This article was originally published on June 28, 2017.
Summer is here, and while you may not want to spend all your free time in a gym, you may still want to look like you have. Doing a quick workout can be effective and convenient when you don’t have a lot of time. With challenging total body moves and no breaks in between, a 5-minute summer body workout can get your muscles burning and your heart rate up. Whether you’re heading to the beach or to work, do these 6 exercises in 5 minutes and watch your body slim down and shape up!
1. Hundreds with Leg Lowers– Get your circulation going and core activated with this version of the Pilates Hundreds. Lie down on your back and bring your legs to a tabletop position. Curl your head neck and shoulders up and reach your arms forward, hovering above the ground. Straighten your legs up to the sky and start pumping the arms up and down without bending them. Inhale for 5 counts as you lower the legs as low as you can go without arching the lower back. Exhale for 5 counts as you lift the legs back up. Do this ten times, making sure to pull your navel into your spine and squeeze your inner thighs.
2. Side Plank Hip Taps– Get into a side plank position on your forearm keeping your shoulder directly over your elbow. Place the top hand on your hip or straighten it up to the sky. Pull your abs in and dip your lower hip to the ground and then back up using your obliques for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side for another 30 seconds.
3. Criss Cross Mountain Climbers– Get into a pushup position with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and your feet hip distance apart. Keep your shoulders over your wrists as you use your abs to pull the one knee into the opposite shoulder. Quickly return the foot back and switch sides. The faster your go, the more your heart rate will speed up. Be careful not to let your hips raise or change your shoulder position as go faster. Do for 1 minute.
4. Reverse Pushups– Stay in your push up position from the previous exercise. Bend your elbows to lower your body down to the ground halfway. Bend your knees as you straighten your arms and bring the hips back towards your heels. Your shins should be hovering the ground. Straighten your legs to come back into your pushup position with your shoulders over your wrists. Repeat in this direction for 30 seconds and then reverse the motion for another 30 seconds.
5. Side Lunge Squats- Clasp your hands together in front of your chest with your elbows out. Squat down with your back straight and your feet shoulder distance apart. Stand back up and step out into a side lunge on your right leg. Try to get your right thigh parallel to the ground without letting your knee pass your toe. Push off the right heel to come back up to center. Squat again with both legs and then lunge out to the left. Do this for 1 minute.
What’s your favorite summer body workout?
Also by Crystal: This Animal Flow Workout Will Tighten You All Over—& Unleash Your Primal Side (Video)
Chisel Your Entire Core With These 5 Brilliant No-Crunch Ab Exercises (Video)
Related: 4 Toning Core and Thigh Moves
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Video: Crystal Chin
