These days, a home workout is as challenging to my creativity as it is to my muscles. No light dumbbells? I'm bicep curling cans of chickpeas. No heavy dumbbells? Hip thrusting a full-gallon water bottle. No yoga blocks? Propping myself up on the chunkiest fantasy novels I have.
Cassey Ho of Blogilates is on the same page with her new at-home Pilates workout, which uses nothing but a sofa to work your whole body. I pushed my coffee table out of the way one morning and gave it a try, curious how effective it could be with so little equipment and time.
There's no formal warmup, but the first exercise was a squat to chair sit, which helped me loosen up and get moving. After that, from tricep dips, to elevated split squats, to the truly core-shaking "couch taps," it was all sweat and shaking in my muscles. The couch climbs were especially hard on my shoulders, and the couch arm balance was a tough core finisher. If you have limited time, space, and equipment (welcome to the club), this workout is a good way to work up a quick sweat. Check out all the moves you'll be doing ahead, and watch Ho demo them all in the video above!
Directions: For each of the following moves, do as many reps as you can for one minute. Rest for 10 seconds between exercises.
Equipment needed: A couch or sturdy chair and a throw pillow