Today’s workout is not as intensive as the one from yesterday, but I promise that you will like it. If I may give you some advice – pay attention to your form when doing these 4 exercises. I was very careful today to keep good form and the workout took me longer then I expected. I have incorporated a variation of one arm push ups, because I would like to be able to do the regular ones one day. This variation is the easiest, but you can experiment with the position of your knees and bring them closer together if you feel like you can handle more of a challenge. If you are not strong enough to go all the way down it doesn’t matter. Try to do your best. You will make progress even if today you can just bend your elbows a few inches. If you are stronger then me, then you can try to do the regular one arm push ups.
This workout is made up of 4 exercises – One Leg Jump Touch Down (10 reps on each leg), One Arm Push Ups (5 reps on each arm), Mountain Climber Kick Ups ( 20 reps total), Maltese Sit Ups ( 20 reps total).
Repeat this sequence 4 times and keep track of your time. Try to keep moving through the workout without taking any long breaks.
Have a great workout and let me know how you did!
Zuzana.
One Leg Jump Touch Down
Stand on one leg and bend forward to touch the ground with both hands. The standing leg is bent, your chest is up, back straight. Extend the one leg behind you across the standing leg and try to keep it in the air without touching the ground.
Push off of the standing leg, drive your knee up and jump. This counts as one rep. Complete 10 reps on each leg.
One Arm Push Ups
Kneel down on your mat and place your hands on the floor in front of you and underneath your shoulders. You can have your knees together or bring them wide apart. Find a comfortable position that will allow you to perform this exercise. Bring one arm behind your back or place it on your thigh. Inhale and try to bring your chest towards the ground – then push up. Switch your arms and do the same thing on the other side. Complete 10 reps total (5 on each arm).
Mountain Climber Kick Up
Get into a lunge position and put your hands on the ground in front of you.
Jump up keeping your hands on the ground and switch legs.
Stand up on the front leg and kick the back leg forward and up. Reach with your opposite arm towards your toes. Don’t round your back – keep your chest up and don’t shrug your shoulders. Your abs should be tight. This counts as 1 rep. Repeat for the total of 20 reps alternating sides.
Maltese Sit Ups
Lay on your back with your legs wid apart and your arms extended above your head.
Sit up, reach with your hands towards the sky and straighten your spine.
Bend forward towards one leg and then lay down on your back.
Bring your feet together, keeping your knees wide apart and bring your legs up. Lift your hips off of the ground with your feet pointing towards the sky. Bring your hips and legs down again to get into the starting position. Complete 20 reps total alternating sides.
Nice! I will be doing this one tomorrow….Thank you so much! lol your site has become a favorite=)
dear zuzana,
what is the best way to loose weight(15/20pounds)as fast as possible, cardio ? weight training or…?
is it possible to build muscles even when i have fat and over weight ? some say if i dont loose first thn the fat will become muscles(because of heavy weight training) and i will get bulky?
is it really like this ? well i dont mind even if i get bulky i want to loose weight and have muscles no matter what..so what do u recommend ??
im really confused, can you give some advice please ?
Hi Muku,
My approach that works for me are random workouts at least 5 times a week. Right now I am posting workouts and updates on what I do to keep myself fit, so that anyone can follow my routines on a daily basis.
When you are trying to loose weight, then strength training is important. Fat can never turn into a muscle. You can burn fat as you are building muscles. The more muscles you have the faster your body can burn fat.
Please read through the Fitness F.A.Q. and older posts, because I have covered these basics already.
Choose any workout that you like from my collection and get started. I personally like short and very intensive workouts, but if you are a beginner, you might want to go for longer and less intensive workouts – beginners make fast changes no matter what they do and it is important that your training is slowly progressive. That said, train often but don’t push yourself too hard. I like to train for two days in a row and then have one day off. This way I complete 5 workouts a week.
I like this as much as yesterdays. But, I had to watch this 4 times before I got it,because the editing seemed to flick from one exercise to the another without the various angle views as your previous edits. Yes, the photos help,but the action shots are much better. I have a question. Is it okay to add cardio between each or every other exercise? Or,is doing the workouts just as you demonstrate sufficient? Thanks a bunch.
Hi Texas Cindy,
you can add cardio in between each exercise if you want. This workout is already enough if you are going through it with your maximum effort.
man! i was looking forward to this workout and i messed up so much! i made so many mistakes…i was practicing all the moves before starting n i thought i’d warm up after practicing them. i ended up pulling a muscle or something in my lower back practicing those sit ups. n then when i started the workout, in the first exercise, i kinda lost balance n put too much weight on one of my fingers when landing from the jump! so now, my finger n back hurt! i m gonna do another workout for today :(
but hey, at least i learned some things for next time
HI Maryam,
you gotta be careful :)
how do u find out so much variation n challenge,i feel u should have been a scientist.
which version of nike shoes u r using?
please tell me,i love them and wanna buy it.
Hi Zuzana! Love your outfit :P
I found that the maltese sit ups strained my hip flexors a bit; I found them a bit painful. Perhaps I had my legs spread too far apart? Anyway, I love your variation of the mountain climber! It’s refreshing! :D
Hi do you live in Los Angeles? Do you do personal training?
Thank you :)
Irene
Hi Zuzana
I’ve become so addicted to your site and have downloaded as many of your videos as I can and reference them often.
(For those of you wanting to download the youtube videos go to this site http://keepvid.com/ you just need to drag and drop the button into your browser and click it when you want to save a video.It works best using Mozilla web browser though)
I did you Rock Your Body 2 workout this week and it was such a killer!My boyfriend and I workout together and he loves your workouts just as much as I do!
You are such an inspiration to me and just by looking at you,you’re obviously doing something right!!
I have scoliosis which is a lateral curvature in the spine but I don’t let it stop me from pushing harder all the time.The fact that your workouts are based on stability and strength training is perfect for me.
One thing I have been curious about for a while and I don’t know if anyone has asked this before but what do you do for a living??
Thanks!
Hi Zuzana,
I just recently found your website and it has been really helpful and motivating. I was wondering if I could do your workout along with my own workouts I do in weights class that I have. I do not want to overtrain but just wanted your advice if I could incorporate both workouts?
Hello Zuzana,
Just wanted to ask you at what time to you go to bed? How much time do you sleep per night? – in one of your articles you’ve mentionned that rest is very important…
Also – when do you have your last meal? I’ve read somewhere that is not recommended to eat at least 3 hours before you go to bed. Are there any ingredients that we should avoid in the evening? What do you prefere to eat in the evening?
Thank you in advance for your response!
Greetings form Moldova (small country in the Eastern Europe – you are famous even here :) )
Hi Natalia,
I try to go to bed before midnight. I sleep usually 7 hours. I have my dinner usually around 6 or 7pm and I don’t eat at all after 9pm. I like to drink herbal tea at the evenings.
Hi Zuzana,
I’ve been trying also to do straight one armed push ups and today did the same kneeling ones in my workout that you have in this workout.
The Maltese sit-up is your invention, right?
Yesterday I was watching a rerun of the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships where many of the gymnasts did what I believe is called a Maltese Cross on the rings. Overall I think the ideal build for a male IMHO would be that of a gymnast.
Best wishes,
–Chris
Hi Zuzana,
I just want to thank You for doing your job ! I am very inspired by Your workouts not only in tehnical side of it, but also in BIG DISCIPLINE and consequence that You present !
I wish You all best
regards / pozdrawiam
Tom
Hi Zuzana..!
i’m not sure u’ve posted this information around here somewhere, but… how long are your breaks in between the exercises? I was wondering if they are diferent depending on the TYPE of exercise (strength or cardio)…?
thanks!
great website…! greetings from Brazil! ;)
This workout was just what I needed after the workout you posted yesterday really wiped me out. It is unbelievable how these intense workout are stripping away fat from my body.
Thank you so much!!
Zuzana,
One question for you. I am also a coffee addict, I eat very clean but I CANNOT do without my coffee. I do have Nido creamer in my coffee with brown sugar 3 times a day. Could this be what prohibiting me from cutting off the “extra” few pounds? I train just like you every day!I love your exercises. When you dont update I feel lost! He he =)
Thanks,
Leandre
Hi Zuzana,
Oh, I find this workout very difficult!
And there is no way for me to push myself up on one arm! Not in any position :(.
I am so sad because of that. All exercises that you have show us so far I CAN do.
But this – one arm push ups…no way, I can not lift myself with only one arm,
I am too weak, apparently :(.
How can I practice to become stronger to do one arm push-ups?
Have a nice day!
Tina
Hi Tina,
you don’t have to go all the way down to the ground. Just bend your elbows as much as your strength allows you. You can increase the depth of the push up as you get stronger.
Hi zuzana, im a beginner as i mentioned b4 u might not be rmbrng. after starting your workouts i lost one and half pound in a month.My hubby n other family memb. neighbours r telling there is change in me that i have lost wt. My question is EVEN ON LOOSING WT. MEASURING SCALE SHOWS SAME WT.bt i can see there is inch loss. can u please tell me what does it mean because i have a long way to go. i should loose atleast 9pounds to go back to my original figure before pregnancy. One more thing as im a beginner im following your old routines whichever comfortable with. My plan is to follow particular routine for 20days to 1month than switch to next. What im doing is right? or shud i change the routine more frequently? PLEASE HELP ME ZUZANA.. “YOU R A GREAT MOTIVATION FOR ME.”
I love the pirate hat! and the workout too! thanks Z
Hi Zuzana,
I see you are doing very well, congratulations! I know you have a lot of questions to answer and sometimes can’t answer all of them, so I’m going to post my yesterday’s question again. How has your weight/size been changing in the last year (again, I don’t need specific numbers), have you gained/lost weight and size, did you lose fat and maintain your previous muscle or is there some more muscle there, too? It’s dificult to tell from videos/pictures because the more defined you are and the more your muscles show, the bigger you appear, but you’re actually smaller.
Hope your day is going nicely:), I spent most of mine at college but I did 60 min of yoga (we have that at college). I’m planning to start practising pilates since I’m tiret of only doing regular weightlifting in the gym, but am still searching for the right fitness centre/gym and programme since I’d like something a little more intense and there are so many different pilates exercise programmes. Anyways, I’m looking forward to see what exercises you’ll come up with tomorrow.
Hi Zuzana,
The reason I mentioned the Maltese Cross is the only other exercise I knew of with that name is the Maltese Push Up. Which is similar in nature to the cross, but done on the floor.
They’re, as you probably know, where you place your hands near your hips and push up from there. BTW, I would also like to be able to do Planche Push Ups. Where you lift your feet off the ground with similar hand placement as the Maltese Push Up.
Anyway nice workout! Tried it today and I notice you didn’t mention how long it took you…8-) I took ages and took several rests so I won’t tell either.8-)
Best wishes,
–Chris
I think this is the first time ive posted here, tho i have followed on youtube & read some of the articles here.
I like this one because its just body weight resistance!
I have a tiny apt & no room for equipment besides my resistance bands, so this is the kind of workout I need!
thanks for the lessons & inspiration!
Hey Zuzana, i finally did this workout! It was great, the only variations i did was start off with 100 skips with the skipping rope and end the final set with 400 skips. I alos did seperate ab exercises after. Overall a great workout, i have exams tomorrow and this workout was the perfect break from all the studying! One thing though Zuzana, i noticed that since i started your workouts about 1 month now, i have gained close to 8 lbs of muscle, i am 5′3″ and 125lbs. I feel huge in certain clothes (like fitted clothes, shorts etc) but in my work close or casual party clothes i feel petite. Why is that?
Is that amount of muscle gain normal?
Z, Girl, you have done it again! I’m off to the gym to vex the personal trainers with my “sweatier than thou” Zuzana workout!
I am starting to see my abs after they have been hiding for about 13 years. My strength is through the roof and I have made a small challenge for myself to do 5 pull ups by Christmas.
I am doing this by practicing negative let downs for 20 seconds each. Tonight will be my first time…wish me luck!
hey zuzana,
why u have a pink gymboss but ur ipod nano is purple ?? -to avoid frederick using it heheheh coz you know lila is more female :)))
whats ur fav colour ?
Hi Zuzana,
I love ur workouts. My day starts with ur videos. I always try to get 6packs like u. u work hard for a month,follow all tht u say, @the end of 1month i dont find any packs..so i get disappointed then i stop workouts, binge eat, n end up with belly fat. again i starve for a flat belly.
well the thing is wud like to know whats the duration required to get 6packs liike urs?i always see ads on web “6packs in 2wks”, so i fix goal of 1month n fail.
can u guide me.
hey zuzana!!
well i just want to thank u because i’ve noticed that the past couple of weeks that i’ve been using ur workout plan i feel stronger,my muscles look more toned,and today when i did some running instead of ur workouts it was a lot easier for me than ever before, and i never could run before!! thnx for everything and please keep posting ur workouts
u r really a great inspiration!!
marie <3
hi zuzana,
i too share the same problem as Tina, but i think my problem is greater than hers coz i cant do ususal pushups at all so i didnt even try doing one arm pushups . With great difficulty i attempted to do usual pushups ( i.e with both arms) and i could do just 4 at a row. so i’m really worried. what could be wrong with me? my arms are disproportionate to my body size ,and they are flabby. can continuous strength training bring about a change in my arms? shall i continue to attempt doing pushups everyday until i get it right? thanks in advance for ur reply
HI ritu,
of course that your strength will improve with practice. Nothing is wrong with you :) and your arms will look better when you strengthen them, because they will automatically appear tighter get nice shape. I am including different upper body exercises into my workouts, so if you are following my daily workout routines, you should be happy with the results soon.
wow I like how you put your outfit together!! to be honest, you look great in pretty much everything! :D thank you for these workouts Z. that FLOW workout is–I believe–one of THE most challenging ones presently! it was really fun take care Z.
Hi ritu and Tina,
When you do a standard push up you are primarily using your Pectoralis Major. Other exercises that will also activate your pecs are Bench Presses with Dumbbells or a Barbell. Also at the Gym, Pec Deck Flys, Parallel Bar Dips and Cable Crossover Flys.
And at home you can reduce greatly the strength needed by doing Push Ups near vertical. That is by standing very close to a wall and leaning over to it and pushing “up” from it.
But, if you can do one or two good form standard two arm Push Up, I suggest a better plan…during the day assign yourself the task of doing one Push Up every time you pass thru a certain door way (preferably one you go thru often). Soon you will find you can do several more Push Ups that before.
But, in doing an one armed Push Up you are also using more heavily the muscles in the single supporting arm. So if you can’t do the kneeling one Zuzana has in this workout try the leaning wall one armed Push Up. I do these at about a 45 degree angle from a counter top in the kitchen, but you can start out at a less challenging angle.
Hope this helps,
–Chris
Thanks Zuzana a lot. :)
I didn`t gave up, but yesterday I had rest than, I needed it!
And today, first thing in the morning I did this workout and yes,
I do this one arm push-ups just the way I can (before I even read your answer to me). That means for me – about 2/3 of full extended arm – hight from the ground.
It was good! And I can`t believe it, but I need for these workout also 26 minutes :))).
Maltese sit ups are very difficult, but great! Lots of blood circled through the whole body and also my head :).
Best wishes,
Tina
Hi Zuzana,
I completed this workout. I’m pretty sure it took me roughly 25 minutes however I use my cell phone as my timer & kept getting interrupted by calls! Also, idk if I am not doing the sit-ups correctly or if I just have a bony @ss but I’ve have a wound on my tailbone from performing so many. Today I started using my arms when leaning back to the ground so maybe that will help soften the blow on the way down in the future…
zUzaNa~!
I love this website! zuzana, you have the dream body i want! =)
This is only my 1st week and you’ve gotten my toosh all sore! keke
I’m trying to be lean and toned .. I’m hoping following your workouts will help me reach my goal..
Would it be possible if your videos were more longer? I’d like to see a full round without any editing because its really hard to follow through. And with the video constantly moving, I can’t seem to get my form straight even with the description.. It will be nice to see the camera still and capturing your whole body so we know how the form looks.. I know Im asking a lot but if you can consider my suggestion it will be awesome-ness~!
Thank you so much for helping me reach my goal and don’t stop this website! =)
Those Maltese Sit Ups messed up my knees. Having lots of pain right now on both knees at the ACL area. But, I was really proud of myself that I can do that one arm push up. I’ll be utilizing a firm roll to give my knees therapy and circulate blood flow to those sore spots. Should be good to go tomorrow and do todays workout.
The one leg move really made my hamstrings sore for the last two days.
Good move for me apperently!
By the way, you look really nice in the black and white photos!
Hi there Zuzanna, I’m new teo the site. I find your video’s most intriguing for myself, because I’m a big girl, but I like to extreme things in my work out to push myself, another reason I easily get bored in the gym, so I will most definitely give your workout a try.
THANK FOR THE VIDEO WORKOUTS VERY INSPIRERING, EVEN FOR HEFTY PEOPLE
where did you get the skull hat? its cute!
I just saw your videos on youtube. They look wonderful and they look like they work, by reading some the comments. I would know if you have any excerise videos foe sale.
Thank you
Keith
Hi! I’m a trainer here in Chicago and i wanted to say what an inspiration you are. You look incredible!! We too get into modes where it’s hard to stay motivated and in peak condition when that’s all we do all day for others. It’s so nice to have some actual programs written down to follow and know that it will kick my ass! Just as a suggestion, I wanted to give another option on your one handed pushups. I’m learning to do them as well, and the way i was taught, was to do just the negatives (down part) as slow as you can – all the way to the floor, even if that means falling part of the way (make sure to have a mat and turn your head, so you don’t hit your face! As you get stronger you become more able to control the way down. Then, it’s progression to going up. I do this with my clients for regular pushups. Instead of doing supported knee push ups, they just do the negatives, (don’t push themselves up). There are many women out there who can’t even do one, so great job to all of you out there doing these work outs, you are all rock stars. For those of you who can’t, it’s about the practice. Try doing negatives! With the one handed ones, i would start with 6 each arm and go as slow as possible. I do the same with several exercises to increase strength (pull ups, dips, etc.). Hope this helps.
Heather
Hello everyone! I am a mother of a four year old child.Since having her I am super UNFIT about forty pounds overweight and very weak. I used to be in excellent shape, lift about 1.5 times my weight, bike everywhere and have a lot of endurance.
I have decided to get back in shape two years ago, but haven’t really done anything about it until recently.
I will use the daily workouts on this site (after checking out TONS of other sites decided on this one) as well as regular walking and cutting my calorie intake to a reasonable level. Vitamins, and lots of water also.
Anyone have other tips for retraining my body and mind to be healthy? I really want to be fit like I was four years ago, I was a superwoman!
Hi Zuzanna first I´m a really big fan of your site its amazing
Now to my question it is impossible for me to do this 4 rounds without breaks between the rounds I would like to know are you doing all the 4 rounds without any breaks or with breaks between the rounds when yes how long
Thanks
Elli
Hello Zuzana :), i have been looking at some of your workouts video, and i think you doing a great workout, you realy going in for it very plus in the corner, me like that keep doint it plus you have an beutiful earned body ;) plus an cute face :P keep moving forward! … /Fredrik from Sweden ;)
Hi! It took me 25.08. Ihis workout was quite long but not intense((