This Simple No-Equipment Workout Will Get You Toned and Ready For Vacation in a Jiffy

April 25, 2018

We hear you, we're breezing through Spring without a hint of warm weather in sight. It's been challenging to say the least to get your butt out of bed, and into that workout kind of mood. Regardless of what your weather app says, warmer days truly are around the corner and vacations are lined up. But don't fret, we've got a workout that will get you up and out and into the spirit of Summer in no time.

You don't need a total-body overhaul every time you're about to hit the beach. In fact, stay true to those curves and embrace the bod you do have and try this last-minute toning that gives you all the feels of a superintense workout regimen. Fitness pro Mike Nicholson, a trainer at Chelsea Piers in New York City, has devised a plan for you that relies on the AMRAP method (which literally translates to "as many reps as possible," but stop right there: you're not going to be doing burpees as many times as you can in one minute, but you will be burning mega calories as if you did). While you'll reap the same benefits as those workouts that have you going all out in one minute, the moves compiled in this routine are meant to hit all those areas of your body that will be seen once you're on the beach basking in the sun.

"By doing this routine in the AMRAP style, you won't be spending a ton of time on the workout overall, but you'll be able to pack in as much toning and sculpting as if you were logging hours every week at the gym," says Nicholson. The structure of AMRAP promotes pushing yourself to the max within a set period of time. Nicholson grouped moves together that are functional fitness faves. Not just a trainer buzzword, these moves are key to functional exercise integration, teaching all the muscles to work together rather than isolating them to work independently (basically, with these moves you're training for life, and the day-to-day movements). "By doing AMRAP, you'll know you're not going to be wasting any time activating your muscles or getting your heart rate up — you're just doing it and the results will quickly follow," he says. So even though you shouldn't expect to see the scale budge a whole lot in just a few weeks (unless you're truly following a weight-loss regimen), when you've pumped up your muscles and sweat it out as much as you did during an AMRAP workout, your biggest payday is the confidence you feel once you've hit the beach.

Directions: This routine includes five bodyweight moves. Perform each move for 40 seconds, then rest for 20 seconds. Go on to the next move. Once you've completed all the moves, return to the beginning and repeat. Do three rounds total. If you feel like taking it up a notch, use dumbbells (5 to 10 pounds).

Squat and Reach

• Stand with your legs wider than hip-width apart.
• Reach your arms forward as you squat, lowering hips down until knees are at 90 degrees (should look like you're sitting on a chair).
• Then pushing through your entire foot, return to standing position while pulling elbows behind you, keeping arms close to the sides of your body. Inhale down, exhale up.

Push-Up to Kneeling Shoulder Press

• Begin balancing in plank position, shoulders stacked over your wrists, legs shoulder-width apart.
• Lower your body toward the floor and then push through your arms, returning to plank.
• Kneel on the floor with both knees and raise arms overhead for one shoulder press rep.
• Return to push-up position and repeat, this time performing two push-ups and completing two shoulder-press reps. (Add on another push-up and press rep each time.)

Stationary Lunges Forward and Back

• Stand upright, feet hip-width apart, then step forward with your right leg, lowering your hips toward the floor by bending your front leg 90 degrees, keeping back leg mostly straight, heel raised.
• Push off your right leg to return to standing position, then repeat stepping forward with your left leg.
• Repeat action stepping back with right leg; return to standing. Then step back with left leg.

Renegade Row

• Begin balancing in plank position, shoulders stacked over your wrists, legs wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Pull right elbow back toward chest, keeping right elbow close to torso, abs tight, and hips facing down.
• Lower right hand to floor; repeat on the opposite side. (For extra challenge, lift the opposite leg as your lifted arm behind you when you row.)

Straight Leg Roll-Ups

• Lie flat on back on the floor with your legs flat, feet flexed; extend your arms overhead toward the sky.
• Lift your upper body off the ground as you roll up and reach your hands toward your feet.
• Slowly roll back down to start position. Try to maintain heel contact with the floor throughout.