CrossFit competitor Christmas Abbott [1], author of The Baddass Body Diet [2] and ambassador for Second Skin Gear [3], has a new six-week fitness program known as BBX Boost [4]. It's a full-body workout challenge that focuses on toning your booty, flattening your stomach, and leaning out your legs.
Since Christmas knows a thing or two about how to get lean and toned [5], we asked her to share her three favorite, effective go-to exercises for building muscle and burning calories.
Christmas says these three moves "are effective for the entire body and can honestly be done anywhere. Whether you're at the gym, in a hotel room, or in your living room, you can break a serious sweat, burn calories, and build lean muscle [6]." Incorporate these intense, advanced moves into your next workout and see how quickly you'll get stronger [7] and more ripped.
Sexy Back Push-Up
Push-ups [8] already work the upper body and core, but this variation will target the upper back even more.
- Begin in a Down Dog position on the hands and feet.
- Bend the elbows out wide and lower the forehead toward the floor.
- Scoop the chest forward and push up into a plank position.
- Press back to Down Dog.
Banded Squat
Doing squats [9] with a band effectively adds resistance without needing to lift heavy weights [10].
- Stand with the legs wider than hip-distance apart, toes pointing out.
- Place a resistance band under your feet and around the back of your neck.
- Bend the knees out wide and lower into a deep squat, keeping your weight in the heels.
- Use the glutes and hamstrings to stand up.
Surfer Squat Burpee
Burpees [11] are one of the best bodyweight exercises [12] you can do to burn calories and tone the entire body. This variation really works the butt and legs.
- Begin standing and lower into a squat. Explosively stand up as you turn 180 degrees.
- Do a deep squat then place your hands on the floor. Jump your feet back into a plank position.
- Do one basic push-up, bending the elbows and then straightening back to plank.
- Jump the feet forward to the hands and lower into a squat.