Illustration: Tantika Tivorat
Not headed to PyeongChang this year? We’ve got 10 ways you can still get in on the action! This Olympic-inspired bodyweight workout features exercises borrowed from the top winter sports on display. Because who can watch the Olympic Games and not be inspired to move?
This 15-minute bodyweight workout will alternate between training your core, legs, back and arms — all from your living room floor. No dumbbells, snowboards or slopes required! So clear off some space in front of the TV and get ready to channel your inner Olympian. After all, 2022 is just around the corner…
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15-Minute Olympic-Inspired Bodyweight Workout
The Basic Bodyweight Exercises
Perform each of the following bodyweight exercises for 30 seconds, followed by a 15-second rest. Continue the circuit all the way through, then repeat a second time. Feeling ready for the world stage? Reduce your rest to 10 seconds (or skip it completely!) for an even greater challenge.
1. Skaters
Bound side to side like (you guessed it) a speed skater to get your heart rate up, while working your glutes, quads and calves. Be sure to keep your hips back and your chest tall, and land with control.
2. Mountain Climbers
These belly fat-torching ab exercises demand stability from your shoulders and core, while providing plyometric benefits from the quick knee drives. Just remember to maintain proper plank form with your shoulders directly over your wrists throughout the entire movement.
3. Jump Squats
It’s time to rev up your glute engines! Recruit the muscles in your glutes, quads and core to avoid collapsing your knees and ankles inward.
4. Plank
Hate crunches? The plank is the ultimate core exercise. The isometric hold challenges you to use every inch of your abdominals, from your rectus abdominis to your obliques, to stay stabilized.
5. Lateral Jumps
Take your standard jump squat side to side to improve your hip mobility and flexibility, while firing up your inner and outer thighs, hamstrings and core muscles, too.
6. High Knees
You know the drill! Get those legs up to waist-height, and crank up the intensity, while still landing softly on the balls of your feet.
7. Rotation Jumps
How do snowboarders and skiers land their jumps exactly? It’s this heart-pumping move. Drive from your heels, jump off the ground to complete a 180-twist, and then drop back down to a squat.
8. Tricep Dips
If beasting push-ups is your goal, then you better work those triceps! These dips also give some TLC to your upper back and core. Bend your knees if you need to modify.
9. Pistol Squats
You bet you’ll see this move in every figure skater’s routine. This seriously impressive exercise is a true test of bodyweight strength. To help you balance, hang onto a band or chair and focus on driving through the heel.
10. Yoga Push-Ups
Also known as a chaturanga push-up, you’ll keep your elbows anchored closer to your body as you lower yourself to the floor. (Hello, triceps and core!) Your upper body should shift slightly forward as you descend. And your arms should form a 90-degree angle as you lower down from plank position.
To watch the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, tune into NBC starting Friday, February 9 for the Opening Ceremonies.
Originally published February 2014. Updated January 2018.
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