10 Minute Workout

We usually end our Muay Thai classes with 10-15 minutes of basic calisthenics. Crazy numbers of sit ups, push ups, body squats and every type of body weight exercise you can imagine, and for the most part everyone completes the required number of reps in the time allotted without too much trouble. (IE "Too much trouble"= No one gives up, quits or throws up)

The routine we did to fill the last 10 minutes of class last Friday was a little different in that it really separated the "men from the boys" so to speak. It was so simple, but just brutal, and a lot of the class just gave up, slowed down or tried to look busy. By the end of 10 minutes everyone was soaked in sweat. It was such a great, hard, quick workout I had to share it.

So what was the workout? Deceptively simple actually...

Set A)-5 push-ups, 10 squats and then 10 sit-ups for 5 minutes
and then...
Set B)-3 push-ups, 5 sit-ups and then 5 lunges for 5 minutes

Sounds easy eh? It ain't. You do set A and repeat it as hard and as fast as you can for 5 minutes straight... at the 5 minute mark, you switch to set B, and do that as hard and as fast as you can for another 5 minutes. What makes this so hard (and such a great workout) is that your body is always in motion. You do your push-ups and then you pick yourself up, do your squats, get down on the floor, do your sit-ups, spin around to do your push-ups and repeat. You are always moving. Set B with it's lower rep numbers ended up being even harder because you hard to switch position so many times.

Give it a try and see how hard you can honestly push yourself for the 10 minutes it takes to do this routine... I think you'll be surprised... I was.