Torch Calories with Joe Wicks’ 3 15-Minute Home Workouts

Face the rest of your day chock-full of endorphins.

By Mens Health Staff | Oct 6, 2021

Reclaim the joy of fitness with these three 15-minute home workouts from Joe Wicks that will challenge you physically, strengthen you mentally and prime you to face the rest of your day chock-full of endorphins.

As the Joker quipped to the overly earnest vigilante in The Dark Knight: “Why so serious?” While he was just a fictional character – and a psychotic mass-murderer with zero empathy to boot – he also had a point. Sometimes, we could all
do with taking things a little less seriously. Sure, work might be unavoidably hectic and your daily life commitments can be stressful. But there is one area of your life that you can definitely have a bit more fun with: fitness.

Joe Wicks, in case you haven’t been on YouTube or Instagram over the past three lockdowns, has all but trademarked “fun” fitness. Now, he has made it his mission to massage the world’s mental state through the power of a decent workout, combining the short-term buzz with the long-term psychological benefits of exercise – improved mood, more energy, deeper reservoirs of patience.

The good St Joe has produced three new doses of joy exclusively for Men’s Health. Each takes just 15 minutes and is eminently doable at home, using only the equipment that the majority of us have invested in over the past year. But believe us, this isn’t your average HIIT. Wicks has taken some classic movements and given them a twist, enhancing their physical flavour and adding a generous slug of enjoyment to keep you riding high all day.

Set your stopwatch app for 15 minutes and get going. You’ll be seriously happy that you did.

BODYWEIGHT BURNER

This session feels good while you’re doing it and gives you the buzz you want afterwards, too. We’re going to be taking some basic bodyweight moves and adding some explosive elements to keep your mind engaged for the full 15 minutes. You’ll take on four moves, doing 60 seconds’ work on each. When you finish the fourth move, rest for 60 seconds, then start again. Do three rounds in total.

1. Squat Front Kick

Stand tall, keeping your chest up. Sink your hips back, then bend your knees to drop your thighs until they are parallel to the floor (A). Now, this is what gets those endorphins going. As you stand back up, lift one foot off the floor and kick forward explosively (B). Switch your kicking leg with every rep.

2. Push-Up Kick-Through

Assume a long-arm plank position, with your core braced and your hands stacked below your shoulders (A). Bend your elbows, lowering your chest to the floor. When you push back up, simultaneously release one hand and shoot the opposite leg through at 90° (B). Alternate sides with each rep and keep going through the struggle.

3. Burpee Tuck Jump

Everyone loves burpees, don’t they? Well, this is the superhero version. Start off standing and place your hands on the floor. Fire your feet back to form a push-up position. Drop your chest to the floor (A), then push up and bring your feet back beneath you. Now, jump up and tuck your knees as close to your chest as possible (B). That’s one rep.

4. Reverse Lunge Knee Drive

Standing, take a step backwards, bending your front knee until your back knee comes as close to the ground
as is comfortable (A). Driving through your glutes, power up your back leg as you stand to thrust your back knee in front of you (B). Switch sides with each rep – and don’t hold anything back.

Photography: Chris Floyd I Stylist: Carlotta Constant I Grooming: Natasha Schmitt Additional photography: Stuart Hendry

UPPER BODY

Let’s be honest: nothing feels better than an upper-body dumbbell workout. Along with a hit to your arms, shoulders, chest and back, here you’ll get a mighty sweat on, too. Perform each movement for 60 seconds, flowing from one straight into the next. When the clock stops on your shoulder presses, give yourself a minute to have a breather and get ready to start the circuit again. Complete three rounds for 15 minutes of mind-muscle goodness.

1. Dumbbell Snatch

Squat down and grab one dumbbell (A), then drive up through your hips, generating momentum to pull the weight up and punch it towards the ceiling, finishing overhead in full lockout (B). Hinge down and return the weight to the start position. Switch hands on the way down and keep alternating. Change hands with the weight on the floor if you find that easier.

2. Burpee Deadlift

Pick up the other bell and stand, holding them at waist height. Drop to the bottom of a burpee, hands on the handles, forming a straight line from head to toe (A). Now, bring your legs back under you and squeeze your glutes to perform a deadlift, keeping the dumbbells as close to your legs as possible as you stand (B). That’s your first rep. You know what to do.

3. Dumbbell Thruster

Holding the dumbbells at your shoulders, squat down, keeping your back straight and chest up, until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground (A). Power back up and, in one motion, press both of the dumbbells overhead to full lockout (B). Imagine using your body to “throw” the weights upwards. Now, reverse the movement. Rep away, and find a good rhythm.

4. Shoulder Press

Lift a pair of dumbbells onto your shoulders, with your palms facing out (A). Take a breath and brace your core. Dip at the knees and use your legs to help press both weights overhead to lockout (B). Lower under control and repeat. Focus on keeping your head up
and breathing – even if you’re blowing hard. Breathing is always a good idea.

Photography: Chris Floyd I Stylist: Carlotta Constant I Grooming: Natasha Schmitt Additional photography: Stuart Hendry

SWING IT TO WIN IT

Whether you’re swinging, squatting or pressing a kettlebell, you’ll focus on your breathing and feel the momentum of the weight as your body moves – helping you switch off from everything else. Here, we’ll be taking on some more challenging movements to keep you in the moment. Do your 60 seconds per move, then have a minute’s rest. Do three rounds in total. And enjoy yourself!

1. Kettlebell Swing

Holding a kettlebell between your legs, start the movement by hinging your hips as if you were trying to push a door open with your glutes, swinging the weight back (A). Now, drive your hips forward to lift the kettlebell to shoulder height, bracing your core (B). Let the momentum bring you straight back down into the next rep, and try to get into a flow.

2. Kettlebell Goblet Squat

Hold the kettlebell as close to your chest as you can (A). Move your hips backwards, then drop into a squat (B). Your elbows should come in between your knees at the bottom. Drive back up, tensing your glutes at the top. Think about tucking your elbows into your ribs as tight as you can, so you don’t tire out your arms holding the weight.

3. Kettlebell Clean and Lunge

Grab the bell with one hand. Start a swing the same way as with the two-handed version, but pull the weight up close to your body, jamming your elbow into your ribs to flip the bell and catch it at chest height in the crook of your elbow (A). Now lunge forward with your other leg (B), pushing off that front leg to stand up. Return the weight to the floor and switch sides.

4. Kettlebell RDL High Pull

Start with the kettlebell held in front of you, arms straight and core braced. Send your hips back to lower the weight down your legs. As it passes your knees, bend them to allow the bell to travel all the way to the ground (A). Come back up, extending your knees and then hips to drive the weight up (B), as close to your chin as you can. Not too close, obviously.

Photography: Chris Floyd I Stylist: Carlotta Constant I Grooming: Natasha Schmitt Additional photography: Stuart Hendry