It’s totally possible to come back from vacation five pounds lighter and five times stronger.Best of all, you don’t need a gym or a single weight; just two small hand towels or paper plates and slick surface.
The towels transforms your floor into an ice rink, intensifying classic exercises by decreasing your stability and keeping your muscles under tension for the entire movement.
Since your feet are always in contact with the floor, it may seem easier to perform exercises with the discs than without them. But the mild instability engages all of your muscles in the working limb, while also firing up your core muscles.
Plus, since you don’t need any equipment; this workout is perfect no matter where your Summer vacation takes you.
Ready to give these exercises a try? Watch the videos below and follow the coaching points to see how to perform the workout with perfect form.
Super-Effective Towel Workout
Beginners:
When you first using the towels as sliding disk, you want to keep your movements small. For example, in that reverse lunge, send the back leg only so far back so you’re able to maintain control. As you get better and stronger, you can easily up the difficulty by increasing the range of motion, increasing your tempo, or even adding load with dumbbells or kettlebells.
Towel Push-Up
- Place your hands on the floor shoulder-width apart, your right hand on a towel.
- Extend both feet so that you’re in a pushup position with your body forming a straight line from head to heels
- Keeping your core tight, slide your right arm away from your left and bend both elbows to lower your body toward the ground as far as possible
- Press through your left palm and pull your right hand back to the start.
- That’s one rep. Do six to eight, then switch hands and repeat.
Variations: Try reaching the towel forward to work your shoulders for added challenge.
Towel Leg Curl
- Lie face up on the floor with palms up, your heels on a towel.
- Squeeze your glutes and raise your hips off the ground.
- Bend your knees and pull them toward your.
- Pause, then reverse the move to return to start. That’s one rep. Do six to eight.
Beginners: Start doing a single-leg curl keeping one leg stable on the ground. Put your left heel on a towel, and your right foot flat on the floor, knee bent. Bend your left knee and pull it toward your butt and in line with your right knee. Then reverse the move to return to start. That’s one rep. Do six to eight, then switch legs and repeat.
Reverse Lunge
- Stand with your feet together and the ball of your right foot on a towel
- Slide your right foot behind you; let your left leg bend at 90 degrees.
- Bring your foot back to the start; focus on pulling up with your left glute.
- Do 15 reps on each side.
Forward Lunge
- Stand with your feet together and the ball of your right foot on a towel.
- Slide your right foot in front of you; letting your leg bend at 90 degrees. Bring your foot back to the start; focus on pulling up with your right glute.
- Do 15 reps on each side.
Lateral Lunge
- Stand with your left foot on a towel.
- Slide your foot to the side while sitting into a squat (bend your knee at 90 degrees).
- Keep your left leg straight and your weight on your right.
- Bring your left foot back in and return to standing.
- Do 15 reps on each side.
Variations: Add intensity by progressing into a Curtesy Lunge. Upon returning to start position from Lateral Lunge: in one motion, slide your left foot back and behind your right leg as you bend both knees to lower into a lunge (B). Press through your right heel to return to standing. That’s one rep.