30-Minute Bodyweight Workout To Get Lean & Fit

A lot of guys said they enjoyed the Viper Workout.

So I thought that it made sense to offer you another workout completely free.

Inception is like a right of passage, it’s a classic bodyweight workout that you can do anywhere whether in your hotel room or at a park. If you want a solid, reliable workout that hits all of your muscles quickly, do this workout.

This workout goes by fast because each exercise leads seamlessly into the next. You can make this workout more challenging by wearing a weighted vest.

I hope you enjoy it!

Workout Instructions

Start with the BuiltLean Warm Up, then complete the following 5 exercises in sequence, 30-seconds on, 30-seconds off for 3 rounds. Rest 1-minute between each round. After the circuit, rest 1-minute, then complete a finisher for 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 3 rounds. End with the BuiltLean Cool Down.

1. Bodyweight Squat

Description
Body Weight Squats are an excellent exercise to improve leg strength for beginners, and leg stamina for more advanced exercisers. If you have any lower back tightness, be careful with this exercise, which is unsupported. If you have trouble with following this technique, or squatting low enough, you may need to loosen up your calves and hips.

Technique

1. Stand upright with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly outward
2. Keeping your neck straight, shoulders locked down, and arms extended in front of you, drop your hips down while pushing your knees outward so they are in line with your toes.
3. Squat down until your hips are below the plane of your knees
4. Push back up to the starting position, pushing through your heels.

Tips

1. Always maintain a flat to slightly arched lower back position, avoid rounding your lower back, or having it tuck under your hips
2. Keep your knees pushed outward so they track your toes. Your knees should not move inward, but stay in the same plane.
3. Keep your heels firmly planted on the ground as you squat.
4. Keep your torso as vertical as possible, so you are not leaning too far forward

2. Bodyweight Forward Lunge

You’ll see I’m using dumbbells in the video, but for the purposes of this workout, it’s designed to be a body weight exercise.

Description
Forward Lunges are an excellent way to not only engage the entire lower body, including hip flexors, but also to help improve your balance and stabilization. There is also an element of plyometric power, which is required to propel you from a forward leaning position back up to a standing position.

Instructions

1. Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart while holding a pair of dumbbells, or kettlebells at your sides
2. Lunge forward with your right leg while dropping your hips downward so that your front knee does not stick out too far beyond your toes.
3. Once in the down lunge position, forcefully push off the floor back to the starting position.
4. Repeat with the other leg. Alternate legs for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

1. Keep your torso straight and head up throughout the movement
2. The thigh you are lunging with should be parallel with the floor at the bottom of the repetition.
3. Don’t lunge forward too aggressively. The motion is forward, then down.
   Keep both feet pointed straight ahead and keep the front foot planted firmly so the heel is down on the ground.
4. Breath in through your nose as you are lunging, then out forcefully as you propel yourself back up to the standing position

3. Push Ups

How

1. Position your body with your arms straight out, abs tight, holding your body off the floor
2. Hands and arms should be positioned slightly below your shoulders, fingers pointed forwards
3. Lower your body until your chest is an inch, or two above the floor
4. Push your body away from the ground until your arms lock, then repeat

Tips

1. Your neck, back, hips, and legs should form one stiff plank, so only your arms are moving
2. Control the descent, don’t try to drop your body without control
3. Keep your head neutral, avoid pushing your head forward, or backward
4. Breathe in on the way down through your nose and out through your mouth on the pushing phase

Benefits

1. Triceps, chest, and shoulders
2. Pushing strength
3. Core strength

Alternatives

• Bench Push Ups (complete push ups with your arms raised on a bench, which makes them easier)

4. Bicycles

Description
The bicycle exercise focuses on strengthening your deep core muscles and your obliques, the ab muscles on your sides. Make sure not to pull on your head or neck with your hands. Focus on lifting your shoulders away from the ground using your abs. If you start the feel this exercise in your neck or lower back, rest or modify the exercise so you can perform each repetition with perfect form.

Instructions

1. Start on your back with your hands behind your ears and your knees bent to 90 degrees over your hips.
2. Without pulling on your head, lift your head and shoulders away from the ground.
3. Keep your spine in contact with the ground. Don’t let your lower back arch.
4. Extend your right leg straight out above the ground as your rotate your right elbow to your left knee. Then alternate sides, twist the other way.
5. Exhale as you twist your elbow to your knee. Inhale as you return back to center.
6. Complete for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Alternatives

• Dead Bug

5. Jumping Jacks

Description
Jumping jacks are a fantastic way to build your cardiovascular conditioning, warm up your legs and arms, and increase your heart rate so your muscles are ready for your workout.

Instructions

1. Start with your feet together, hands by yours sides, standing tall through your torso.
2. Jump your feet out wide to the sides as you raise your arms up overhead.
3. As soon as your feet land wide, jump your feet back together while bringing your arms down by your sides.
4. Fluidly jump your feet wide and then together while raising the arms overhead and back down.
5. Be sure to land lightly on your feet, rolling down from the ball of your foot to your heel.
6. Complete for the prescribed amount of time.

Finisher = Cross Body Crunch

Description
The straight leg arm crunch builds on the core stability you generated in the leg lowering exercise, but adds a rotation which targets your obliques. Make sure you don’t use momentum to reach hand to foot. Use core strength and control the entire time.

Instructions

1. Start laying on your back, arms overhead and legs extended on the ground.
2. Raise your right leg away up towards the ceiling as you lift your head and shoulders away from the ground, reaching your left hand towards your right foot.
3. Lower back to the starting position with control, and repeat on the other side — left leg lifts as you reach your right hand towards your left foot.
4. Exhale as you reach hand to foot, inhale as you lower back to the ground.
5. Maintain core tension throughout the exercise.
6. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions

Alternatives

• Leg lowering
• Bicycle crunches

Workout FAQ

1. How do I make the workouts more challenging?
Here are a few ways to make the workouts more challenging:

1. Use a weighted vest, consider starting at 10 or 20 pounds. There are plenty of options on Amazon, just find one that fits snugly so you can still do push ups and be mobile.
2. Use weights instead of making it bodyweight based.
3. Complete 10 push ups, 10 bodyweight squats, or 10 jumping jacks during every rest period of the strength circuit. This will make the workouts much harder and more cardiovascularly demanding.

2. How do I make the workouts easier?

1. Do fewer reps of each exercise during the 30-seconds of the circuit
2. Use alternative exercises that are easier, like an incline push up vs. a regular push up
3. Stop the video if you really have to rest when you are first starting out