If being stuck at home has taught us anything (aside from how much we love baking banana bread), it's that we no longer need to book an hour-long boutique fitness class for the sake of getting a good sweat. In fact, you can get a full-on cardio burn in 20 minutes flat—no equipment necessary.
In this workout, trainer and Le Sweat TV founder Charlee Atkins guides us through an equipment-free HIIT core workout. While the series primarily focuses on your abs, it still manages to get every other muscle in your body burning, too. You'll begin out with a four-minute static warmup to loosen your muscles—particularly your hips and hamstrings, which are likely ultra-tight from sitting around all day—followed by a few dynamic moves (like marching in place and fast feet) to start to raise your heart rate.
Then, it's time to dive into the workout. You'll cycle through two sets of moves—each of which you'll do for two rounds—which target your abs while also giving you your daily dose of cardio. Things like plank jacks, mountain climbers, and a whole lot of crunches and sit-ups will help get the job done. Within the first five minutes, Atkins is already breathless... and you will be, too.
“It is important to do [regular cardio] because remaining indoors for long duration of time can run the risk of a sedentary lifestyle, depression, and decreased immune system,” Robert Segal, MD, founder of Manhattan Cardiology, previously told Well+Good. “Performing cardiovascular exercises can help resolve that but increases your mood, immune system, and cardiovascular system.” And contrary to what you might have believed in your previous gym-going life (remember those days), you really don't need any equipment to get it done.
So the next time you've got a few extra minutes to kill between Zoom meetings, press play on the video above. You'll be dripping with sweat (and done with your daily cardio and strength-training workouts) in no time at all.
