[Workout Wednesday] The Commercial Break Workout

Rose S. | February 1, 2017 | Fast & Fun Fitness

Here’s how to get a great workout during the commercial breaks of your favorite TV show!

The Superbowl is just around the corner, and oddly enough, statistics say that more food is consumed on Superbowl Sunday than any other day of the year – including Thanksgiving! The good news is, you can burn off some of those extra calories before the game is even over.

Whether you’re watching the Superbowl or your favorite TV show, take advantage of the commercial breaks to do some of these moves. They’re designed specifically for the living room, so you won’t need any equipment other than your living room furniture, and you can even watch some of the commercials while doing some of these exercises.

The 3 exercises below will work your buns, legs, abs and core, arms, and shoulders. For more exercises you can do during commercial breaks – plus demos of all the exercises, visit Thrive Market’s blog.

1.) Squat tap-backs

Warm up with this full-body move. Stand about a foot and a half away from your couch, facing the TV (so you can still catch the ads!). Keeping your posture upright, bend your knees and send your hips back, as if you were going to sit. As soon as your butt lightly taps the couch, return to standing, drawing your belly button in and squeezing your glutes as you straighten the legs. Do 30 reps.

2.) Couch burpees

Stand facing the couch. Bring your hands to the seat cushions in a pushup position. Jump back into a plank, activating your core. Do one pushup—or hold your plank if you want more of an ab workout—and then jump feet forward to come back up to standing. Repeat 20 times.

3.) Spiderman push-ups

These. Are. The. Best. If you only do one exercise, pick this one. With the balls of your feet pressing into the top of the seat of the couch, walk yourself out to a plank position with your hands beneath your shoulders and your abs contracted (no saggy butts, please). Complete a pushup, lowering all the way down to two inches above the ground and then pressing back into your plank. Make this harder by adding the lower body, which activates your obliques even more. When lowering down, bring the right knee up to the outside of your right elbow. Repeat this on the left side. That’s one rep; complete 10 reps to get those abs working.