No Gym, No Pull-Up Bar, No Nothing, No Problem!

Maybe your travelling, maybe you work odd hours, or maybe your gym is closed due to the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. Sometimes life throws us curveballs and finding a way to do a quick workout can really help usually a great bodyweight workout is the good option.

Bright and early on a Sunday in Australia a crowd gathered in front of David Goggins, the "toughest man alive," waiting to be lead through a 45-minute exercise routine. He told the crowd this in one he does when he's on the road.

Just in case you don't know of David Goggins, let me bring you up to speed. He's what you would might call an "athletic beast" an accomplished endurance athlete, completing over 60 ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons. Setting new course records, and regularly placing in the top five when he competes. He's also a Guinness World Record holder and an incredibly strong man, having once completed 4,030 pull-ups in 17 hours.

You should also know that David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL and is the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including two Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as Enlisted Honor Man) and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training.

So it is safe to say that when it comes to fitness and bodyweight workouts or home workouts he knows what he's talking about. He epitomizes what a SEAL is...fit, fierce, and seemingly immune to pain.

So back to Sunday morning Australia. With great energy David announces the first exercise, "Jumping Jacks," and is quickly taught they are called "Star Jumps" in Australia.

David's coaching and intensity seeks to pass on this group of mere mortals his philosophy of how mindset is everything, even for something as simple as jumping jacks.

"Everybody always asks, 'What kind of workouts do I do?'" says Goggins. "So, I'm going to show some of you all one of the at-home bodyweight workouts I do when I'm on the road. I have no gym. I have no pull-up bar. Nothing like that." 

He shows the crowd that you can get fit at howe. Demonstrating that to perform an at-home bodyweight workout, all you need is a bit of space to spread out. The routing includes sit-ups and elbow planks, so using a mat for your sacrum and elbows is advisable if you're not on a soft ground surface.

The home bodyweight workout Goggins performed that day on video is listed out below. During the workout David used a timer and he was clearing working with a group. The routine listed below is a best effort to identify the times in minutes and approximate number of reps David completed.

• 10:00 – Four-count Jumping Jacks (Goggins ~350)
•   1:00 – Rest
•   9:30 – 10 four-count Jumping Jacks and 10 Push-ups (Goggins ~20 rounds)
•   1:30 – Rest 
•   8:00 – Alternating Forward Lunges (Goggins ~120, left-right=1 rep)
•   2:00 – Rest 
•   4:30 – Unassisted Sit-ups (Goggins ~110)
•   2:00 – Rest
•   1:00 – Elbow Up Downs (Goggins ~25)
•   0:30 – Rest 
•   1:00 – Elbow Up Downs (Goggins ~25)
•   0:30 – Rest 
•   1:30 – Unassisted Sit-ups (Goggins ~30)
•   0:10 – Rest 
•   1:30 – 10 four-count Jumping Jacks and 10 Push-ups (Goggins 3 rounds)

So if you are looking for a role model, perform each of the exercise for the prescribed time period or reps. But it probably goes with out saying, don't expect to do what the "toughest man alive" can do!  Similar to the 5BX  program used by the Royal Canadian Air Force. "The idea," Goggins explains, "is [to] do what you can, take limited rest, and get back in it again! Form is everything! Don't half-ass your form!"

An at home bodyweight workout from the "toughest man alive"

Though Goggins might not agree with this, you should consider easing into this exercise routine. Start by reducing everything by 70% and challenge yourself to do more every day and build up to Goggins' levels (while still using proper form for every rep, of course). For example, instead of 10 minutes of Jumping Jacks, start at 3 minutes and build up to 10 minutes.