20-min Tabata-Style Home Workout (no equipment)

Be super efficient with this 20-min bodyweight circuit you can do in the comfort of your living room.

By Jon-Erik Kawamoto, MSc, CSCS, CEP

This workout is surprisingly challenging for only being 20-minutes. I was sweating and panting by the end!

The St. John’s Board of Trade hired me to host a ZOOM workout this morning. It was very successful and I even was sweating and panting at the end!

I promised to share the workout on our blog, so here we go.

You might be wondering what a “Tabata” is? Tabata is common slang in the fitness industry these days to describe a workout method that involves 20-seconds work and 10-seconds rest. It’s actually the last name of a researcher from Japan. His full name was Izumi Tabata and he led a famous study that looked at cyclists performing supramaximal sprints on a stationary bike. I don’t need to get too deep into his research here, but I will send you to an article I wrote for Bodybuilding.com called The Real Tabata: A Brutal Circuit from the Protocol’s Inventor if you want to read more.

The full workout protocol is 20-sec hard, 10-sec easy for 8 rounds which equals 4 minutes.

In today’s Zoom workout, we did 20-minutes worth, so 5 rounds of 4 minutes. No rest was taken between sets.

Screenshot from my St. John’s Board of Trade ZOOM home workout from Monday, April 6th

To do the workout, do each exercise listed below for 20-seconds. Do as many reps as possible without breaking form. Take 10-seconds to maneuver to the next exercise. Going through each exercise once is equal to one round, and 4-minutes.

Round 1 Exercises (minutes 0 – 4)

Bridge March Demo

Bodyweight Squat (20-sec)
Pushup Plank (20-sec)
Split Squat right leg in front (20-sec)
Split Squat left leg in front (20-sec)
Leg-V Sit Up (20-sec)
Glute Bridge March (20-sec)
Side Plank Clamshell right (20-sec)
Side Plank Clamshell left (20-sec)

Rounds 2 & 3 Exercises (minutes 5 – 12)

2 Cues to Fix Your Front Plank

Isometric Squat
Push Up Plank Shoulder Tap
Isometric Split Squat right foot front
Isometric Split Squat left foot front
Accordion Sit Up
Isometric Glute Bridge
Side Plank Knee In/Out right
Side Plank Knee In/Out left

Rounds 4 & 5 Exercises (minutes 13 – 20)

Push Up Demo

Squat Jump
Push Up
Split Squat Jump right
Split Squat Jump left
Leg V-Sit Up
Glute Bridge March
Side Plank Lifts right
Side Plank Lifts left

Squat Jump Demo

You might be surprised how much work you can get done in only 20-minutes with no weights. Enjoy!

home workout — Jon-Erik Kawamoto, MSc, CSCS, CSEP is a Strength and Conditioning Coach, Co-owner and Founder of JKConditioning. With 15 years in the industry and over 10 years as a freelance fitness writer, Jon has helped many change their lives through fitness. To inquire about coaching, workshops, presentations or writing, you can contact him through our Contact Us page. (photo credit: Jim Mullowney Photography)

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Keir McIsaac

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I recently turned 40, and I have been training at JKC since the summer of 2020. My partner Michael had already been training at JKC, so it came highly recommended. We had set up a home gym at the start of the pandemic, but needed to mix it up after the first lockdown. JKC differs from other gyms because of the personalized workouts. Jon, Thomas and Craig are great at challenging me to do more than I would on my own.

David Squires

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

Not having much if any experience with professional gyms I though it would be along the lines of going to a facility and doing your own thing, getting some instructions from time to time, if you asked for it, and for most part working out on your own, in a large impersonalized setting. I was a bit apprehensive as I figured I’d be standing around a lot looking at all this equipment wondering what to do with it, or worst doing something to hurt myself. Well I couldn’t have been more wrong. Both Jon and Thomas are very attentive, professional trainers, who lay-out an exercise program, from start to finish, for you. They demonstrate the exercise they want you to do and then watch you do it to make sure you got it right. Jon and Thomas are very thorough, patience and non-assuming.

Ros Emberley

I am turning 67 next month and I started my journey with JKC in 2018. Seven years ago I experienced significant foot pain which had a negative impact on my day to day activities. I learned that issues in other parts of the body need to be addressed to achieve a positive result. My doctor (Dr. Jessica Wade) suggested, along with some other therapies, that I could benefit from the conditioning JKC had to offer. I previously had not trained in any gym. I observed how many gyms operated and had a sense that JKC would be more my style: training in a small group setting, having such personal attention, and a program meeting my specific needs is fantastic! I love the atmosphere at the gym. Everyone is accepted and you feel supported and comfortable.

Ali Pike

I started training at JKC in 2016 because I’ve always had upper back issues that became aggravated through work. I sought out other training and physio, but experienced little to no results. A client of mine happened to be coming to JKC for a similar issue and highly recommended it. I have had great success and haven’t looked back! I always feel like I’m getting programs tailored to my needs and I’m never bored. I’m 30 weeks pregnant now with my second child and have been able to workout through both pregnancies here at JKC. Even on my least mobile days, I felt safe to workout because my programs were specifically modified for my needs.

Norbert Lake

My original reason for joining JKC was to get some sage advice to help with my running. I had been looking for awhile, came across Jon, met for an assessment, and was quite happy with how that all went. Apart from the running specific strengthening and conditioning approaches, JKC is different from other gyms as I am a fan of the small group sessions where everyone has their own goals and individualized programs. As well, the run coaching is super. All the coaches go the extra mile to make sure you get the best out each training session. They are fantastic motivators! My favourite memory is deadlifting 330lbs. Making a lot of great friends and meeting some really cool people is pretty high up on that list, too.

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