Hi everyone,
So Christmas is over for another year – that’s what my dear friend and father in-law says every year on the 25th December right after lunch. It’s kind of sad, but hey – there are so many new things that we can look forward to in 2010. I enjoyed the holidays very much, but I am glad to be back again.
Since we are doing bodyweight exercises that don’t require equipment, we decided to take our workout outside and give you a glimpse of what this beautiful island looks like. Today we went to Xlendi Bay, which is were we first stayed when we moved to Malta back in October. I had my coffee in a Thermos, and Frederick had his book, and we relaxed for a bit when we got there. There was nobody around except one weirdo who is constantly pestering tourists. It’s not the first time that we’ve met him and it’s never easy to get rid of him. When you see this type of person, you try not to make eye contact and if you see that he has noticed you it’s better just to leave immediately. So we were sitting there and Frederick says: ”Don’t look now, but there is the weirdo again.” So I didn’t and prayed that he would leave. I swear that if he wouldn’t have left, I wouldn’t want to have my workout there. Luckily he left and we were able to do the workout and shoot the video without any distractions.
Sometimes the weather here is unpredictable and what starts out as a beautiful sunny day can be spoiled by sudden rain. That’s exactly what happen today. As I started the last round of the workout, we heard thunder over the sea and the sky turned gray. Frederick started to pack his equipment while I was still finishing my fourth round. I think that the fear of getting soaked by rain actually helped me to finish this workout faster. I completed the 4 rounds in 17 minutes and 20 seconds which means that I beat my personal record by 1 minute and 32 seconds. As usual, I am using my Gymboss Interval Timer to keep track of my time.
Due to the weather conditions, we couldn’t make new pictures, so I posted the photos from November 2nd – the first time I did this workout. You can check out my first attempt here.
There are 4 rounds of the following exercises that flow from one into another and you shouldn’t take any rests until you complete a full round.
1. Low Jumping Jacks
Stand with your feet hip width apart, put your hands on the back of your head and bend your knees. Stay low while doing the Jumping Jacks. Every time you land on the ground with your feet apart counts as one rep. There are 20 reps total.
2. Pike Press
Stand with your feet wide apart and place your hands on the ground in front of you. Your legs, back and arms should be straight. Bend your elbows and bring your head towards the ground. Push back up to the starting position. This counts as one rep. Do 6 reps and move on directly to the next exercise.
3. Mountain Climber
There are 30 reps total. Every time you switch the legs counts as one rep. Keep your arms straight and your abs tight throughout the exercise.
4. Tricep Leg Lifts
Start from the plank position and then bend your elbows keeping them close to your body. Bring your chest as close to the ground as possible. Lift one leg up squeezing your gluts and with a controlled movement bring it down again. Switch the legs. Each leg lift counts as one rep. Complete 10 reps total.
5. Superman
Lay on your belly and lift your legs and arms just an inch off of the floor. Keep you whole body tight. Start lifting one arm and the opposite legs simultaneously and switch the sides for each rep. Do 10 reps and then roll over on your back keeping your arms and legs in the air.
6. Toe Touches
Lift your legs up towards the sky with your feet flexed. Engaged your abs and lift your upper back off of the mat to touch your toes. Every time you touch your toes counts as one rep. Complete 20 reps and move on to the Leg Lifts.
7. Laying Leg Lifts – 10 reps
The most important thing for this exercise is to keep your lower back pressed into your mat at all times. Squeezing your abs and glutes will help you to keep proper form. If you find that it’s hard to keep your lower back pressed into the mat, then don’t lower your legs too far towards the ground. You can also choose an easier variation for this exercise – the laying knee tucks.
After the Leg Lifts, reverse the order of the sequence and move directly to Toe Touches and then move your way exercise by exercise to the Low Jacks. This counts and 1 round. You can take just a short break after each round. Complete 4 rounds and don’t forget to write down your time.
Enjoy your workout,
Zuzana.
Your workout clips are awesome Zuzana! I love the background and filming as well…very inspiring.
Sometimes I incorporate some of the exercises in my next workout, and occasionally I’ll use one in the bootcamp I teach. You’re very creative with your exercises. Sometimes I think I’ve seen it all, and then you come up with a new one. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Zuzana!
Could you please help me becoming more muscled just as you are?
Could you advise me some exercises to start with, and a diet? I am 1m73 tall and I weigh 63 kilos! I’d like to cut that down to 57 kilos! But I don’t know how to start! First of all, can I become a member to your site? Kisses
Hi Karolien,
Start by jumping right in and following our daily workouts – or if you are a complete beginner you can try our beginners workout routine in the workout archives section. The important thing is just to decide to get moving and make a start – give it your all and do the best you can. You will get better, stronger and fitter as long as you just keep going each day. Read through our diet section for our approach to eating and food and you will be on your way. Welcome to our community :)
Hi, I just wanted to answer you because I was surprised how fast I managed to loose weight with Zuzanas workouts and healthy food.
So, my experience was – 5 Kilos in 2,5 Months with training 5 times a week.
Just start enjoying the workouts which you like the most and keep the log. In a couple of days you get hooked up :))
Keep my fingers crossed for you!
Hi Zuzana,
I rate this workout 5/5. The intensity is a kick in the ass when rolling from one to the next. The first time in Nov I got 21:15 & today my time is 20:59 so I beat by 16 seconds. <3 Laura
Hi,
I did this one yesterday for the third time – my best was 19:44. It’s a great workout, I would rate it 4/5.
I thought the toe touches were quite hard even if usually abs aren’t a problem for me. maybe it’s because they are one after another. Today my abs are sore which I actually like very much :))
Keep it up, I got totally hooked on your workouts! I love planning in the evening which workout I’m doing tomorrow and totally looking forward to it.
And results are of cours there…
Love,
Barbara
hi zuzana i am 13 and i way 140 i would like to know how i could lose weight cause i want to look really nice for when i get into highschool can you please help me. i am sorry i cant write my name because i am too embarrassed.
your videos are the best i love to follow them.
Hi
I have a question…i have been going to the gym for a year now…I would say that I am in good shape…but I am trying to gain a few kilos…for a month I have been doing your workouts at home,so I quit the gym…I was wondering if you can tell me some tricks how can I gain like 5 kilos…I am 1.65m and 44 kilos…thanks a lot!
kisses
Hi Ana,
if you want to gain more lean body mass, then you have to eat often and more. Eat real food like meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grain bread, etc.
hello again…thanks a lot for the advice…
kisses
Hey Zuzana,
I’ve been following your routines for sometime, never tried one until today, I’m 53yrs, 6′, 225lbs, about 25%Fat. Just did the Fitness Ball Buster Workout, logged everything in a book with HR monitor, Time 45min, Calories burned 625, avg-HR 120, Max-HR 150. Unbelievable workout, very hard in the beginning and I noticed as I was getting stronger sets towards the last 2 rounds,it took more time to recover in between each set. Maybe I should start at the beginner? But I’m here now and I need to get back in shape. Thank you for the inspiration!
Mark
New Orleans, La
Hi Mark,
We were just reading through the comments and noticed you mentioned that this was your first workout :) It’s always nice when someone starts working out with us :) Glad to have you along!
F&Z
what’s a HR monitor, and how did u find out how many calories u burned??
To D,
I’m not Mark sorry, but can tell you that HR monitor is a Heart Rate monitor which you can get as a chest strap or wrist watch (maybe others I don’t know about too). You can set in your height, weight etc to get an approximate calculation of how many calories you burn. Hope this helps.
yes it really does.thanks a bunch!!
Hi,
how do you count the rounds? Are you always doing each exercise twice except number 7 in each round? Does this mean that I have to do excercise 1 to finish one round and redo it for beginning the next round or just one time?
Thanks
Hi Z&F,
I repeated this one today and beat my old record, todays was 16:28, last time was 17:01… yay! :)
Ruth
Hi Zuzana,
I did this workout again today and finished with 18:26
That’s 21 seconds worse than first time I did it! :~(
The tricep leg lifts slowed me down this time.
Better luck next time I guess.
Audra
Finished this workout earlier this evening in 29 minutes. I admit that I took some small breaks in between some of the exercises but I am still a bit disappointed! Everyone on this site must be in a really good shape :)
Anyways, thanks for the workout!
Don’t worry. I had also just 23 minutes and 21 seconds. After 17 minutes and 3 rounds I needed to pause for 2 minutes because I thought I was going to faint. You know, it’s just my second week after starting workout each day and I’m in no good shape. I used to weight 10 kg less, so my aim is to get a closest to that till summer. In the last round I pushed really hard and gave everything so I finished it quicker than the other rounds. Now I feel pretty exhausted but I’m also proud I did it – and the next time I’ll be better, for sure! This time I also needed to do less difficult exercises, for example I didn’t let my legs touch the ground when doing the laying leg lifts.
@ Zuzana, I think I start the 30 day challenge as well. I usually eat rather healthy and I allow myself to eat chocolate with 70% cacao or more. But I need to lose weight sooner, I don’t feel well in my body anymore. My trick for cravings: Don’t keep sweets at home – if you need to buy something first if you have cravings, you consider twice if you really need it now. Or tell yourself: Later. Not now. Think of things to do instead of eating, if you’re lucky the cravings go away then. ;)
I laura im a man lifting a lot of weight in the gym,and zuzana workt out are killing me usually im 10 minutes slower then her,so dont give up youre time is good,probably alot of world class athlete or liar’s here youre guess lol :)
Love your workouts, they are very helpful, thanks so much! :)
Hey Zuzana, I am doing well with the challenge so far. I have a lot of cravings because sugar is my biggest enemy as far as being healthy goes. I eat something everyday usually like cake or cookies or cinnamon roll or chocolate. I also put 1oz. of sugar in my coffee per 8oz. cup. So, it has really been a challenge not to have the sugar and thanks again for asking cause it helps me want to keep at it so I don’t have to say I quit. For my cravings I have eaten some peanuts and raisins, which is so good. I bought sunflowers seeds and peaches.
Hi Zuzana,
what exercise would you suggest to tone legs? i have trouble with my thighs, mostly outer, there is this one little piece of fat that just wont go away!
Hi Jennifer, I hope you do not mind my reply I am not Zuzana. I have been doing many of Zuzana’s workouts and my legs are still getting there but WHAT a BIG difference. I have gained good muscle and the fat is really disappearing. Almost any of the workouts that she give example of always do a killer job on my thighs and I am glad because it is one of my concern areas. But if you need more help with a specific part of the leg than be more specific and I am sure Zuzana can suggest some exercises.
I don’t know what exactly Zuzana would recommend but I’d do squats, squats, and more squats, they’re great for toning your legs and there are so many different kinds in Zuzana’s workouts!
I have also found that eating a few raisins does the job (they are MUCH sweeter than I thought!). I have not tried the challenge yet, but it definitely looks like a 5 star workout that will kick my butt! I tend to get bored easily so I enjoy circuits like these. Thank you for sharing!!!
Is exercise 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 one round? Or is that 2 rounds?
Sorry, still a beginner and i want to make sure I do the right amount of rounds. Otherwise, great workout!!!
Hey Zuzanna, what’s the fastest way I can eliminate fat off of my body? My main problems area is my lower body but I would like to get rid of some fat from my arms and abs. I would just like to know what workouts I should do and how much. And also what should I be eating and when? Thanks :)
Did you guys change how you embed the videos or is this just an older video? I try to load the videos in a different room that gets a better internet connection and then just replay it in the room I workout in but the video I tried this morning didn’t let me load it ahead of time and this one isn’t either. Just curious.
Love your site and your workouts! I’ve also had a huge success and my story is a very unique one. What you guys do is truly great and you should be very proud of yourselves! :)
Hi! I have a question…after completeing the 7 exercises do I count that as 1 round or do I have to then reverse the order of the 7 and then count that as 1 round? I plan on doing this workout tomorrow =) Also is it ok if it takes me longer to do this since I am just beginning or do I have to keep it under a certain time limit? Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Zuzana,
I was wondering if you can suggest the easiest way to remember all these moves and names of the “sets” I have to watch your videos twice, 3 times, write it detailed on the piece of paper and then work out… i was wondering how other people do it? Also, do you keep a notebook with all your workout names? It just i consider myself very organized and i am not sure how to efficiently keep my results. Maybe it is a silly questions, but it’s been on my mind for a while…..
Thanks sooo much!!!!
Oh my gosh Im sorry Zuzana but I have one more question! While I was taking note on how to do this workout I noticed for example that you say to do 30 reps of the mountain climber, does that mean I do all 30 at once or do I do 15 going in order and then 15 more in reverse order so that round equaled having 30 mountain climber reps. Sorry if that sounds confusing im just wanting to make sure I do it right! =)
First time on your site and just did this ball buster workout (21 minutes…some work to go to catch up to your 17!) Brilliant way to get some strength in without equipment – I hate gyms and am doing laods of endurance training for triathlon at the moment so this is perfect. Thank you!
23 min and 7 seconds. not really happy with this time but i am to improve. im going to start logging my workouts too so i can see myself improve. thanks as always!!
every day when I finish my loooong 12hrs work day I am sooooo looking forward going to the gym and do one of your work-outs that I have been thinking about all day ( I have boring job ). So Im not only doing them but even thinking about them=thats show what an impact your site have on me ( Im no freak though:) It really spiced up my gym routine and I have fun once again by working out!
Thank you so much guys!!!!!!!!!
ugh not fair i completed this workout in 24 16.
the tricep leg lifts were really tough specially just
going down to chaturanga position and then lifting
a leg at a time.
I just found this website and I am glad that I did. This website is a great inspiration for me to workout and to make myself a better person. Thank you.
Dear Zuzana,
you are absolutely correct regarding early workout but if the person is living in an apartment and can not jump too much and do workouts then she has to drive to gym which will take 10 miutes to get there and by the time that she is there the aerobic salon is full with people and there is nowere to workout and she has to wait till night to go back to gym and start the workout by then the person is dead but still doing the workout.
Love Chrisitine.
I been following your workouts and I am starting to see results! yay! My goal is to have some ab visibility, like yours!
30 day month challenge sweeet! Pastries are my weakness.. well food is my weakness.
I remember my friend told my b/f that to get to my heart just make me food. Ha! that’s why I am trying to become a Registered dietitian so that I don’t eat unhealthy foods. So far I have been getting cravings for this certain mexican pastry, and my family has been buying cakes and yummy breads! Yay just my luck! But I’m still sticking it through… i wonder if they are doing this on purpose.
zuzana, you are such an inspiration. i’ve been sticking to my workouts due to u! thanksss!
Loved the workout, you are an inspiration! Fantastic body and love your muscle tone :-)
Keep up the great work!
I’ll be trying this workout with my personal training clients, they will love it
Regards,
Kat
[...] Today I did one of my older workout routines that you can check out here. [...]
[...] a try and let me know how was it?Today I did one of my older workout routines that you can check out here. I am using my cool Gymboss Interval Timer as always.Enjoy,ZuzanaMost recent posts Fashion Haul – [...]
Hello!!
Very very good job on the workout and the website, it’s very cool to check it out everytime im bored, I used to work somewhere where I had to ride my bike everyday, now I’m studying and with this kind of weather I havn’t ridden my bike for a year now so I joined the gym and got very very bored. Then I started bringing exercise into my daily life as I live in the countryside where to get to myhouse I have to walk uphills and run in the woods etc play football with my dogs as well lol I also loved doing lunges and squats and situp tried to do 50 of each a day atleast. My legs are muscly but I think there is a layer of fat on my legs and my bum which I dont like but my bf loves!!! How can I get rid of that without losing weight ??? I’m studying dietetics so I really appreciated your articles which are very scientifically correct ( noticed you use some journals), some website give very poor advice that makes young girls try silly things.
Ok this is long enough, I’m a newbie btw, kind of jalouse that you get to work out in the sun:) but as soon as I’m finished uni i will treat myself to a beach holiday and do yoga on t h ebeach ahhhh oh one mroe thing Ive just finished doing this workout first thing in the morning :D
See you soon bye x
I did one round of this one. and couldn’t move to the second one.. I was sooo tired.. I totally don’t have any endurance.. its not that i’m overweight I weight 120lbs.. but i have no endurance, or muscle..LOL.. the mountain climber did me in.. I pushed hard to get the one round done.. I will definitely work on this 2x a week in between all the other ones you have posted.. as I feel it working.. my muscles are burning.. abs, legs. not the butt yet..LOL
Hi Zuzana,
I’ve been following your site for a long time and using your workouts to get myself back in shape, since I’m no longer involved in high school sports. I’m 19, 5′5″, 120 lbs. The first time I did this workout it took me longer than it should have because I was making sure that I got all the transitions correct, but I just attempted it again and my time was 14:41. I didn’t take any breaks and pushed incredibly hard. I was nearly dead when I hit the stop button on my Gymboss timer, which is awesome. I love it :) Thank you for these workouts, especially the ones that you feel for days after you complete them. They leave you feeling accomplished, and best of all they bring you closer to your dream body.
Thanks from Texas!
-Rachel
P.S. I LOVED the Fat Assassin Workout. Those Ninja Jump Tucks are brutal… in a good way, of course :)
I stumbled across your website today. I’m 42, 5′5″, 125-130 lbs. The extent of my exercising is to do situps while my coffe is brewing in the morning (*smile*). You make this look so easy. I was only able to do 3 rounds. I learned that I have very little upper body strength and my form left a lot to be desired! Fortunately no one was watching. I couldn’t wait for the Superman, Toe Touches and Leg Lifts! I was feeling a bit under-the-weather this morning, but this really made me feel better. Not sure if I should stick to mastering this one or if I should start with the beginner stuff. Is it ok to do the same exercise each day and get better at it or should I switch it up? Oh…everyone on this site seems really nice. Thanks for sharing.
Zuzana,
Ive been visiting your site for a few days and finally worked up the guts to try one and it was amazing!! (My time was 19 min 46) Im addicted. I commend you for being the absolute best that you can and for being such an inspiration for all of us.
I have to ask, what model of nike shox are you wearing? and if you could make a video or article of your workout clothing? I know many people are motivated to workout when they have cute stuff, myself included.
Thank you!