I Did Serena Williams’ 15-Minute Arms And Back Workout And I Felt (Almost) As Badass As Her

Graphic by Dana Davenport; Nike Training Club App

At-home workouts are a super-efficient way to break a sweat in a short amount of time, but to be honest, I’m not really about ‘em. I’d much rather hit the gym for 45-plus minutes—I feel like I have to be out of my apartment to get ~in the zone~, but that’s not always an option. And when it’s not, I skip my workout altogether. Logically, I know a short workout is better than no workout at all, and my black-and-white approach doesn’t really serve me when I’m especially busy. But I haven’t found an at-home routine that really hit the spot. However, when straight-up boss lady Serena Williams’ new Nike+ Training Club app workout hit my radar last week, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to channel my inner ~superstar~ and see if this at-home workout would do the trick. 

At only 15 minutes long, her bodyweight cardio-and-strength workout is upper-body focused, which I love—I’m into any opportunity to work my arms and back. The workout was actually developed by Nike Training Club master trainer Ben Monk, but if Williams approves, I’m in. There are no weights (or tennis rackets) required; all you need is some floor space to work with and a partner for a few of the moves. (I modified a bit and did this workout solo.) In the free workout, Kevin Hart is Williams’ workout buddy. #goals

I was sold. It’d be great to fall in love with a 15-minute routine I can do at home on short notice, and maybe this would lead me to try other great workout options on the app, too. Here’s how I fared doing “The Hart Serena Workout” on the Nike+ Training Club app (free for iPhone and Android).

It’s only 15 minutes long, but this workout is definitely challenging.

Here I am waking up early to squeeze in a quick training session before work. Graphic by Dana Davenport

OK, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that a workout from a world-class athlete is hard. But, surprise! It is. The two-minute warm-up got me sweating immediately. This may or may not have had something to do with my AC-less sauna living room, but still. The warm-up starts with 20 seconds of squats, before moving into fast-paced A-Skips (these are a popular running drill that are kind of like a powerful, more exaggerated version of skipping). The app walked me through each exercise and included helpful videos of each move so that I could make sure my form would make Serena proud.

After the warm-up was the total-body strength section. This section is all bodyweight moves, which I liked. It’s really helpful to have strength exercise options that don’t require any equipment, that way I can do them anywhere, including when I’m traveling—or on the rare occasions, like this one, when I actually work out at home. Aside from a few 10-second breaks for sweet, sweet rest, the workout was pretty much non-stop—and with every lunge, lateral shuffle, and side plank knee drive, my muscles burned a little more.

Graphic by Dana Davenport; Nike Training Club App

The routine also included a couple partner moves, but since I was Hart-less, I had to do some modifications. Since I have a set of weights at home, I swapped out the partner hand rows for renegade rows using two five-pound dumbbells. You could also mimic the movement without weights, but the resistance definitely increases the challenge. And instead of partner push-up high fives, I just high-fived the air during my push-ups, which made me feel real cool.

The last two minutes were an all-out metabolic burst of cardio. Yay, burpees! (A note to my downstairs neighbors: Sorry.) After the 15 minutes was over, I was definitely struggling to catch my breath. Mission accomplished.

Overall, I’d do it again—and it has inspired me to give at-home workouts another shot.

This workout was a great reminder for me that a gym isn’t always necessary to get a good workout in. While I won’t be giving up my beloved boxing classes anytime soon, a bodyweight workout is an amazing way to fit in exercise when I’m especially busy (or, when I don’t wake up in time to make it to the gym). My schedule doesn’t have to get the best of my fitness goals. 

As far as I know, the workout did not turn me into a game-changing tennis badass (not that I’ve tested this theory), but it was a great way to channel Serena’s epic strength and power—and I’d definitely do it again. 

Alexa Tucker

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