Simon’s Six Minute Circuit
During lock down, exercise may not be everyone’s top priority, but we need to make sure these isolations don’t spiral into states of vegetation.
I’ve created a simple body weight workout you can try anywhere – the park, living room or bedroom. I’ve made the assumption you’re all in lockdown and without gym equipment, so the plan is to keep your heart rate in your fat burning zone the entire time.
There are several variations of calculating your max heart rate, but the most commonly used method is to start with the number 220 and subtract your age. For this example, we’ll use mine therefore 220-32 = 188 beats per minute (max heart rate). *
To stay in the fat burning zone, my heart rate needs to be 70% to 85% of 168 bpm, which is 120+bpm.* As always, I recommended medical advice prior to any exercises, especially if you’re feeling unwell.
The Six Minute Circuit
- Body weight squat
- Press ups / knee option
- High knees
- Lunges
- Triceps dips
- Burpees
Complete each exercise for 60 seconds before moving onto the next for a total of 3-5 rounds. With 90 seconds rest between rounds.
Body Weight Squat
- Set your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out. Keep your eyes forward.
- Slowly bend at the knees and drop your hips to lower your body. Keep your heels flat on the floor.
- At the bottom of the exercise pause for a moment and strongly push back up through your heels to the starting position.
Press ups
- Begin face down on the floor with your arms slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Arms should be directly under the shoulder.
- Body in neutral position with even balance throughout both hands and toes
- Push through the palm of the hands and keeping neutral position. Contact the chest muscles and straighten the arms
- Slowly lower your body by bending through the elbows and keeping neutral alignment until your chest is almost at the floor
High Knees
- Stand up straight and place your feet about hip-width apart.
- Quickly drive your right knee up, bring the same leg back to the ground immediately bring the left knee coming up (running motion).
- As you are alternating knees, you want to do it with a hopping motion, staying on the balls of your feet the entire time.
Lunges
- Stand tall with feet hip-width apart. Engage your core.
- Take a big step forward with right leg. Start to shift your weight forward so heel hits the floor first.
- Lower your body until right thigh is parallel to the floor and right shin is vertical. It’s OK if knee shifts forward a little as long as it doesn’t go past right toe. If mobility allows, lightly tap left knee to the floor while keeping weight in right heel.
- Press into right heel to drive back up to starting position.
Tricep Dips
- Position your hands shoulder-width apart on a secured surface.
- Extend your legs out in front of you.
- Straighten your arms, keeping a little bend in your elbows to keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints.
- Slowly bend your elbows to lower your body toward the floor until your elbows are at about a 90-degree angle. Try to keep the spine neutral & close to the bench.
- Once you reach the bottom of the movement, press down into the bench to straighten your elbows, returning to the starting position.
Burpees
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hinge at the hips, bend your knees, and lower your body into a squat.
- Place your hands on the floor directly in front of, and just inside, your feet. Shift your weight onto your hands.
- Jump your feet back to softly land on the balls of your feet in a plank position. Your spine should be neutral.
- Jump your feet back so that they land just outside of your hands.
- Reach your arms over head and explosively jump up into the air.
- Land and immediately lower back into a squat for your next rep.
About Simon:
Simon is a personal trainer based in Sydney. He is also a former member of the Australian bobsleigh team and is the first openly gay man to represent his country in any sport.
