Buzz
For this month’s fitness challenge, we’ve revisited the scientifically proven seven-minute workout and Canada’s classic yet reliable 5BX. This week, let’s take a trip back to 2016, when we first introduced you to this 15-minute morning routine from Darebee.
It’s a straightforward circuit, consisting of three rounds of the following exercises:
20 jumping jacks
20 squats
20 lunges
10 pushups
40 punches
60 seconds of plank on your elbows
2 minutes of rest before starting the next round
This workout was my favorite of the three we’ve tried so far. It felt especially well-rounded: The jumping jacks really get your heart rate up, the squats work your legs, and then the lunges target them even more. Next come the pushups, tough but brief. The punches give your legs a break while getting a bit of cardio in with your arms, and by the time you reach the plank, you know you’re almost finished.
I’m not able to hold a plank for 60 seconds (especially not at the end of a circuit), so I just kept an eye on my stopwatch app, resting when needed while the timer kept going. I think if I did this workout every day, I’d quickly be able to hold a full 60-second plank.
The workout finished exactly at 15 minutes, as promised, although I felt like I was rushing through some of the exercises. I wouldn’t be surprised if beginners take a bit longer, or if you need to tweak the number of reps a little.
Nonetheless, this is a solid routine, and I can see it being a great way to work up a little sweat before jumping in the shower (though no, I’m not going to sleep in my sports bra—thanks to the reader who suggested wearing workout clothes as pajamas. Boobless people, you don’t realize how lucky you are!).
Give this a shot—what do you think? Darebee has a ton of one-page workouts like this, which you can print as PDFs. When we first shared this one, a reader mentioned they have a collection of printouts and pick a workout from the stack each day. Not a bad way to get a random workout in every day!
