You just need 20 minutes and a single step to strengthen your whole body with this circuit workout

Woman doing triceps dips at home
(Image credit: Getty/wilpunt)

Even if you don’t have any dedicated fitness equipment in your home like dumbbells or kettlebells, there are always ways to improvise and improve your workouts using common household objects.

A simple step, for example, can be used to create variations on common exercises to make them easier or harder, as well as for dedicated moves like step-ups. For this 20-minute workout from fitness trainer Kat Boley, you can also use a low table or wall — you just need something that can support your weight without wobbling at all. If you do have access to a gym, you can use a bench for the workout.

If you have one of the best yoga mats it might also be worth rolling out by your step to give you better traction for some of the exercises, but really all you need to this full-body workout is your step

Watch Kat Boley’s 20-minute bodyweight workout

There are five moves in the circuit you’ll be doing for the workout, and your aim should be to do three full circuits. For each move do 10 to 12 reps in total, so if it’s a move where you work one side of the body at a time, do five or six reps on one side then switch to the other.

Rest for a minute at the end of the circuit, but aim to move between each move quickly without taking too much of a break so you get your heart pumping and gain some cardiovascular benefits from the session along with strengthening your muscles.

Boley demonstrates each of the exercises in the Instagram post — here are the five moves you’ll be doing:

Once you start doing the exercises you’ll quickly see how using the step makes them easier or harder. For example, push-ups are easier when you do them with your hands raised like this, but if you were to turn around and put your feet on the step for a decline push-up, it becomes harder than doing a regular one.

You can also increase or decrease the difficulty of some of the moves depending on how close your feet are to the step. Dips are harder with your feet further away, and easier with them closer to the step, and the same is true of the side plank.

That means it’s simple to adjust this workout to suit your fitness level, even during the workout itself — if one exercise is proving too hard or easy in the first round, you can adjust your position a little during the second and third rounds accordingly.

If you do have dumbbells to hand and want a more traditional training session, try this 20-minute full-body workout, whereas if you do want a bodyweight workout but can’t find a suitable step to use for Boley’s routine, give this 20-minute session a go.

More from Tom's Guide

Category
Arrow
Arrow
Back to Yoga Mats
Colour
Arrow
Price
Arrow
Any Price
Showing 10 of 75 deals
Filters
Arrow
Our Review
2
Gaiam Kids Yoga Mat Exercise...
Amazon
Our Review
3
Gaiam Classic Yoga Mat 3MM...
Walmart
(Black)
Our Review
4
manduka PRO Yoga Mat 85...
Zappos
Our Review
5
Gaiam Kids' Yoga Mat -...
Target
Our Review
6
Gaiam Stay-Put Yoga Mat...
CVS Health
Our Review
7
Gaiam Stay-Put Yoga Mat...
CVS
(Black)
Our Review
8
Manduka Pro Yoga Mat Black...
Amazon
Our Review
9
Gaiam Kids Yoga Mat Exercise...
Amazon
(Black)
Our Review
10
Manduka Unisex PRO 71 Yoga...
Amazon
Show more
Nick Harris-Fry
Senior Writer

Nick Harris-Fry is an experienced health and fitness journalist, writing professionally since 2012. He spent nine years working on the Coach magazine and website before moving to the fitness team at Tom’s Guide in 2024. Nick is a keen runner and also the founder of YouTube channel The Run Testers, which specialises in reviewing running shoes, watches, headphones and other gear.

Nick ran his first marathon in 2016 after six weeks of training for a magazine feature and subsequently became obsessed with the sport. He now has PBs of 2hr 27min for the marathon and 15min 30sec for 5K, and has run 13 marathons in total, as well as a 50-mile ultramarathon. Nick is also a qualified Run Leader in the UK.

Nick is an established expert in the health and fitness area and along with writing for many publications, including Live Science, Expert Reviews, Wareable, Coach and Get Sweat Go, he has been quoted on The Guardian and The Independent.

Read more
woman holding dumbbell with defined abs
Skip the gym — build full body strength at home with 1 dumbbell and 5 moves
a woman lifting a dumbbell
You only need a pair of dumbbells and these 7 moves to build full-body strength
a photo of a male runner and female runner running up stairs
You just need 5 exercises and a staircase to strengthen your legs and core — and it only takes 30 minutes
woman doing plank exercise
Who needs weights? This bodyweight workout strengthens your whole body in 20 minutes
Woman doing a dumbbell bicep curl
You only need 2 dumbbells and 15 minutes to build full-body muscle with this standing workout
the back of a man performing dumbbell presses
Forget lunges — this 20-minute standing dumbbell workout strengthens the whole body
Latest in Fitness
a person with muscular calves running
Physio says runners need these 3 calf strength variations in their training — here’s why I’m finally listening
a photo of a woman doing a plank outside
I did 70 walking plank push-ups every day for one week — here’s what happened to my upper body
Adidas sneakers in front of a wall
Mega Adidas sale is live from $8 at Amazon — 21 deals I’d buy now on sneakers and apparel
Walking workout man and woman walking up stairs
I'm a personal trainer — these are my 3 'non-negotiables' for building mental stamina
high angle view of young sportsman with bare chest doing abs exercise on fitness ball at gym
I did this 7-minute abs workout that makes you stick to the beat — here's what happened to my core
Woman walking on the WalkingPad Z1
Quick! This popular WalkingPad treadmill is $96 off ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale
Latest in Features
A hand feels the temperature regulation of the SPRINGSPIRIT Dual Layer Mattress Topper.
What is a bamboo mattress topper and should you buy one?
2025 Mini Cooper Countryman SE All4 review.
I drove the Mini Cooper Countryman EV for a week — here’s my pros and cons
Troubadour Apex 3.0 Backpack
I tested this laptop backpack for 6 months — and it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made
a person with muscular calves running
Physio says runners need these 3 calf strength variations in their training — here’s why I’m finally listening
Obscura VPN website landing page
Obscura VPN wants to be the "best darn VPN out there" – can it?
Galaxy S25 Ultra next to macro shot of flower
I test camera phones for a living — here's 3 tips for taking great macro shots