with your hands a slightly wider than shoulder-width, body in a straight line and feet together. Be sure to go all the way down until your nose touches the floor and then explosively power back up through your pectoral muscles.
Target:
Beginner – 10 reps
Intermediate – 20 reps
Advanced – 30 reps
4. Chin-ups
To perform the chin-up exercise, grab the pull-up bar with the palms facing up and your hands roughly 6 inches apart. You should have the same body position as if you were about to perform a pull-up. This time, however, you are focusing on working your biceps. Put your mind into squeezing and contracting them as you bring your body up to the top of the bar. Hold the fully contracted position for a second before lowering all the way and repeating.
Target:
Beginner – 10 reps
Intermediate – 20 reps
Advanced – 30 reps
5. Wall Sit
Stand with your back against the wall, your feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly pointing outwards. Dropdown as if you were sitting in a chair so that your hamstrings are now parallel to the floor. Put your palms against the wall and keep them there. Hold this position for 60 seconds.
Wrap Up
Once you give this workout a try, you will appreciate that you don’t need to work out long to work out hard. If you fully apply yourself to this workout, you will be sore for days afterward. But don’t take my word for it – put it to the test yourself. Let us know how you got on.
