The Fat-Burning Home Workout

Walking into a gym for the first time can be more than a little intimidating and, as such, building up a good level of base strength before you venture into the squat rack is an advisable confidence-booster.

(Related: Sign up to the MH Transformation Club 2017)

“In just 15 to 20 minutes you can accomplish a great deal of work to stimulate fat loss and muscle growth – especially as a beginner to training,” says personal trainer Scott H. Mendelson.

Perform these four equipment-free movements in a circuit to build strength across your whole body fast.

How to perform body weight squats and squat jumps

At first, squatting your own body weight to a parallel position – so that your bum is level with your knees – will be challenging. This is especially true when controlling the descent over 5 seconds and holding at the bottom point for 2 seconds.

Stick at it, though, and you’ll soon improve.

After completing four sets of eight repetitions, move on to a full squat jump. “This requires a larger cross section of muscles to fire in order to gain distance from the ground,” explains Mendelson. Execute with the same form as before and make sure you perform the move on a stable surface that will be easy on the joints.

Be aware that this move is not appropriate for someone with a history of injury. “Start with 5 reps using an explosive [as fast as you can] tempo throughout and you will benefit from the pre-fatiguing impact of the body weight squat,” advises Mendelson.

How to perform press-ups

The standard press-up is nothing new, but has a huge pay off if executed correctly, building strength right across the upper-body as well as taxing your core. To perform, place your hands two inches wider than shoulder width and lower your body over 5 seconds with a 2-second pause one inch above the ground. Then push back up to the top.