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Michelle Khare's Home Workout, Tested on Three Friends

Michelle Khare · ▶ 15:07 · 7 min read
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Overview

Many viewers had asked Michelle Khare what workout routine she follows while mostly at home. In this video she answers by putting three friends, Olivia, Kelsey and Daniel, through it, using yoga mats, a few light weights and a treadmill. The routine was designed with Khare's trainer, Nick Stevens. Khare keeps each step secret until the moment it starts, which is how she says she likes to train with Stevens. The friends find out what's coming at the same time the viewer does.

7 min read
0:27

Going In: Expectations and Rusty Routines

Before the first exercise the participants are already nervous. One jokes that their heart rate is 123 just from standing there. One friend says quarantine has disrupted their routine: they run now and then and try to do yoga, but their apartment is too small to do it often. Another says it has been a while since a really hard workout, and since Khare "can pretty much do anything," it could be anything. A third expects Khare to "wreck" them and predicts lots of ab and glute work.

0:45

The Warm-Up: Planks, Lunges and Hip Openers

The warm-up starts with a one-minute plank on the elbows, which one participant immediately calls their least favorite kind. Next comes a 30-second lunge hold on the right leg with the back knee about an inch off the floor. Khare repeatedly tells Kelsey and Daniel to go lower. The hold becomes 15 seconds of pulsing in the lunge. Then everyone drops all the way down into a stretch, with arms raised overhead if they like. The same sequence follows on the left leg, ending with the hips leaning forward and hands above the head.

A second one-minute plank follows. Khare shares a tip she finds helpful on long planks: take long, sustained, almost meditative breaths, which she says makes the time pass faster.

Next come 30 frog squats, done while holding the tops of the feet. Khare asks whether everyone can feel their hips opening, and one participant replies they wish theirs would close. Khare notes that everyone has tight hips and that stress causes them. By the end she says they should feel the burn in the front of the quads.

The warm-up ends with one more one-minute plank. Khare explains she added it because Daniel claimed a three-minute plank record, so she wanted the planks to total at least three minutes. Daniel answers that he thinks that's pretty good, but his abs "are not there" because he eats too many donuts and rice cookies.

4:06

How the Main Workout Is Structured

The main workout is a series of five-minute circuits. In each one, one person runs on the treadmill and the other two do two exercises on the floor with Khare, alternating between them for the full five minutes. The treadmill runs a route through the mountains of Japan, following an on-screen trainer, and it adjusts incline and speed to match the route. Khare frames this as a stand-in for the travel everyone has missed. Each participant gets two turns on the treadmill over six rounds.

4:50

Round 1: Thrusters and Burpees

Daniel takes the first treadmill turn while the others alternate between 10 thrusters and 10 burpees. One participant had expected something "fun" and "casual." Khare says that if anyone needs to skip the push-up part of the burpee, they should. One person says they did that long ago.

On the treadmill, Daniel says the route is a nice distraction from the pain, then at one point says he's going to die soon. He has to find the pause button for a moment. The round ends with a rush for water.

6:27

Round 2: V-Ups and Plank-Ups

Olivia moves to the treadmill. The floor group does five V-ups and then returns to the plank for plank-ups, which one participant again calls their least favorite. Khare keeps the energy up, telling the group they're "killing it." When Khare announces two minutes left, a participant briefly thinks the round is over. Someone jokes they should have stayed in the night before instead.

7:47

Round 3: Squat Calf Raises and Reverse Lunges

Kelsey takes the treadmill while the others alternate 10 squat calf raises with reverse lunges, five per side. Khare notes the calf raise works glutes and calves in one movement. One participant points out that it's harder right after a treadmill turn. Another says this workout will have their calves looking good in heels later.

During the round a participant says they've really missed exercising with other people, and the group talks about doing it again. Kelsey says they're "a big baby" when it comes to treadmills. Khare responds that this is why she likes the circuit format: everyone can go at their own pace and still complete everything by the end. Afterward one participant says it wasn't as bad as expected. They're clearly not where they used to be, they say, but they can still handle it.

9:08

Round 4: Push-Ups and Standing Bicycles

Daniel takes his second treadmill turn and says he enjoys how bouncy the running feels. The floor group alternates 10 push-ups with 10 standing bicycles per side, aiming to bring the knee up to meet the elbow. Khare warns that this round and the next are where mental fatigue sets in. The body may still be cooperating, she says, but people start talking to themselves in their heads, which is where she says her coaching comes in.

10:05

Round 5: Lateral Lunges, Jump Squats and an Air Chair

Olivia's last treadmill turn starts as the floor group alternates lateral lunges, five per side, with 10 jump squats, touching the floor and then reaching for the ceiling. Khare tells Daniel he should feel the lunges in his inner thighs and pushes him to jump higher. One participant says they like how Khare keeps things moving. Khare explains that the more you move, the less you think about how much pain you're in. Another participant says they're actually enjoying this round. In the last 30 seconds Khare adds an air chair, a wall-sit-style hold, with arms raised above the ears, counting down from five.

11:24

Round 6: A Shoulder Burnout

In the finale, Kelsey is back on the treadmill while Daniel and Olivia do a shoulder burnout. First come 10 lateral raises. Then the arm position shifts to the front instead of out to the side. The participants joke that this will help them carry groceries.

Khare makes two points for people doing this at home. First, weights aren't necessary; a soup can or a bottle works. Second, if the weight gets too heavy and form starts to slip, she'd rather people drop the weight or go lighter and keep moving than force their way through with bad form.

On the treadmill, Kelsey's route turns darker and uphill through trees, with a stretch the group notes is a 20% incline. Khare calls a final 60 seconds for everyone, "in Japan, in America, on this mat." She asks for ten more reps and counts down to the finish.

13:45

Afterward

The friends describe the workout as "very targeted," pointing to their shoulders, abs and glutes, and joke about their muscles shaking. Khare says she had fun exercising with them. She adds that over the past year, with gyms closed, she has really missed working out with other people and the motivation that comes with it, as well as traveling.

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