Mingle, Jingle, and BActive: At-Home Exercises Perfect for Two

This post is provided courtesy of Ankit Nayal, director of BActive Sanlitun Soho gym, as well as an ACE certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist.

Following last week's recommendations for easy at-home exercises for individuals, this week I'm going to walk you through some workouts that are perfect for two people.

There are a number of benefits of working out with a partner, namely you can hold each other accountable (put your phone down!) and give encouragement to push harder. Additionally, working out with someone else is just plain fun! Friends that play together stay together, and friends that get real sweaty together... break down normal social boundaries?

Before we begin, a reminder that each of these workouts is based on the Tabata training style, a high-intensity interval training (HITT) system that originated in Japan and is ideal for burning fat, improving your metabolism, and boosting athletic performance. A circuit comprises eight exercises and you are advised to follow the order below:

• Circuit: 8 exercises, 1-3 rounds each depending on your fitness level
• Work time: 20 seconds per exercise, 10 seconds rest before the next exercise
• Post circuit rest: 60-120 seconds after each circuit
• Workout duration: 4 minutes to 15 minutes (depending on circuits and rest)

What you'll need: Someone you trust, a towel, timer, and a big bottle of water.

Let the exercise begin!

The below exercises should help improve endurance and work your lower body and core.

Dual-Trust Falls: Partner A and Partner B hold one hand, trust (!), fall back, and squat. Switch hands and repeat.

Push-aways: Both partners hold their hands with fingers interlaced. Pull toward each other, with your heads going either side of each other and then push away. Repeat, this time with your heads going to the opposite side.

Courtesy heel tappers: Partner A and B hold opposite hands and place their free hand behind their back. Going into a partial squat, both partners raise their opposite feet and tap. Change sides and repeat.

V-walk claps: Both partners stand a plank-distance away from each other, bend to touch theirr toes, hand walk towards each other, clap opposite hands, and walk back.

Squat holds with high knees: Partner A holds a stationary parallel squat. Partner B does repeating high knees, making sure to tap their partner’s hands with their knees. 

Squat holds with high knees (and optionable pose): Partners switch position and repeat.

Planks with walkover squats: For the final exercise, Partner A gets into the plank position and Partner B positions themselves on one side of the planking partner. B squats, moves one leg over A’s lower body, squats again, moves both legs to the other side, squats again, and repeats back to starting position.

That's it! Now just repeat these easy steps every day in order to stay active and stay healthy, Beijing. Jiayou! And remember to watch out for our final installation, detailing how you can work towards achieving the perfect summer abs.

Ankit Nayal has been a bodybuilding athlete since 2016, and has ample experience in making his clients fit and healthy. He also loves to undertake various social impact projects, and is actively involved with Fitness4Hope, FitFam Beijing, Krankin Through China, and a current campaign to help physically disabled orphans and disadvantaged children at Our Learning House (more on that here).

Connect with Ankit on Instagram @currygainz or on WeChat ID: @ankit_n_c for regular gym motivation, workouts, and healthy food tips. You can also follow the BActive public account for updates on 24-hour gym life:

Photos: Ankit Nayal