GRANTED, YOU NEED to be a bit of a nut to do this and you’ll probably really annoy your other half when you ask her to shift aside on the couch for three minutes as you do these routines during the commercial break.

But just reply ‘honey, would you prefer if I went to the gym and left you here alone for an hour instead?’ and see what the answer will be.

Let’s assume there’s four commercial breaks of around three minutes each; that’s 12 minutes you can really hurt yourself in. And let’s be clear here, you’ve really gotta hurt yourself to make this worthwhile, okay? Let’s go…

Push ups

Yep, you knew this was coming. Get down and gimme, well, as many as you can. Push ups are the ultimate chest, shoulders and arm exercise and if you do them correctly, you’ll be wincing in pain right up until the next break.

The key is to keep the body as straight as possible; imagine your ankle, knee, hips and shoulders all in a straight line. Down, hold for one second, up. To make them harder, explode upwards and clap your hands together for what is known as a ‘clap push up’.

The plank

Yes, like the push up, the oldest ones are best. Holding a plank for over 30 seconds is very hard for anyone who hasn’t done it before so three minutes is extreme. But therein lies the challenge. If you absolutely must, bend your knees to the floor to take some of the pressure off your lower back but the most important thing to remember is to keep those core muscles engaged.

Dynamic lunges

Okay we’re moving down the body now for lower limbs which are great for the glutes, quads and hamstrings all in one. Standing upright, hands on hips, take one large step out in front and drop the knee of the same leg until it touches the floor.

Then, when it does, explode upwards and switch legs, bringing the opposite leg forwards and knee down to the floor, repeat, repeat, repeat. Keep the form consistent.

Burpees

A bit of an all-rounder here. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and squat down. The next move will require your palms on the floor, but try not to reach for the floor. Keep your back straight and get your knees to lower you down.

Now, put your weight all on your arms for a second as you thrust your legs backwards and land on your toes to put you in plank position. From there it’s a straight-forward push-up. Down. Up.

Next, after your push-up keep your hands on the ground while jumping your two feet back to their original position.

Finally, take your palms off the deck. Now you’re in squat position so you might as well finish the rep with a jump squat. And repeat.

6 of the world’s toughest endurance events