This Super-Efficient 20-Minute Plyo Workout Is Perfect for When You're Stuck Indoors

All it takes is 10 minutes to get your heart pumping and your muscles flexing.
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Just because you're staying "safe at home" doesn't mean your workouts have to become easy (or worse — non-existent!). If you find yourself staring at the same four walls with kids that need constant supervision or a case of 'blahs' you can't shake, there's always this 20-minute workout.

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Check out more of our 20-minute workouts here — we’ve got something for everyone.

Personal trainer and fitness expert Ashley Borden crafted the following indoor workout to deliver the biggest fitness bang for your buck. You'll do the warm-up three times through, then alternate between the two plyometric exercises for 45 seconds each with 15 seconds of rest in between. Continue that two-move circuit for 10 minutes. Then, you'll finish up with the cooldown.

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But don't let the brevity of the workout fool you. "You need to work at full blast and put 100 percent of all you've got during your 45 seconds of work for it to be effective," Borden says.

Warm-Up

Move 1: Cat/Cow Stretch

These two yoga poses, when combined, will warm up your entire core.
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  1. To open up the muscles in your lower back, get down on your hands and knees, wrists in line with your shoulders and knees directly underneath your hips.
  2. Inhale as you lift the crown of your head and tailbone toward the ceiling and push your heart ahead of you.
  3. Hold for a few seconds.
  4. Release while exhaling, slowly moving the crown of your head toward the floor while lowering your hips toward the floor in tandem, rounding your shoulder blades up toward the ceiling.
  5. Reverse positions and repeat five times.

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Move 2: Downward Dog Pedal Stretch

This variation of Downward Dog is a full-body stretch.
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  1. Assume the Downward Dog position by placing your feet shoulder-width apart and bending at the waist to place your hands in line with your feet on the floor, forming your body into an upside-down V.
  2. Raise your heels off the ground and bend one knee in at a 90-degree angle toward the floor.
  3. Resume the V position to rest a beat.
  4. Repeat with the other leg.
  5. Repeat on both sides twice more. This helps release tension in the calves and hamstrings.

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Move 3: High-Lunge Core Rotation

Open up your chest with this yoga-inspired stretch.
Image Credit: Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com
  1. Stand with your feet together.
  2. Step your left foot back into a deep lunge until your right knee is at a 90-degree angle. Support your back leg with the ball of your foot.
  3. Lengthen your torso and bend forward so that it's on the inside of your front thigh. Support yourself with the tips of your fingers on the floor.
  4. Reach your elbow down to the floor to deepen the stretch in your hips.
  5. Twist your torso to the left, raising your left arm up toward the sky while keeping your right arm down.
  6. Switch sides so that your left leg is in front.
  7. Repeat four more times on each side.

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Main Workout

Move 1: Burpees

Burpees are tough, but they work every single muscle group in your body.
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  1. Begin in a squat with your weight on your heels.
  2. Place your hands on the ground shoulder-width apart.
  3. Step or jump your legs straight back into a plank. This activates your abs, shoulders and triceps.
  4. Frog-jump your legs forward.
  5. Spring straight up toward the ceiling, landing in a squat. This works your core, thigh and calf muscles.

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Tip

To give your chest muscles an added burn, lower your chest all the way to the floor before pushing up into the squat position.

Move 2: Squat Jumps With 180-Degree Rotations

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Alternate which way you're turning with each jump.
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  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Bend your knees and sit back as you swing your arms back for momentum.
  3. Swing your arms overhead as you jump as high as you can into the air, turning over your right shoulder.
  4. Twist your body around, making a 180-degree turn in midair so you land facing the opposite wall.
  5. Reverse directions.
  6. Once you are back facing the same direction, turn over your other shoulder.

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Cooldown

Move 1: Glute Bridge

When done slowly, glute bridge stretches out the back of your body.
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  1. Lie flat on your back on the floor with your arms by your sides and your knees bent.
  2. Pressing through your feet, begin to lift your back off the floor, one vertebrae at a time.
  3. When you reach the top, hold for a beat.
  4. Slowly lower back down to the start the same way, rolling your spine out along the floor.
  5. Borden says five of these in a row is an excellent way to start cooling down.

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Move 2: Pigeon Pose

There's no better way to stretch out your hips that with Pigeon pose.
Image Credit: Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com
  1. From all fours, extend your legs out behind you into plank.
  2. Bend your right knee in toward your chest and place it on the ground near your right hand with your foot pointing toward your left side.
  3. Lean forward on your elbows until your chest is above your right leg. This gives your hip a deep stretch, says Borden, who recommends holding the stretch for one minute.
  4. Slowly slide out of the stretch and repeat on the other side.

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