As the nights draw in and the allure of a duvet day becomes all the more attractive, winter workouts really need to pack a punch. And you’ll be hard pressed to find a piece of kit to lend a hand better than the humble skip rope. Anthony Joshua sure knows his way around one and if it’s good enough for him…you better get yourself out of bed sharpish.

The format is simple. You skip for between 50-100 skips, depending on ability and level of fitness. Then you perform 1 of 4 exercises in between the skipping rounds. Each round should last roughly 4-5 minutes. 3 minimum but try and aim for 5. Watch the sweat drip as you keep the winter pounds at bay with a calorie burn of around 300-400 depending on intensity.

50-100 spins followed by 20 press up floor press.

Rather than perform a regular press up, try lowering yourself to the ground for a count of 2 seconds. Raise the hands up either side of the body for a back extension, before lowering the hands and driving back up into your press up starting postion. Small modifications, big results.

 

 

50 – 100 spins followed by 20 plie squats with calf raise.

Take a wider than shoulder width feet stance. And then go a little wider still. You’re aiming to activate muscles in your bum that you might not usually feel *coughs*. Once your feet are wide, point the toes out in the direction of the knee – now you’re ready. Hinge back through the hip, lowering your bum to level with your knees. Drive back up to standing, only come onto your toes, squeezing your calves at the same time. Form over speed!

 

 

50 – 100 spins followed by 45 seconds Russian twists

Taking a seated position – and ideally a medium weight – you’re aiming to work your stomach muscles, specifically those located on your flanks. Starting with the weight above the head, row it down to besides your left hip, before using the momentum of the swing to return the weight above your head. Then repeat of the other side. Keep your chest held high and your stomach braced. Watch out for lower back pain – any sharp pain and down tools.

50 – 100 spins followed by 1 minute plank

From a kneeling position, drop onto your forearms. Straighten the legs now so that the knees come off the floor, the only points of contact being your forearms and your toes. You’re aiming to hold this position for a minute. If that feels easy, extend the time but also try putting some movement into the mixer. Keeping your core braced and your spine neutral at all times, experiment with bringing alternate knees forward to the respective elbow, or coming onto one forearm for example. It’s your body, find out what it’s capable of!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on! For more tips or to equire about PT sessions, head to mr site freshfitlondon