Greg McHale’s “ten minutes of do the work” is a daily ten-minute bodyweight workout — five exercises run for 50 seconds on and 10 seconds off, twice through — built so nobody can use a lack of time as an excuse. Greg, host of Greg McHale’s Wild Yukon and an accomplished adventure racer, started it to get his childhood friends fit for the backcountry. In this Physical Friday he shares one of his go-to ten-minute workouts.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Greg calls it “ten minutes of do the work” — a daily routine of about 95 percent bodyweight exercises that takes exactly ten minutes. One of his go-to versions runs five exercises at 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest, done twice through. His example circuit is burpees, Russian twists, dive bombers, squats with a shoulder press, and sit-ups. You go at your own pace, and the whole point is that everyone has ten minutes, so there are no excuses.
Five exercises, 50 seconds on and 10 seconds off, two full rounds for ten minutes total: burpees, Russian twists, dive bombers, squats with a shoulder press (with light dumbbells or just bodyweight), and sit-ups. Greg says you can swap in any five exercises you want and work at whatever pace fits your level — whether that is ten burpees in the interval or six. The goal is consistent daily effort, not a specific number.
A dive bomber, also called a Hindu push-up, starts in a downward-dog or tripod position. You dive your head down toward the ground, skim your chest along the floor, and come up into an upward-dog position, then reverse back through to the start — that full motion is one rep. Greg notes you can modify it: if the full up-and-down is too hard, go straight back up to the tripod position. The point is to build toward the harder version over time.
Because everybody has ten minutes — nobody on the planet can honestly say they do not. By keeping the commitment that small, Greg removes the most common excuse and makes the habit sustainable. He started this with childhood friends after a moose hunt where packing meat just 600 yards was a real struggle for some of them, and he wanted a simple, doable way to build longevity and capability. Ten minutes a day has since become a way of life for the group.
Accountability runs on a daily “sweaty selfie” — everyone has to take and send a photo proving they did the workout each day. It started with Greg posting a workout every day for the boys, and it has since evolved so each member takes a turn creating the workout on their assigned day, which gives everyone more ownership. The group keeps each other motivated, positive, and supported, especially when someone falls off the wagon.
Greg McHale is the host of the TV show Greg McHale’s Wild Yukon and an accomplished adventure racer who has completed events like a 430-mile race in temperatures around negative 50. He lives in the wilderness of the Yukon and also holds, to Tom’s knowledge, the 10,000 push-up challenge record at ten days. Greg created his ten-minute daily workout community to help his childhood friends stay fit enough for the demands of backcountry hunting and a long, capable life.
Here is the ten-minute workout Greg shares in this episode. Run five exercises at 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off, twice through. He covers the details on the show.
I walk through the details in the episode. Press play in the player above.
The idea was born on a moose hunt when packing meat just 600 yards out gutted some of Greg’s childhood buddies. He realized fitness was not about him being the best athlete — it was about helping his friends live capable, long lives, so he built something everyone could do together. He tells the story in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Greg’s whole premise is that nobody can claim they do not have ten minutes. Take the excuse away and the habit becomes easy to keep. His group has done it for a year and a half, and it has become a way of life. He explains how it evolved in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Every day, each member sends a sweaty selfie to prove the work got done, and members now take turns writing the daily workout. That ownership and support is what keeps everyone going. Greg breaks down how the group runs in the episode, so press play in the player above.
What I love about Greg’s system is how it strips away every excuse and replaces it with a small, daily win. Minute wins, every day, are what add up to the big goal.
Greg is back for two more weeks with two more ten-minute workouts, so come back next week. Press play in the player above.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
Greg McHale · Greg McHale’s Wild Yukon · Yukon · adventure racing · 10,000 Push-Up Challenge · dive bombers · burpees · Physical Friday · Saltwater Experience
I’m Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series where I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong enough to keep doing what they love for life.
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