Better Together: 9 Partner Workouts For Any Isolation Situation!

Apr 08, 2020by Peter Spina

Days are blending into each other, and it can be hard to find a rhythm or routine. Which is why we STRONGLY recommend creating a time for working out! It can also be super beneficial to get the other people in your isolation bubble in on it, too!

In isolation by yourself? Hop on the Zoom/Facetime/Skype bandwagon and workout together virtually with your regular gym buddy!

Whether you are isolating with your roommate, your partner, or your kids, there are infinite ways you can spend time together and keep moving even when your mobility radius has been restricted to the four walls of your home.

In this blog post, we’ll share:

3 Workouts that require NO EQUIPMENT that you can do with your isolation buddy.
3 workouts you can do with your gym buddy virtually.
AND, 3 ideas for working out with kids with low attention spans that you love - we know that – but that also might be driving you NUTS right now!!

Yes, options for everyone!

Let’s turn off that 10^th concurrent episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Let’s interrupt our kids tantrum with an activity that will allow them to get all their energy out. Tell your friend to put on some different sweats - their workout sweats, not their lounging sweats - and meet you on Facetime in 20 minutes!

We’re in this together. We got this!!

PARTNER WORKOUTS Pt 1: YOU AND YOUR ISOLATION BUDDY

For people who can workout with another adult/don’t have to worry about entertain a child during a workout, here are 3 workouts you can do with a person in the same room and NO equipment!

WORKOUT #1:

FOR TIME:

50 Synchronized Burpees
50 Plank Hand Taps
- (Hold plank facing each other and reach out to touch hands, alternating hands each time. Each TAP is a rep)
50 Synchronized Lunges
50 Sit Up-Passes
- Pass an object back and forth as you alternate sitting up. It could be a pillow or it could be a wall ball. Use what you have!
50 Synchronized Squats

*If an exercise is not synchronized, the rep doesn’t count!

WORKOUT #2:

AMRAP 12 MIN:

10 Deadlift Planks*
20 Hop overs**

*DEADLIFT PLANKS: Partner A Holds the Plank; Partner B stands behind them, grabs their feet, and performs a deadlift using their Plank-holding partner as the weight. Alternate who does the Deadlift and the Plank every round

**HOP OVERS: Find an object to hop over laterally. It can be a broom handle, a Kleenex box, a line provided by the wood panels on your floor. Whatever works!

WORKOUT #3:

COMPETITIVE TABATA!
Tabata (8 rounds: 20 sec work, 10 sec rest) of:

Squats
Push ups
Sit Ups
Jumping Lunges

After each exercise, who ever scored the LOWEST in any of the 8 rounds, they must complete 12 burpees.

Ex. Parter A’s Squat scores were 10/10/10/8/7/6/5 and Partner B’s Squat scores were 8/8/8/8/7/7/7/6, Partner A must complete 12 burpees before you both proceed to the Push Ups.

PARTNER WORKOUTS Pt. 2: VIRTUAL WORKOUTS

VIRTUAL WORKOUT #1:

You Go, I Go Style
50 rounds:

1 Wall walk
3 Air Squats
5 Sit Ups

(25 rounds each, partners alternate completing a round)

VIRTUAL WORKOUT #2:

AMRAP 20 Min:
Partner A:

20 Push Ups
20 Sit Ups

Partner B:

Hop Overs* until Partner A is done

Switch Partner Roles until 20 minutes is complete. Score = Number of 20 Push Ups/20 Sit Ups you both completed together.

*Hop overs – find an object to hop over laterally. It can be a broom handle, a Kleenex box, a line provided by the wood panels on your floor. Whatever works!

VIRTUAL WORKOUT #3:

FOR TIME:
300 Burpees
Divide reps as needed to get ‘em done as fast as possible!!

PARTNER WORKOUTS Pt 3: YOU AND YOUR KIDS

DANCE!

Is there anything cuter than a toddler doing their little half squat dances?!
Get your child, pump up the music ,and dance! Now, you can just dance hard enough that get your cardio in for a day (Whitney Houston’s Dance With Somebody will help you with that 😉) and let your kiddo dance and sing their hearts out, too!

Or, make up your own workout that incorporates some dance-like exercises: pistols, squats, lunges with a high knee, arm circles, windmills, high knees, and skipping or running in place, can all be sneaky dance moves! You can even use the songs as short AMRAP (As Many Rounds as Possible) timers!

Imitate each other’s dance moves and let the creativity fly!

ANIMAL WALKS!

Bear crawls, duck walks, jaguar crawls, and scuttling like a crab are hard movements to do that can give you a full body workout – PLUS, they are totally fun for kids!

Take turns calling out animals and completing laps moving like they do! Make animal noises while you’re at it for an extra challenge – and extra fun!

Or, try a more regimented workout. For example:

4 rounds:

50 m Bear Crawl
50 m Duck Walk
50 m Burpee Broad Jumps
50 m Jaguar Crawl
50 m Bunny Hops
50 m Crab Walk
Rest as needed between rounds

Don’t know how far 50 m is? That’s fine! Guess! Do laps around your coffee table, or bear crawl from one end of your apartment to the other. The kids will love it!

WORKOUT FLASH CARDS

Have you heard of the Deck of Cards workout?

It works like this: every suit in the deck is assigned an exercise. For example, Hearts = sit ups, Spades = tuck jumps, Diamonds = push ups, Clubs = squats.

You take a shuffled deck of cards and reveal a card one at a time to signal what exercise you do; for example, when a 3 of Hearts is drawn, you do 3 sit ups; when a Queen of Clubs is drawn you do 10 squats, etc.

You can use a deck of cards, OR do some arts and crafts beforehand with your kid(s) to create a set of flashcards that depict workout moves/number of reps.

Depending on whether your child can write yet, you can always write or draw different movements you want to do in your workout on homemade cards.

Or, choose 4 or 5 colors to work with (they will be like the Suits in the original Deck of Cards Workout); alternate writing a big number on each card, switching colors between cards (this will denote the number of reps you will do); allow your child to decorate the card; and then assign an exercises to each color and shuffle up the cards!

Get creative with it! And of course, invite your kid to flip the cards and do the workout with you!

STAY SAFE & KEEP MOVING!

Practice safe social distancing, but don’t let it keep you from getting your daily dose of adrenaline!

Whether you are alone, with other adults, or with your kids, there are tons of creative ways to move together and feel connected with others.

Working out with others is great for morale, whether we're in the same room or doing it virtually. We’re not saying it’s easy; but this is one way to make these weird times a little more enjoyable.

Do you have any workouts you’ve been doing with your kids, housemates, or virtual gym friends? Let us know in the comments below!

Stay safe, Athletes!