Go 30 for 30
Commit to a 30-day fitness challenge. You can find any number of them online, and all you need for most is a pair of dumbbells. Just download the app and track your progress on your smartphone.
Play Ball
Get a medicine ball and you’re all set to build balance, core stability, and even a little upper body bone. Commit to moves like ball tosses with a partner, squat overhead toss-and-catches with yourself, push ups with your hands (or feet) on the ball, and more. There are hundreds of moves to find online. Like dumbbells, you can get medicine balls at pretty much any major sporting good store. And they last forever: I have a 6kg ball I’ve been using for 20 years.
Take the Stairs… Then Take ’Em Again
Stair climbing is among the most intense workouts you can do. A 2017 study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that participants who vigorously climbed up and down one flight of stairs three times for one minute each, with a one-minute recovery in between, three times a week raised their VO2 max by 7 per cent after six weeks.
Suspend Yourself
For less than the price of many gym memberships, you can invest in a suspension training system like TRX. Just hook the straps up to a secure place like a door jam and work your muscles until they’re quivering with suspended pull-ups and assisted pistol squats.
Buddy Up for a Boot Camp
Grab a workout buddy or two and set up some Army-style training. Do a circuit of jumping jacks, pushups, high knees, walking lunges, triceps dips, side shuffles, and any other body weight moves you like. Do each exercise for 60-90 seconds, repeating the entire drill three times. You can do this solo as well, but it’s more fun with a friend.
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