With over a month of 2021 gone, it’s time to get serious about working out. And for those of you who don’t like to go to the gym, but still like a challenge, there are a few workouts that will give you enough motivation to sweat it out. Ranging from just three minutes, to an entire 20-minute routine, these workouts will create burn, pumps, and give you confidence to get back to exercising again.
Bring Sally Up, Bring Sally Down
Moby’s wonderful track may have unimaginative lyrics, but it's the perfect soundtrack to do any workout (with or without weights) for just 208 seconds and still get happily sore. It’s also a brilliant way to warm up. The routine is simple: every time the song says “Bring Sally up”, you go up in either a squat or a push-up or a shoulder press (or any other move for that matter). Every time the song says “Bring Sally down”, you do the down-motion of the exercise. No dropping weights, and no coming out of position. Come on, you can do this.
The 20-minute core routine
GymRa’s 20-minute ab routine is an excellent slow-burn for your core with a focus on low-reps but more advanced variations. This is not a routine where you need to crunch out hundreds of times, and it never gets boring. We’re not saying the 20-minutes will fly by - no, you will feel every minute of it - but some of the moves are worth incorporating into your regular core workout and the instructor’s guidance is worth listening to. It is perfect if you have been skipping your ab workouts and want to make up for lost time.
The 11/11/11
Ever wondered what Athlean-X's Jeff Cavaliere looked like a decade ago? Full of floppy track-pants and shot on grainy film, this video looks primitive. That said, it will still make you reach for your water bottle every few seconds. These are 11 exercises to be done for 11 reps with lots of burpees thrown into the mix. They are bodyweight exercises, and no gear is required. For good measure, the video has pictures of celebrities photoshopped with younger versions of themselves, and it is a good way to test whether looking at Brad Pitt sitting next to a younger Brad Pitt is enough distraction to get through another split squat.
The 15-minute mobility drill
I recently discovered Saturno Movement on YouTube and to be fair, it was difficult to pick one workout for this list. Hosted by Gabriel Satorno, the channel focuses on flexibility and the general health of your overworked muscles, rather than aesthetics and sweat. With lots of yoga modifications and stretches, this 15-minute mobility drill is not just an excellent warm up, but it is also a decent cool down, and can even fill in for a standalone workout. It basically includes a little bit of everything. And those kinds of eclectic workouts are often the best. Saturno allows you to choose your own level, with variations for beginners and advanced exercisers.
