You weren’t planning on spending your beach holiday just lazing around, were you?
Most guys hit the gym in the weeks leading up to a beach holiday, only to abandon their exercise routine the minute their feet touch the sand. The smart man, however, will find time for a quick training session in the sun. These high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, workouts will turn you into the king of the sandcastle – and best of all, they take just ten minutes to complete.
Turbo fat torcher
This fat-burning workout, inspired by the US strength and conditioning coach JC Santana, lasts just a couple of minutes but forces your body to burn extra calories long after you’ve finished it. Do the exercises in order without stopping. Complete one round at first and build up to doing three rounds, resting for two minutes between rounds.
Unweighted Lunge (reps 12 each side): Take a stride forwards and bend both knees until they are at 90°, then push back up.
Unweighted Squat (reps 24): Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Jump Lunge (reps 6 each side): Lunge, then jump up. Swap your legs in mid-air and land softly to perform the next rep.
Jump Squat (reps 12): Squat, then jump up. Land softly and do the next rep.
Plyo pec builder
This is another Santana-inspired session, this time focusing on the upper body and the pecs and triceps in particular. Do the moves in order and keep going until you fail on the press-ups. If you can’t complete ten reps of each move, lower the rep count to something achievable. Build up to doing three rounds in total.
Plyometric press-up (reps 10): Lower into a press-up, then push up explosively so that your hands leave the floor.
Diamond press-up (reps 10): Place your hands together so your index fingers and thumbs are touching.
Wide press-up (reps 10): Place your hands double shoulder-width apart.
Press-up (reps to failure): Perform as many standard press-ups as you can.
Sand super-sprints
Sprinting on sand is tough, so this workout focuses on maximum effort and minimum distance. The sprints get shorter as you move through the circuit because your ability to go all-out will diminish. Complete five rounds in total, resting for one minute between rounds. To make it harder, lie on the ground before the start of each sprint.
Warm-up (time 5min): Run a 40m course, building up gradually from gentle jogs to reps of 95% effort. 40m sprint (reps 1): Perform an all-out sprint, pumping with your arms with your elbows bent at 90° to drive your legs. Walk back to perform the next sprint. 30m sprint (reps 1) 20m sprint (reps 1) 10m sprint (reps 1)
60-second six-pack
Give your abs a last-minute beach blast with this 60-second circuit. The first move works your upper abs, the second works your lower abs and the final move works your side abs. Do as many reps as possible with good form in the allotted time then move on to the next exercise. Do five circuits, resting for a minute between them.
Crunches (time 20sec): Exhale before you crunch to engage your abs. Leg raise (time 20sec): Lie on your back, then raise your legs as high as you can, keeping them straight. Lower under control.
Knees to elbows (time 20sec): Lie on your back. Bring your left elbow up to your right knee, then bring your right elbow up to your left knee. Continue, repeating that sequence.
Written by Men’s Fitness for Coach and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.