WATCH: Joe De Sena's Customized 12-Exercise Quarantine Workout
Each week, Spartan Director of Training Sam Stauffer is providing select workouts from the Spartan Fit App. For the full Spartan training experience, delivering Spartan-designed workouts and race-like simulations, download the Spartan Fit app now. And for the full database of Spartan Fit app workout previews, click here.
About the Quarantine Workout for Spartans
Born out of the need to stay home during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this workout is the culmination of Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena's morning live workout series. Throughout this series — still ongoing, broadcast daily on Spartan's Facebook page — De Sena has worked out with SGX coaches, Spartan Pro team members, and all-around badasses from all over the world in an effort to change the way we think about, and go about, staying fit.
And while dozens of "moves" were crowdsourced, literally from all over the world, we had to dial it down to what we believe to be the top 12. The best thing about this workout is that it is entirely bodyweight and can be scaled to be more challenging by simply upping the time under tension.
The Benefits of the Quarantine Workout
The flow of this workout will guide you through foundational warm-up movements and slowly ease you into the thick of it, having you sweating and gasping for air in no time. Throughout the workout, you will find moves that are on the more complex side, further challenging the relationship between your mind and your body. Don’t sweat it if you can’t pick up some of the moves right away; it may take you some time to get the moves down before you're feeling 100 percent confident. The major benefit of tackling complex movements is that you are actually reprogramming your brain. Learning movements is a lot like riding a bike: Once you learn, your mind has it saved, and the movement becomes much more natural over time.
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The Quarantine Workout for Spartans
If you’re looking for a quick, 15-minute sweat session, then follow along just as it’s written. If you’re short on time, or are just beginning, simply scale each exercise down to 30 seconds apiece. Now, if you’re looking to turn up the heat, crank the time to two or two-plus minutes per exercise. Trust me, it’s harder than it sounds.
The Details: 12 moves. 1 minute per exercise. 15 minutes total. Repeat daily.
Exercise 1: Brazil Marching
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start by lying on your back, with your knees bent. You will want your toes off of the ground (curled into your shins) to focus the tension on your glutes and hamstrings.
Cue 1: To begin, you can either start with your hips off of the ground (in a bridge position) or with your hips flat on the ground. With your hands on the ground, slide and reach your right hand to your left heel. Reset. Repeat with the left hand.
Cue 2: Lift your hips off of the ground and hold this position by squeezing your glutes tightly.
Cue 3: While in a bridge position, drive your left knee in toward your chest. Repeat with your right knee. Reset your butt back to the ground.
Exercise 2: Australian Swimmer
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start by lying on your stomach.
Cue 1: Lift your legs and chest off of the ground into a Superman hold.
Cue 2: Kick your legs up and down as you alternate your hands reaching forward. Hold this position until the clock runs out.
Exercise 3: Floridian Flamingos (Alternating)
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Setup: Start in a tall standing position.
Cue 1: Anchor your heel to your butt with the same-side hand, balancing on the ground with one foot.
Cue 2: Slightly bend the knee that is in contact with the ground.
Cue 3: Hinging at the hips and keeping your back as straight as an arrow, reach down and tap the foot. Reset. Repeat with the opposite side.
Exercise 4: Leonidas Burpees
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start in a tall standing position.
Cue 1: Perform the standard Spartan burpee.
Cue 2: Instead of one push-up at the bottom, you will perform two.
Exercise 5: Compton Dog Bites (Alternating)
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start in a pike (downward dog) position: palm plank position with your hips elevated higher toward the ceiling and your legs fully extended.
Cue 1: With your heels glued to the floor, reach your right hand back to your left ankle. Do your best to reach for the back of the heel. Reset. Repeat with the left hand.
Exercise 6: Japanese Sumo Burpee
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start in a tall standing position with your feet just outside of your shoulders and your hands placed high overhead.
Cue 1: Lower your hips. Do your best to meet or break parallel to the ground. Reset
Cue 2: Lift your left knee as high as you can and slowly bring it out and over to a super-wide (sumo) squat position. Keep your hands overhead throughout. Once your foot makes contact with the floor, go into another overhead squat. Reset. Repeat with the right side.
Cue 3: Transition right into a Spartan burpee.
Exercise 7: Siberian Spider Jacks
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start by lying on your stomach.
Cue 1: Lift your legs and chest off of the ground into a Superman hold.
Cue 2: As you bring your hands to your hips, widen your legs as far out as you can into a snow-angle position. Reset.
Exercise 8: Leonidas Lunges (Alternating)
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start in a tall standing position.
Cue 1: Lunge back, softly tapping the knee to the ground.
Cue 2: As you stand back up, you are going to scoop the floor in front of you with the opposite hand of the forward foot.
Cue 3: Before you reach the top of the position, you will jump sideways, transitioning right back into the lunge position.
Exercise 9: French Mother of All Stretches
Description: 30 seconds under tension for each side.
Set Up: Begin at the bottom of a reverse lunge position.
Cue 1: With the opposite hand of the backward foot, anchor your heel on your butt.
Cue 2: Place the free hand onto the floor.
Cue 3: Open up the shoulder as much as you can while keeping your forward foot anchored to the floor. Breathe.
Exercise 10: Mongolian MOAB (Mother of All Burpees)
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start in a tall standing position.
Cue 1: Complete a Leonidas burpee (two push-ups at the bottom)
Cue 2: After completing your second push-up, kick the left foot up to the left hand. Release the left hand from the floor as you kick the right foot through.
Cue 3: Transition and kick through with the left foot.
Cue 4: Kick the feet back into the top of a push-up position. Complete another push-up.
Cue 5: Jump your feet back in toward your hands. Stand up and jump.
Exercise 11: Filipino Ws
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start by lying on your stomach.
Cue 1: Lift your legs and chest off of the ground into a Superman hold.
Cue 2: While holding the position, drive your elbows back and in toward the body, squeezing your back and shoulders tightly.
Exercise 12: Rockin' Burpee
Description: 1 minute under tension.
Set Up: Start in a seated position on the floor.
Cue 1: Using momentum, rock up onto your feet.
Cue 2: Transition onto your hands and kick your feet out into the top of a push-up.
Cue 3: Complete a push-up
Cue 4: Jump your feet back in toward your hands. Stand up and jump with your arms overhead.
Cue 5: Perform an overhead squat and fall back into the reset (rocking) position.
