Fit Villains: Selfish, Shameless, Sassy, Fitness.

This is one of my favorite ways to end my workouts. All you need is 4 minutes, a timer & a killer attitude. Add this to your Dorm Room Challenge: 16 Min KILLER Core Meltdown.

How To Do It

Set your timer for 8 rounds of 30 seconds (4 minutes total). Hold each pose for 30 seconds, moving from one to the other with no breaks. Complete the circuit twice.

Beginners: use easier modifications, and adjust the intervals to suit your level. If 20 seconds is better, go for it.

Advanced: use harder modifications, or adjust your intervals to suit your level (60, 90, 120 seconds).

Need a timer? This one’s free. Just click start. The interval repeats itself until you turn it off.

Circuit

1. Plank Hold
2. Reverse Plank Hold
3. Side Plank Left
4. Side Plank Right

EXERCISE DETAILS & MODIFICATIONS

1. PLANK HOLD

This move can be done from the feet or from the knees

A. Make sure your shoulders are in line with your hands, and your eye line falls just past your fingertips. Push through the palms, contract your core & quads, and hold the pose as you breathe.

B. Work to keep your whole body tight, and try to keep your hips from sinking. Hold.

2. REVERSE PLANK HOLD

Modification: try this on your forearms if your shoulders bother you, or come up to a table top position with knees bent.

Beginners can also try this with hands on the seat of a chair.

Advanced? Add leg lifts.

A. Sit on the floor, with hands on either side of your hips. Keep shoulders in line with the hands, as you lift your glutes towards the ceiling.

B. Walk your feet out until you’re in one straight line, planting the heels into the floor. Push your hips up, squeezing your glutes, but avoid putting too much pressure on your low back. Hold.

3. & 4. SIDE PLANK HOLD

This move can also be done from the forearms. To modify it further, bend at the knee on the bottom leg & straighten the top leg for balance. 

Advanced? See harder modifications here.

A. Stagger your feet, with the top foot in front of the bottom foot. The blades of your feet (sides) rest on the floor & the wider you take your feet, the better your balance. Hand is directly in line with the shoulder (or elbow if on the forearms), and hips are pressed towards the sky.

B. Reach the opposite arm up to the sky. Hold it here, without dropping your hips.