11 Bodyweight Workouts Dads Can Do At Home In 15 Minutes Or Less

Let’s face it.

If you’re a Dad of a child under 3 and don’t have a home set-up, getting to the gym can be tough.

It’s a relative thing, right? We’re not talking ‘Helmand Province’ tough, or ‘serious illness in the family’ tough.

But it’s a worse kind of tough than not getting a flat white before 10am on a Sunday. For me, anyway, although I am a sucker for the coffee.

I’m a fairly disciplined exerciser. I know only too well the ramifications of not getting my ‘move’ on – I’m a crabby SOB at best. At worst, I’m freakin Franken-Chucky-Damien – one angry and unpredictable MoFo.

Let me get my workout in, however, and all is forgiven – I’m Lassie, Black Beauty, The Littlest Hobo and Bilbo Baggins all rolled into one. Now, there’s a thought.

That’s where the home bodyweight workout comes in. The clues are in the description. You do it at home. You only need your bodyweight to workout with.

Exercise facilitates a simple release of endorphins, a sexy little chemical that interacts with sensors in your brain to lessen the perception of pain. They also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. And sex.

So to save you the hassle of looking up various workouts from various sources, and assuming you don’t have a complicit partner immediately to hand, here are 11 of my favourite bodyweight workouts that can be done at home during nap-time, or whilst the missus is bathing the kid, or everyone is wiped out from sheer exhaustion and you have 15 minutes before you keel over, too.

1. 10 Squats, 10 Push-ups EMOM For 10 Minutes

100 squats and 100 push-ups in 10 minutes.

EMOM stands for: every minute on the minute. Rest whatever time you’re not exercising.

2. 100 Push-ups, 100 Squats, 100 Sit-ups, 100 Lunges

Break ‘em up however you want. Just do all the reps and time yourself

3. The Big 55

A descending ladder from 10-1 of burpees, sit-ups, squats, push-ups.

So 10 reps of each exercise, then 9, then 8 and so on.

Jason Statham’s trainer has him do a variation of this. Enough said.

Jason Statham

4. Tabata Squats & Push-Ups

20 seconds of squats, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds push-ups, 10 seconds rest x 4

Total = 4 minutes work

Do 2 of these for a total of 8 minutes work.

5. 50 Burpees for Time

Do this once a month and record your progress. 3 minutes & 7 seconds is my best ever.

6. 4 Minute Push-Up Challenge

Feet together, chest to ground for a rep to count. Aim for 60+ (but don’t be fooled, these are perfect reps).

Repeat: chest to ground for the rep to count. IF THE CHEST DOESN’T TOUCH THE GROUND THE REP DOESN’T COUNT.

This isn’t me being a See You Next Tuesday.

It’s about enforcing proper form so that we don’t program bad habits that then become habitual.

If your reps are low to start with, that’s fine. Build up from there. But with PERFECT form.

7. Push-Up Matrix

10 push-ups

10 T-push-ups

10 hand-release push-ups

Rest 1 minute

X 3 rounds for a total of 90 push-ups

8. Squats For Days

5 bodyweight squats

5 second squat-holds

10 bodyweight squats

10 second squat-holds

15 bodyweight squats

15 second squat-holds

20 bodyweight squats

20 second squat-holds

25 bodyweight squats

25 second squat-holds

30 bodyweight squats

30 second squat-holds

This will burn your thighs and make you scream for your Mummy. But afterwards you’ll thank me. Perhaps.

9. 40 Seconds Work / 20 Seconds Rest

Of the following:

Jumping Jacks
Jogging on the spot
Squats
Deadlifts (like a barbell deadlift but with no bar – hinge from the hips, ass back, touch the ground)
Mountain Climbers
Push-ups
Plank
Prisoner Squats (hands behind the head, wide stance)
Shoulder Taps (push-up plank position, touch alternate shoulders)
Sit-ups
Jumping Squats

For 11 minutes total work