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5 Top Compound Exercises to Work Your Full Body in Just 30 Minutes, According to This Former Olympic Medalist

Olympic Gymnast and Trainer Alicia Sacramone Quinn shares her favorite compound exercises to build quick and effective workouts at home.

Our schedules are getting booked again – drinks with co-workers after work, wedding weekends, girls’ nights. The workouts for women built during our time at home are suddenly facing some conflict. Before you completely ditch the idea of a full-blown exercise routine, consider replacing your hour-long virtual class or 5-mile run with something quick.

Olympic gymnast, and now trainer, Alicia Sacramone Quinn only works out for 30 minutes a day. She says, “I believe getting any amount of physical activity done each day is an accomplishment. Have your workout mapped out, give yourself a time limit, and find a motivating playlist to get you hyped up.”

Sacramone Quinn loves to incorporate compound exercises in her workouts. She explains that “you get the most bang for your buck.” As implied by their name, these movements engage multiple muscle groups at the same time.

Every movement engages the core, something Sacramone Quinn carries over from her gymnastics days. Her fitness goals have changed over the years and now she’s focused on being healthy to keep up with her three girls.

A strong core is crucial for everyone for so many reasons, including stability, injury prevention, and better posture. So, while she’s still pulling out some training tips from the gym, she admits, “After a few kids I have modified them a bit to fit my changing body.”

Here are Alicia’s five favorite full-body bodyweight exercises:

She's an Olympic and World Championship medalist, now retired gymnast and Massachusetts native Alicia Sacramone Quinn depends on compound exercises to keep in shape in just 30 minutes a day, no weights -- or gym-- needed.
  1. Plank Up/Down + 1/2 Elbow Push-Up 

What’s working: quads, lower back, should, triceps and core

2. Front Lunge to single leg Russian Dead Lift

What’s working: quads, calves, hamstrings and core

3. Glute Bridge + Heel Walk Out

What’s working: posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, etc.) and core

4. Side Plank Dip + Top Knee Tuck-In 

What’s working: obliques, shoulder and core

5.Toe Touch Crunch + Leg Scoop 

What’s working: core

Follow along with Alicia on Instagram: @aliciasacramonequinn

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