Keeping exercises simple is a great way to establish a fitness routine
It’s May, and if you are someone with New Year’s fitness goals that fizzled out, you’re not alone. In the U.S., one survey found nearly $400 million is wasted annually on unused gym memberships. When it comes to failed fitness goals, over-complication may be an issue. Many think exercise requires a lot of time or a significant financial investment. That doesn’t need to be the case at all. Some are finding cheap and simple minimalist workouts do the trick.
“Minimalist workouts are great, especially for beginners, and they overcome two of the most common problems, a lack of time and money,” says a certified trainer and lifestyle coach, Debi Kinney. “They can be done quickly and with little to no equipment. You can do them anywhere and at any time.”
What Is A Minimalist Workout?
Kinney defines a minimalist workout as “a very simple, efficient workout routine” and “one that maximizes outcomes and results with strategic exercises.” They often include functional exercises, she adds, that mimic everyday movements.
Most functional exercises will include squats, lunges, and deadlifts, which work the muscles needed to bend over and pick things up. There are also pushing and pulling exercises like push-ups and pull-ups to strengthen the upper body.
Many HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) and EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) workouts are minimalist routines. They involve doing exercises in short intense bursts, resting, and then doing them again. These routines also tend to be shorter, which aligns with the minimalist approach.
Getting Started With Minimalist Workouts
If you’re a beginner, focus on bodyweight exercises, Kinney says. Think: push-ups and squats, press-ups or pull-ups, and lunges. You can even weave in core exercises like crunches as well. “As you progress, you can add jump ropes, kettlebells, or cardio,” she adds.
Individual goals, whether they be overall wellness, weight loss, or muscle gain, will influence the program, but Kinney recommends creating a workout that’s no more than 30 minutes and includes 10-15 repetitions of an exercise per set. Before you start, however, test yourself.
“I would experiment and try to do the max reps you can for an exercise to give yourself a baseline for moving forward,” she says. “You may be able to knock out 50 push-ups but only 15 squats. With that information, you can plan for how you want to challenge yourself from there.”
Examples of Minimalist Workouts
Again, minimalist workouts don’t require much. Having a few dumbbells around is always helpful, but not necessary, and you don’t need a gym membership. Below are some examples. In the first one, Brad Stulberg, author of “Peak Performance”, shares a minimalist routine he recommends doing a few times a week. It includes:
3 sets of 6 pull-ups
3 sets of 8 goblet squats
3 sets of 16 push-ups
3 sets of 8 lunges
3 sets of single-leg deadlift
If pull-ups are a challenge, some will use bands for assistance, others may start by lessening the distance to the bar by putting a box under their feet, and exercises to strengthen the arms and shoulders can help. Trainer Amanda Bisk has a video that teaches a range of exercises to help you build the strength needed for a pull-up.
Certified personal trainer, Susan Ohtake, likes to mix dumbbells in with lots of squatting and lunging exercises in her workouts. This example uses only three exercises and can easily be done in 20-30 minutes. It includes:
Front squats (12 reps)
Lunges with curls (12 reps, 6 per leg)
Side lunges with press-ups (12 reps, 6 per leg)
Do the above exercises in succession without stopping. This is considered one round. After each round rest for one minute. Do three to five rounds.
Ohtake and her husband Shin also run Max Workouts, a HIIT program that emphasizes workouts using three or four functional exercises that only take between 20 and 30 minutes to complete. They even have videos showing exercises that can be done using playground equipment at your neighborhood park.
Over time, your body will get stronger and you’ll need to find different ways to challenge it. You can find simple variations of functional exercises to keep things fresh, shorten rest periods, or again, add in kettlebells or dumbbells for more resistance.
“As the body continues to adapt, you’ll want to change things up about every six weeks,” Kinney adds.
