Sorry this post is so late in the day! Immediately after publishing it this morning, I realized I had totally screwed up the picture tutorial. Apparently my brain decided the long weekend started yesterday.
I put 40 minutes in the name of this workout, but depending on your fitness level, this could take you less or more time to complete. Roughly though, I’d say you set aside about 40 minutes for it. You’ll need a weight for this one (kettlebell, dumbbell, hand weight, small child, whatever). I used a 15-lb kettlebell, but as always, adjust this to fit your strength level. You want it to be super challenging, but you also want to be able to finish the whole workout.
With the pyramid structure, you’ll start by doing 10 reps of each exercise. After that round, you’ll go through doing 9 reps of each exercise. And on and on down to 1 (the 1 round is always my favorite). With the Turkish Get-Ups, you split the reps between your left and right side and with the jump lunges, you double the reps. If this sounds confusing, just read through the breakdown below—it’s not as math-intensive as it sounds.
- Turkish Get-Ups, split: I posted a full tutorial for this move HERE. You’ll split the reps for this one. On the 10 round, do 5 right Turkish Get-Ups and 5 left Turkish Get-Ups. On the uneven rounds (9,7,5,3,1) you do half a Turkish Get-up. This means you’ll take it to the standing position, but won’t reverse the move back down to the starting laying position. Because you’re only doing a few reps on each side each round, use a weight that is maybe a little heavier than you’d normal use. I opted for a 15-lb weight.
- Jump Lunges x2: If you’re on round 10, do 20 jump lunges; round 9, do 18—and so on. I think we all know what a jump lunge is, right? For an added challenge, hold 8-lb weights in each hand as you do these.
- V-Ups: I like incorporating this move into workouts because I’m still pretty terrible at it. It takes A LOT of core strength to bring your legs and arms up simultaneously, and as you can tell from the picture, I have a long way to go before I’ve mastered it. To do a V-Up, you start on your back with arms stretched out overhead and legs hovering just slightly above the ground. You’ll then crunch up, bringing your hands towards your toes (keeping legs and arms straight). When done correctly, your body will make a “v” shape as you crunch; this means you’re not just reaching your arms up, your chest needs to move towards your knees. Lower back down to starting position. If possible, your feet should never touch the ground.
- Plank Jack-Jump-Push Ups: Start in a plank position. Do a plank jack, jumping your legs wide apart and then back into the starting plank position, keeping your butt down and core tight. Then jump both feet up towards your hands and then back into a plank position. Then do a push up. That whole sequence is one rep.
Try this out and let me know your time! Remember, you want to complete it as fast as possible, but you also don’t want to sacrifice proper form. It’s better to do each move correctly than to speed through the routine sloppily.
. 15 pounds isn’t exactly anything to write home about, but I started with a 10 and was happy I traded up.
{welcome to pumps & iron, a jumble of fitness, fashion, life and beer.}
