Put in a towel to tone up

When it comes to exercise, it isn’t always about the fancy equipment or the immaculate gym floor or the vast array of group exercise classes… All you need is space, yourself, a towel and a friend! When it comes to value and convenience, home training is king but it takes a little creativity to turn your home into a training facility. Enough space to move, your own bodyweight, one or two full length towels and a partner to join in the fun is all you need for these five strength-building and fat-torching workouts.

 — The writer has been a personal trainer for over eight years with six years in Australia and two years in India. He is also a team trainer who has trained famous personalities like Brett Lee, Hugh Jackman, Ricky Martin, Rana Daggubati and Rakul Preet Singh.

Towel jumps to burpees

Place a towel vertically on the floor and jump side to side over the towel performing five jumps and follow it up with a burpee i.e drop down to the ground, and push up to a squat jump. Do this exercise with separate towels for space. Perform this exercise for 30 seconds with 30 second breaks, and repeat for three to four sets for a full body strength. The towel jumps will give your calves a good tone.

Top tip: Challenge your partner to see who can manage the most amount of burpees in the 30 seconds.
Tug of war: Do a tug of war challenge to see who has any remaining muscle left. Loser has to do extra burpees which means more calories burned, so everyone’s a winner!

High knees sprint with towel resistance

Let one person wrap the towel around their waist whilst the other is holding the ends of the towel behind them. The person in front has to run as far forward as possible with high knees whilst the other one provides as much resistance pulling back, making them work for it. But be careful, revenge can be sweet… Perform this exercise for 30 seconds, then switch roles for three to four sets. Your legs will get a good burn and your heart rate and metabolism will spike.

Top tip: After running forward, turn around, face your partner and lean back on the towel for a total leg musculature burn out.

Partner plank rows

Both you and your partner hold a plank position while facing each other and holding the towel on one side. Now, with opposing hands, grab the towel. You must apply even pressure while holding the towel. Make sure you have your best plank position on show to prevent lower back pain — keep your body straight by squeezing your abs tight. Perform this exercise for 30 seconds, and repeat twice with each arm. This exercise is great for core stability as well as upper body strength.

Top tip: Add push-ups in between sets to build further strength and muscle in the upper body.

Lunge hold and twist

Share a towel between you and your partner while standing. Take one leg back (the same for both) and drop down into a lunge. Holding this position, start pulling the towel back and forth between the two of you whilst making sure there is no slack in the towel and keeping your hips straight. Perform this exercise for 30 seconds and repeat twice on each leg. This is a great exercise for building strength and flexibility in the legs. It also helps in improving your balance and coordination as well as working your core.

Top tip: Share the towel between the two of you with even pressure and increase resistance by pulling a little more to challenge each other.

Bicep/Tricep combo workout

Face each other. One person must stand whilst the other is kneeling. Loop the towel around so that the person standing has the bend of the towel whilst the person kneeling is holding the ends from the outside. Applying even pressure, the upright person pulls upwards and the person kneeling pulls downwards. Alternate between the down and up positions of both movements for 10-15 repetitions and repeat for four sets (switching positions twice), taking 20 second breaks between sets. Working arms is the name of the game with this exercise. Both your biceps and triceps will be stretched depending on how much you make each other work, and it will challenge your rectus abdominis as well.

Top tip: Don’t go completely down or completely up with both actions, have your sets take place in the middle of the movement.