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. 

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Weekend Workout: The Shredder

Ready to get shredded?

This is a sneaky fat blasting circuit that requires only your body weight. It’s ideal to do on the go, but you can also do the moves from home, at the gym, or pretty much anywhere. All you need is 30 minutes and a bottle of water! 

The concept is simple and highly effective. A quick cardio blast for 2 minutes, then a 5 move total body circuit to get blood pumping to all your major muscle groups. Working in intervals burns more calories and works you from head to toe while keeping your heartrate high. Repeat the sequence 3 to 5 times to Shred your workout. :)

How To Do It

1. Warm up for 5 minutes. A light jog, a brisk walk, some squats etc. Get your heart rate up. (If doing this outside, jog or run to the park to include that as your warmup). 

2. Stretch and grab some water. 

3. Start the Shredder circuit. 2 minutes of cardio, 1 round of the circuit. Repeat 3 to 5 times. 

4. Cooldown and stretch. 

The Shredder

A. 2 Minute Walk/Jog/Run 

B. 5 Move Shred

• 16 Walking Lunges
• 12 T-Pushups
• 16 Squat Jumps
• 12 Russian Twists
• 16 Side To Side Lunges

Repeat the sequence 3-5 times, or as many rounds as you can in 30 minutes. 

The Shredder: 30 Minute Circuit Breakdown And Modifications

2 Minutes Walk/Jog/Run

Run laps around the park or jog back and forth for approximately 2 minutes. Push yourself, but choose the right intensity for your level: a brisk walk is fine if you’re building up to a jog. You can also alternate between walking, jogging, running and sprinting. If you need to recover, walk for a bit then keep going.

At Home: If you’re doing this workout at home, you can swap in 2 minutes of jumping jacks, high knees, jump rope or a jog in place. 

Walking Lunges

Lunge alternating sides and moving forward. Keep your chest open and good posture, and place your body weight in the heel of the lunging foot. To make it harder, try swinging the back leg forward straight into a lunge without tapping down. 

At Home: Alternating forward or reverse lunges are fine. 

T-Pushups

Come into plank position, hands directly under your shoulders. Perform one pushup, then open up to a side plank, extending your top arm into the air (like the letter T). Replace your hands and perform the pushup again, alternating sides.

Beginner: Basic pushups or modified pushups from the knees are fine too. 

Squat Jumps

Sit down and back into a squat. Push through your heels to explode up into a jump. Land softly back in the squat and repeat. 

Beginner: Basic squats. To make them harder without the jump, add dumbbells. 

Russian Twists

Sit in a V on the ground or on a bench. Leave your heels on the ground, or lift them up to add difficulty. Keeping your chest open and back flat, rotate your torso from side to side. Stabilize your core and lean back at about a 45 degree angle (sit up taller to make it easier). Right plus left = 1 rep. 

Beginners: Bicycle crunches are fine here, or any other ab move you’re comfortable with. 

Side To Side Lunges

Stand tall and lunge over to the right side, sinking down and back. Weight should be in the heel of your lunging foot and knees just over the tops of your toes. Push through the heel to bring yourself back to standing, and repeat on the other side. 

Beginners: reduce range of motion and make the lunges slightly smaller. 

Kill this Shreddies!

Print or copy this workout to take with you anywhere: it’s a great way to power up your jogs and get shredded on the go!

Motivation Boost: Do it with a friend! Find someone close to your level and head out for 30 minutes this weekend. :)