Sorry to break it to you, but you're about to lose the "It's nasty out so there's no way I can exercise" excuse. No matter how frigid and frosty it is, you can still squeeze in a super-effective workout from the comfort of your own home -- even if you don't own a single piece of equipment.

Oh? You wanted to know how?

OK, it's SO simple! You'll do a combination of bodyweight moves and intervals of work and rest. Basically, push yourself as hard as you can for 30 seconds, then rest and repeat. JJ Christopher, owner of Division St. Crossfit in Chicago (where it's always nasty in the winter!), came up with this calorie-incinerating, body-sculpting routine for SELF to help you stay fit whenever the weather outside is frightful. Here's how it works:

FIRST, PICK YOUR MOVES: Select one -- just one! -- move from each of these groups (the last group only has burpees -- sorry, Charlie, you're stuck with them!)

Group A: Lower-Body Moves:

  • Air squats: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and arms bent with hands at chest level. Push your butt back, as if sitting down in a chair, and slowly lower yourself down until hip crease is below knees, making sure to keep knees behind toes. Stand back up and repeat.
  • Alternating lunges: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and step out in front of you with right foot while bending right knee. Lower yourself until left knee touches floor, then immediately raise yourself back up and return right foot to starting position. Repeat, alternating sides.
  • Squat jumps: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms bent in front of you with hands at chest level. Bend knees and lower yourself into a full squat. Once you hit the bottom, jump up explosively and reach high towards the ceiling. When you land, return down to the squat position and repeat.

Group B: Upper-Body Moves:

  • Push-ups: Everybody knows how to do these, but in case you've gotten amnesia: Start in plank position, feet and hands on floor with your body straight. Lower yourself down until chest hits floor and raise yourself back up, keeping core tight. If these are too hard, you can scale them and drop to your knees (just make sure to keep abs engaged the entire time!).
  • Dips: Sit on the edge of your sofa and place your hands on the cushions next to your butt, legs extended out in front of you. Push up with your arms and slide your butt out in front of the edge of the sofa. Then raise and lower your body by bending and straightening your arms behind you.

Group C: Core Moves:

  • Sit-ups: This is another classic you already probably know how to do, but a refresher: Lay on the ground with knees bent, arms overhead. Swing your arms towards your knees while engaging abs and sitting up. Tap ground in between feet with your hands and return to start position.
  • Plank: Facing the floor, get onto hands and toes, keeping arms straight, abs engaged, and creating a straight line from toes to shoulders. If this is too hard, you can lower yourself down to your elbows and forearms.
  • Glute bridges: Lie on back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Engaging your abs the entire time, lift your hips up off the floor until you have a straight line from knees to shoulders, pressing your heels down for stability. Slowly return to start and repeat.

Group D: Cardio component:

  • Burpees: From a standing position, quickly drop your body to the floor by kicking your feet behind you and touching your chest to the ground. As fast as possible, bring your feet back under you and finish the movement by jumping into the air and clapping hands overhead.

NOW, CRUSH YOUR WORKOUT: You'll do 3 rounds of your four moves (whichever exercise you chose from group A, group B, group C, and then those super-fun burpees). Do as many as you can of the first move in 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds before moving on to the next move. The total workout should only take you 12 minutes -- but you'll be spent by the end. Work at a pace where you can keep moving for the entire 30 seconds -- just do as much as you can in that time, and as you get fitter, you'll see your total reps skyrocket.

And guess what? After a measly 12 minutes, you're done! But thanks to the higher intensity of this speedy routine, your bod will keep burning more cals for hours to come. Bring on the snow days!

--Alice Oglethorpe


Image Credit: Mattias Olson