Heading to the coast? Take your fitness routine with you, thanks to this high-intensity beach workout from Men’s Health art director Clinton Jurgens
Fitness, Island Style
You know how it goes – you work your butt off (literally) to squeeze into a tiny two-piece for your beach holiday and no sooner have your feet hit the sand than all those months of slogging are forgotten and it’s full steam ahead on the cocktail train to back slide central. And, honestly, we don’t blame you – when the sun’s out and the sea is calling, who wants to hang out in a hotel gym? Men’s Health art director Clinton Jurgens faced this exact dilemma (ok, minus the bikini) on a holiday to Phi Phi Island in Thailand, so he came up with a high-intensity exercise blitz that he could do right there on the beach. Genius, right?
Do It
This workout is pretty intense, so you’re going to want to get it out of the way in the morning before the heat of the day really sets in. And that works out perfectly, because it’ll rev your metabolism throughout the day, helping you burn off those cocktails later. Working out on sand challenges your muscles more than a stable floor, so to make it easier, stick to the firmer sand near the water’s edge. Want more of a challenge? Move to the softer sand. You’re going to be spending a lot of time on your hands in this workout (push-ups, mountain climbers and so on) so be sure to warm up your wrists well before you start – do circles left and right, flap your hands up and down and gently twist each hand with the other hand. For the super sets, do one set of each move back to back (say, 10 Hindu push-ups followed by 20 jumping lunges), rest to catch your breath, then do the same again until you’ve finished the required number of sets.
Your Moves
Tabata Burpees: Do as many burpees as you can in 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. Do this pattern eight times.
Superset 1
– Hindu Push-Ups: Do three sets of 15, 12 or 10 reps depending on your fitness level.
– Jumping Lunges: Do three sets of 20 (10 each leg)
Superset 2
– Bear crawl: Do 20 steps (10 each side)
– Push-ups: Do 10
– Mountain climbers: Do 20 each leg
Finisher
Do 10 sprints – go for 100m if you have space, otherwise run shuttle sprints for 10 seconds at a time if space is limited.
Looking for another hardcore workout out to torch fat? Try our next-level push-up challenge. For more holiday fitspo, get the October issue of Women’s Health, on sale now!
