Next time you’ve finished a session in the gym or ended a run and feel like you’ve got a little left to give, give this lower-body finisher a whirl. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a workout finisher, we just think you may want to have a bit of a sit down afterwards. The routine – created by Beth Thayne – is only five minutes, but we bet that you’ll decide that’s more than long enough before you’ve even reached halfway.
“It’s five minutes of fire focused on your glutes, quads and core,” says Thayne. “You start by doing squat jumps for 50 seconds and a beast hold for ten. Then after each round you alter both by ten seconds – it’ll always add up to one minute of work. Eventually, you’ll be doing ten seconds of squat jumps and 50 seconds of the beast hold.
“The aim is to do the squat jumps continuously and then go straight into the beast hold. This means no rest, which keeps your pulse high and works on your endurance.
“It burns like hell and the quads take the biggest hit, with the glutes also getting heavily involved. The whole workout relies on the core throughout. It’s five minutes of solid work.”
The Exercises
Jump squat
Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed out slightly. Squat down so that your knees are at a 90° angle, then push through your heels and jump straight up. Land on both feet and go straight into the next rep.
“Keep the landing soft and make the process of jumping, landing and jumping again one continuous movement,” says Thayne.
Beast hold
Get on your hands and knees, with your arms extended, hands underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. Tuck your toes and lift your knees just off the ground. Hold this position.
“For an added challenge, you can try the three- or two-point beast hold. Lift one foot off the ground, or one foot and the opposite hand.”
The Workout
| Round | Jump squat | Beast hold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50sec | 10sec |
| 2 | 40sec | 20sec |
| 3 | 30sec | 30sec |
| 4 | 20sec | 40sec |
| 5 | 10sec | 50sec |
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