I know how busy life can get and sometimes there is simply not enough time for a full body workout in the gym. That is why I am showing you in this blogpost four easy exercises for a full body workout routine. The best thing? You don’t even need any equipment. Just your wonderful self!
This easy full body workout routine can be done literally anywhere. In your room, in the city, in a park. It won’t take up much of your time, but still work different muscle groups in your body and you will even get some cardio in.
How long does this full body workout routine take?
This is a perfect quick workout you can get in between meetings, lunch breaks or simply if you don’t have a lot of time to work out on a specific day. The entire workout only takes you 12 minutes. However you will be taking breaks between each set. Depending on how long you will need for your breaks the full body workout will be done within 14 – 20 minutes. So very fast, but also effective at the same time!
How does the full body workout routine work?
This routine is a circuit. Which means that you will go through the exercises in a loop doing one after the other. Finally, after 5 different exercises you will be taking a break before going back to the first exercise and doing it all over again. It will be a workout of 5 exercises and 4 sets. This means you will do the whole circuit 4 times. One circuit takes 3 minutes. So, if you do it 4 times it will be 12 minutes of exercising.
Sounds quite short, but you will see once you are in the workout it will be challenging!
How long is the rest between each set?
You will want to take a break between the circuits. I recommend anything from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Take as much time as you need, but make sure to also push yourself a bit. You might need less rest after the first round and more rest in the following rounds. Just listen to your body and start with the new round once you have caught your breath.
Exercise #1 – High Intensity
For a warm up exercise we will do a set of four times 30 repetitions of high knees. That means you will be running on the spot always trying to pull up your knees as far as possible. Also, try to run as fast as you can on the spot with your knees up high. Like this we will get your heart rate up. This helps to burn fat along the workout.
Exercise #2 – Planking for those abs
After getting your heart rate up with some cardio, the second exercise will target the abdominal muscles. Place the forearms on the ground with the elbows aligned below the shoulders. If you have a matt, that is fantastic but you can also just do it without it. Make sure that your arms are parallel to the body at about the shoulder-width distance. Hold this position for 30 seconds.
Exercise #3 – Side plank
Lie on your right side with your legs straight. Lift yourself up with your forearm so your body forms a diagonal line. Rest your other hand on your hip or at a more advanced level up into the air. Tighten your abs and hold for 30 seconds. Make sure your hips and knees stay off the floor.
Switch to the other side and do it again for 30 seconds.
Exercise #4 – Triceps Dips
After getting up the heart rate and challenging the abdominal muscles it is time to work our upper body. With this exercise you will be working your triceps hardcore.
Position your hands shoulder-width apart on a secured bench or stable chair. Extend your legs and arms. Now bend down your elbows to keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints. Lift up again. Do this for 30 seconds.
Exercise #5 – Wall sits for the legs
The final exercise will target your legs and hamstrings. Lean with your back against a wall and place your feed shoulder width apart. Your knees should be in a right angle with your upper legs. Hold this posture for 30 seconds.
I really love this exercise and it is a great way to really strengthen your leg muscles. I do this for example very often before our skiing vacation in the winter to build up muscle before hitting the slopes and being sore all day.
How often should you do this?
I personally work out 4-5 times a week. If you really want to see results I would recommend you to do the same. High intensity workouts like this one are perfect to help you with fat loss since it increases your heart rate by a lot and you will be burning a lot of calories during the workout and even after.
I recommend you to do this short workout either as a warm up when you are in the gym or a fast workout alternative if you do not have time to go to the gym that day. Anything is better than nothing 😉
Once you feel comfortable with this workout you can switch up exercises and look for different ones that will challenge you more. You can either exchange exercises or add them to the workout to make it longer. There are really a lot of possibilites with these kinds of circuit workouts. You can customize them until you find the perfect workout for you targeting all the muscles you want to focus on, bringing you great results within a short time.
I hope you will see great results with this super easy and fast workout and get a step closer to your personal fitness goal!
Keep in mind though that consistency is the key and such workouts have to be done on a regular basis in order to be effective.
If you are looking for a healthy meal after your workout. I can suggest the delicious zucchini linguine. Simply click here and you will find the recipe.
Lots of love,
Most of you asked me this question. The funny thing is after the second day all signs of hunger completely vanish. You feel like you have just eaten the perfect amount of food and are totally satisfied. No grumbling stomach or feeling hungry. Every once in a while a notion of hunger would come along. But then I would simply drink something and it was gone. Especially on day 4,5 and 6 I didn’t feel any hunger anymore. Just the first days are hard. 
