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Crush Your Week: 5 Bodyweight Workouts for Foundational Strength

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Crush Your Week: 5 Bodyweight Workouts for Foundational Strength
Presented by Spartan Training®

This week's Crush the Week workouts, created by Spartan SGX Coach Liz Mancuso, are based on foundational and functional strength moves using only body weight. You will push, pull, hinge, twist, lunge, and squat your way though the week while working on mobility and flexibility throughout all planes of motion to create an unbreakable core. 


What are the benefits of bodyweight workouts?

When you're trying to build strength and muscle and prepare for a race, it can be tempting to grab the heaviest weights around and start moving them. But there are plenty of benefits to bodyweight workouts, including: 

  1. Improved core stability and balance
  2. Improved form when introducing weights later
  3. Reduced risk of injury
  4. Enhanced functional mobility in day-to-day movements
  5. Improved proprioception 

01

Workout: Monday

A 6-set workout, where you'll do each exercise in the set for 20 seconds on, followed by 20 seconds of rest (unless otherwise specified). Perform 3 rounds of each set before moving on to the next set.

  1. Set I: Push-up, half hold, push-up pop
  2. Set II: Reverse lunge, lunge hold, lunge hop (right)
  3. Set III: Reverse lunge, lunge hold, lunge hop (left)
  4. Set IV: Superman pull-backs, Superman hold, Superman pulse
  5. Set V: Squat, squat hold, squat hop
  6. Set VI: 2-minute plank

02

Workout: Tuesday

An EMOM workout (every minute on the minute) where you'll complete the required exercise reps and then complete the cardio exercise with whatever time you have remaining in the minute. Repeat each set 3 times before moving on. Rest 2 minutes between sets.

  1. Set I: 30 Russian twists; burpees
  2. Set II: 30 flutter kicks; forward hops
  3. Set III: 30 double crunches; lateral high knees
  4. Set IV: 30 elbow crunches; broad jumps with shuffle back

03

Workout: Wednesday

A 20-minute workout where you'll do 10 reps of each exercise and rest 30 seconds between sets. Do as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes.

  1. Low lunge with twist, followed by 10 mountain climbers
  2. Kneeling lean backs to half squat (stepping alternating legs), followed by high skips
  3. Downward dog to isometric bear hold, then single-leg kick-throughs
  4. Bird dog, then plank up-downs

04

Workout: Thursday

This quick, 20-minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) will be four movements done one after the other. Try to repeat the set as many times as you can in 5 minutes (for 4 different rounds), resting 2 minutes between each 5-minute interval. Your total work should be 20 minutes, not including rest. 

  1. 25 single-leg hops
  2. 20 bear-hold shoulder taps
  3. 15 lateral bounds with overhead reach
  4. 10 inchworms

05

Workout: Friday

In this circuit workout, work for 45 seconds (unless your exercise doesn't take that long) and then rest for 15 seconds. Repeat for 4 rounds total with no rest between rounds.

  1. 2 good mornings, then 10 jump squats
  2. 2 single-leg RDLs, then 10 high knees (alternate sides each round)
  3. 10 skaters
  4. Staggered push-ups, then 10 swimmers
  5. 2 crunches, then 10 hip lifts
  6. 2 tricep dips, then 10 crab kicks

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