The No-Gym-Required New Year’s Workout Challenge: Week 2

Ready for another sweaty week? Let's do this!

First off, I want you to go ahead and give yourself a big round of applause. You made it through the first week of the New Year’s Workout Challenge, which is always the hardest part of starting a workout routine, right?! Now, let’s keep that momentum going into this second week.

Monday: The Count-by-Fives Workout

For this workout, you’ll start by doing 25 reps of one exercise, then you’ll do 20 reps of two different exercises, then 15 reps of three exercises, and lastly 10 reps of four exercises. (See where this workout gets its count-by-fives name from?) Then, once you’ve finished the entire circuit, you’re going to go through it two more times for a total of three rounds. You got this!

• Run 1 mile to warm up

• Complete three rounds of the following circuit
25 squat jumps
20 ab twists
20 skiers (single count)
15 push-ups
15 bicycle crunches
15 tricep dips
10 burpees
10 alternating plank arm-and-leg lifts
10 lateral raises
10 knee drives

Tuesday: Cardio for 30 to 60 Minutes

Choose any form of cardio you’d like and get going! This can be running, dancing to Beyoncé in front of your mirror, biking — whatever makes you happy. Just make sure to keep going for at least 30 minutes.

Wednesday: Yoga or Pilates

Because Wednesdays call for some zen, are we right? You can either go to a yoga or Pilates class or, if you don’t see yourself making it out of the house, you can opt for an online on-demand yoga class. Pssst: Verge Yoga has tons of online options here.

Thursday: Interval Workout

Only have 30 minutes to get in some cardio today? Doing some high-intensity intervals will help you make the most out of those 30 minutes AND make the time go by a little bit faster. Who doesn’t love that? From start to finish, this workout will only take you 30 minutes, so no excuses not to get your sweat on today.

5-minute warm-up (light pace)
20 second sprint (high intensity) :: 40 second recovery x 5
20 second sprint (moderate intensity) :: 20 second sprint (high intensity) :: 20 second recovery x 5
30 second sprint (high intensity) :: 30 second recovery x 5
30 second sprint (moderate intensity) :: 30 second sprint (high intensity) :: 30 second recovery) x 4
4-minute cool down (light pace)

Friday: Buddy Workout

Grab a buddy and a stopwatch for this workout! You can definitely do this one on your own as well, but sometimes having someone there to push you is just the motivation you need to work a little bit harder. You are going to work with pairs of exercises, doing 30 seconds of each, back and forth five times for a total of five minutes per round. If you’re working with a partner, just switch exercises every 30 seconds for five minutes before moving on to the next pair of exercises. If you’re working on your own, just alternate between the exercises listed every 30 seconds.

• Run 1 mile to warm up

30 seconds :: 30 seconds x 5
Squat hold :: burpees
Lunge jumps :: tricep dips
Skiers :: double-foot lateral hops
Single-leg floor taps :: double-foot forward-and-back hops
Plie squats :: plank jacks
Crunches :: push-ups

Just getting started? You can check out the first week of the No-Gym-Necessary New Year’s Workout Challenge 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.

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