Workout on a whim?

The urge to just suddenly get up and exercise doesn’t rank all that well when compared with some of our other most frequent urges like raiding the fridge or cracking open a beer can.

The urge to suddenly get up and exercise doesn’t rank all that well compared with raiding the fridge or cracking open a beer can- Matthew Muscat Inglott

That’s not to say it never happens though, so when it finally does, we need to be ready and poised to take maximum advantage of it. The very last thing we need in such situations is a valid excuse not to train.

Purchasing some form of equipment, joining a gym, or having to learn some complicated exercise system are all valid excuses and dangerous barriers standing firmly between us and a more active lifestyle. Sometimes what we need is a down-to-earth, no-frills solution that leaves us with no option but to slip on the old running shoes and just go for it, no excuses.

I hereby present the ultimate workout you can literally get up and perform right this minute. It’s basic, it’s crude, but it can be brutally effective if you manage to make it a part of your regular weekly routine.

Best of all, you don’t need any equipment. You don’t even need a partner, you can perform this workout solo whenever you like and slot it in at a time convenient for you.

The main ingredient of this simple fitness recipe is walking or jogging, depending on fitness. We’ll mix in a dollop of body weight resistance training and a sprinkling of sprints to spice things up.

If you opt to jog, you can always slow down to a walking pace if you get too tired, gradually building up to a constant jog over the weeks as your aerobic capacity improves.

The combination of a cardiovascular-based activity, like walking or jogging, with resistance-based activities, like body weight exercises, means you can achieve a complete workout that targets most areas of your body as well as burns fat, ticking all the boxes for those of us who simply want to get in shape without more complex or specific goals.

Let’s start by plotting a route. If you live close to an athletics track open to the general public, then you have the ideal venue at your doorstep. A promenade is the next safest thing, but if you don’t live near either, any place where you can walk or jog without cars posing a constant hazard will do nicely.

Relatively flat surfaces are ideal unless you are fit enough to tackle slopes and hills, and a public bench or any other sturdy structure of approximately the same height will represent the most useful feature of all. At an athletics track, spectator steps are a good substitute.

A bench is useful because it will allow us to perform our three chosen body weight resistance training moves, namely: step-ups with knee lifts, bench dips and modified pull-ups.

For the first move, step up onto the bench with your left foot and drive your right knee up in one fluid motion, as if performing a knee strike. Bring the kicking leg down and step off the bench, repeating the step this time with the right foot, and kicking with the left knee. That’s one repetition.

To perform bench dips, sit on the bench as you normally would, and position your palms on the edge of the seat right up beside either side of your thighs. Now slide forward off the bench leaving your hands where they are, so you are supporting your body weight with your arms.

Bend your arms and lower your hips towards the floor. Descend as deep as your shoulders allow, and push with your palms back up to the start position, straightening your arms.

For modified pull-ups, face the back of the bench and grab the top of the back rest with one hand. Bend over slightly at the hips to keep your balance. At an athletics track, the goal post will do just as well.

Lean back so that you are supporting your own body weight with your hand, keeping your arm straight. Pull yourself up close to the bench, and resist on the way down.

After completing the required repetitions with one hand, switch sides. These three simple moves stimulate virtually every muscle group in your body, including the core.

Set a target of three sets of 10 on each of the above moves, along with 20 minutes of jogging/walking, and at least three sprints of anything from 20 to 50 metres. As long as you tick all these boxes, you can perform all the above in any order you like along your route. Let’s walk through one solution together right now.

Start your workout with five minutes of easy walking to warm up, and then increase the pace or even break into a jog when you feel ready. Jog for 10 minutes until you reach the bench, and perform three sets of 10 step-ups with knee lifts. Sprint 20 metres away from the bench and back again, and immediately perform three sets of 10 bench dips.

Repeat the sprint this time performing your three sets of 10 modified pulls. Finally, repeat the sprint one more time, only this time run straight past the bench and decrease your speed back down to a jog.

Finish off with your 10-minute jog home and you’re done. No frills, just results.

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