Fit Villains: Selfish, Shameless, Sassy, Fitness.

Get your body on lock and your head in gear! This quick workout will leave you drenched in sweat and in full fat burning mode… but you’ll have to dig deep to push yourself through it. It’s intense, filthy, dirty and only 20 minutes of sweaty hell. You’ve GOT this. :)

The Lockdown is a 2 part cardio/booty challenge that’ll send your heartrate soaring in a fraction of the time of your usual workout. It’s a mashup of H.I.I.T & Tabata training, followed by a quick booty circuit. Tabata is highly effective in terms of fat loss: you’ll be burning more calories during your workout, and for up to 48 hours POST workout. Tabata protocol calls for periods of high intensity, followed by a quick rest and repeated. The intervals are 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds work, repeated for 8 rounds (4 minutes total). Today, we’re smushing two Tabata’s together for an 8 minute cardio blast: you’ll alternate between two moves for 16 twenty second rounds.

Only 8 minutes of cardio? Hells YES! The only catch? You need to PUSH yourself. On a scale of 1-10, you should be at about a 8 or 9 during your 20 seconds of work. You should be DYING by the end. If not? You didn’t push hard enough. Go deeper and faster next time around, and consider some of the advanced options below.:)

Still, listen to your body and take breaks when you need to. Try to make it to 4 minutes, take a quick breather, then finish it up before moving on. 

You’ll need

• A timer
• A bottle of water
• A chair or bench

How To Do It

• Warm up before starting. A 5 minute jog/walk, jumping jacks, a few squats etc. Try to break a teeny sweat then rest, stretch and grab your timer.
• Complete part A: Tabata. Rest one minute after you’re done. 
• Complete the booty circuit twice (3 times if you’re feeling strong!)
• Cooldown and stretch. 

Part A: Tabata Challenge!

Time: 8 Minutes. 

Exercises: 2

• Set your timers for 16 rounds of 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds work. (10/20 x 16). If you don’t have a Gymboss timer, I HIGHLY recommend it! You can get it for free in the App store, or the clip on version here . Sound investment, I promise. I love mine (pink). If not, there are also free online timers you can use. 

You’ll alternate between 2 exercises: Squat Jacks and Plank Jacks. Complete 20 seconds at your highest intensity of the squat jacks. Rest 10 seconds and complete 20 seconds of plank jacks. Rest 10 seconds and repeat until you’ve completed 16 rounds (8 rounds of each exercise). 

Beginners: Swap in regular squats or a plank hold for the jacks anytime you feel like you need to lower the intensity. 

Advanced: Complete 8 rounds of each instead of alternating. 8 rounds of squat jacks followed by 8 rounds of plank jacks. (Intermediate can alternate with 4 rounds each). 

Psychos: Add weights to add difficulty to the squat jacks, and add a pushup to the plank jacks. Cause you’re crazy. :)

Squat Jacks

Sink down into a low, narrow squat, keeping your chest up. Hop both feet out into a wide squat, without raising your torso (imagine just your feet hopping in and out: your body stays as neutral as possible). Repeat as fast as you can. 

Modification: simply adjust your squat height to make this easier or harder. A mini-squat is fine too! You can also swap in regular squats…. just go as fast as you can. 

Plank Jacks

On your hands or your elbows, maintain plank position while hopping your feet out and in (like a jack on the floor). Keep your abs tight, butt down and hands/elbows directly under your shoulders. 

Modification: step your feet out one at a time to make this easier OR do it on an incline with your hands/elbows on a couch, chair or bench. 

Part B: Booty Work

Time: 10 Minutes

Complete 60 seconds of each of the following exercises. Repeat the circuit twice with no breaks in between. 

1. Step Ups Right
2. Step Ups Left
3. Elevated Hip Lifts
4. Single Leg Deadlift Right
5. Single Leg Deadlift Left

Beginners: Weights are optional. Reduce your range of motion to make the moves easier, and tap down anytime you need to for balance. (You can also opt to do 30 seconds of each move, and repeat the circuit 4 times instead).

Advanced: Add weights to your step-ups and deadlifts to make them more challenging. Don’t step down completely for the step ups (keeping your stepping foot on the bench the whole time) to make the move harder. 

Bad Ass Option: Complete 3 rounds instead, or 90 seconds of each exercise. 

Step Ups

Use a bench, sofa or chair for this move. 

With your right leg, step up on a bench or chair, placing your foot directly in the middle and with your full foot (heel to surface). Lift your left leg behind you and give it a squeeze as you lift. Step down and repeat. 

Advanced: Leave your foot on the bench and simply lift and tap your other foot to the floor for each rep. Add dumbbells to make it more challenging. 

Beginner: If this is too difficult, find a smaller elevated surface (a curb, some books etc) and do it with just your bodyweight. 

Elevated Hip Lifts

You can use a chair, sofa, stability ball (hardest) or bench for this move. You also have the option to do it from the floor with just your body weight. 

Lie on your back with your arms out to your sides and your feet resting on an elevated surface. Keeping your core braced, contract your glutes and raise your hips up towards the sky. Hold for a beat or two, then return to starting. Try not to touch the floor between reps.

Note: If you’re using a ball, you will roll some. Use your core to keep the ball steady, or place it up against the wall.

Modification: Do these from the floor instead. Pulse your booty to the sky, while keeping shoulders firmly on the ground.

Single Leg Deadlifts

Note: Weights are optional. You can use cans, water bottles or just your body weight. Just make sure you’re form is on lock. 

Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at arm’s length in front of your thighs, palms facing in. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Now raise one leg off the floor. Without changing the bend in your knee, keep your back naturally arched, bend at your hips, and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Pause, then squeeze your glutes, thrust your hips forward, and raise your torso back to the starting position.

Tip: Keep your core tight, and pick a spot 6 feet in front of you to ‘zone’ in on. Focus on this spot throughout the move: it will help with balance. Make sure you’re hinging at the hips and using them to thrust you up, instead of your lower back. This is ALL booty: focus on using your glutes to help you stand. 

Beginners: Tap down between reps if you need to. You can also use a chair to help with stability. 

Advanced: Do NOT tap down between reps. As you stand, bring your opposite knee up and balance before repeating. 

Kill It!