Snow Day Workout: 10 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do in Your Living Room


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Happy snow day, Be Wellers! Today is the perfect day to work from home in your bathrobe with a steaming mug of hot cocoa to keep you warm. If you had big workout plans and don’t want to give them up entirely, may I suggest this stir-crazy-busting indoor workout created by Main Line personal trainer Audrey McKenna Hasse (a.k.a brains behind our BeWOW workouts)? It’s simple: 10 exercises you can do in your living room without changing out of your PJs.

Happy at-home sweating, y’all.

Do each of the following exercises, in order, for a minute each the first time through; try not to rest between exercises. Then start at the top and do each for 45 seconds the second time, and 30 seconds the third time through. Between each round, do two minutes of cardio (see ideas below).

1. Squat jumps

2. Push-ups

3. Sit-ups

4. Plank

5. Lunge jumps

6. Side plank

7. Lateral lunge

8. Toe-touch crunches

9. Squats

10. Plank up-downs

Cardio (two minutes): Run stairs if you have them; otherwise, do mountain climbers, jumping jacks (with light weights, if you have them), high knees or jog in place.

Explanation of exercises
*Click the links below for video how-tos.

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.

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.

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.

Plank: Get in push-up position with your hands or elbows on the floor. Make sure your shoulders stay in line with your elbows or wrists. Keep abs and glutes engaged. Your body should be in a straight line from neck to toes. Hold.

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.

Side plank: Lay on your side and prop up your upper body on your forearm, keeping your elbow in line with your shoulder. Both feet should be on the floor, with your top foot just in front of your back foot for stability. Lift your hips off the floor so your body is in a straight line. Hold.

Lateral lunge: Standing with feet together, step to the side in a lunge, making sure your knee doesn’t bend past your toe. Return to standing and lunge on the other side.

Toe-touch crunch: Lie on your back with your legs pointing up toward the ceiling. Extend your arms above your head and crunch forward, trying to touch your toes.

Squat: Stand with your feet just a bit wider than shoulder widt and your toes slightly turned outward. Keeping your weight in your heels, bending at the knees and lower until your quads are parallel to the floor. Keep your back as upright as possible. Straighten legs and come back to the starting position.

Plank up-downs: Start in a plank on your elbows. Press up to your hands starting with your right hand, then one arm at a time return back down to your elbows. Stay in a plank the whole time with your shoulders right over your elbows and wrists.

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