Butt — Page 3

Resistance Band Loop Glutes Workout

January 15, 2018 by Nicole 2 Comments

This post is sponsored by Nike. All opinions—as always!—are my own. I appreciate your support of the brands that make this blog possible. 🙂

Last week I asked what equipment you’d like to see incorporated into workouts this year and while I got a lot of great suggestions, resistance bands definitely topped the list. Today’s resistance band loop workout will target your glutes and is structured similarly to how I’d teach a class at Btone. We’ll do a few exercises on each leg and within the exercises, I’ll guide you through a series of holds, pulses and variations. Because of that, I’d definitely recommend following along with the video this week!

Before we get to the glute burnout though, I want to share some goodies from my latest activewear haul. Nike’s Last Chance Sale is going on through 1/16 and you can get up to 50% off last season’s styles. I snagged a couple awesome pieces from the sale and some other cute items as well.

I was looking for a good cross-training sneaker for HIIT and bootcamp workouts and am loving the Metcon DSK Flyknit 2. It has a snug, supportive fit and I love the padding behind the heel. Nike always delivers when it comes to appearance of their sneakers and this is no exception—super stylish and I’ve already gotten lots of compliments on them. The new Metcon 4 is really cute, too!

The Power Legendary Training Tights I’m wearing fit like a glove and the slightly thicker material makes them perfect for this cold winter weather. I love high-rise everything and you really can’t go wrong with a good pair of black leggings. These are currently on sale so snag ’em while you can!

Lastly, I’m wearing the Dri-Fit Long Sleeve Training Top, with which I am totally obsessed. It’s a little warmer than regular t-shirt material, but not as heavy as a sweatshirt and I love the cropped length. It comes in a light blue color too, which I totally would have gotten if it was available in my size.

Check out my whole Nike haul below:

1. Nike Pro Women’s Training Shorts // 2. Dri-Fit Training Tank (on sale for $14.97!) // 3. Dri-Fit Long Sleeve Training Top // 4. Sportswear Rally Fleece Pants (I’m obsessed with these cozy sweats—wear them literally every day!) // 5. Power Legendary High Rise Training Tights (on sale for $64.97!) // 6. Metcon DSX Flyknit 2 Training Shoe

If I were to pick a favorite, I’d point you in the direction of the fleece sweatpants. I wear them over my leggings on cold days walking to and from my workout and then wear them on their own when I’m working from home. I don’t think a day has gone by that I haven’t worn them since they arrived so … yeah, I should probably wash them soon. 😉

Resistance Band Loop Glutes Workout

In this workout, you have three single-leg exercises and then you’ll center out with a bridge hold. It’ll take you just over 10 minutes to complete and while it’s low-impact, you’ll still feel that burn by the end!

EQUIPMENT I USED

Medium resistance band loop (choose a resistance that fits your fitness level and height—you need to be able to get your leg straight with it looped around your feet)
Exercise mat
Towel for knee padding

You’ll spend 90 seconds on the Donkey Kicks and Hydrant Kicks, with holds and pulse combos mixed in throughout that time. The Bent Leg Pulses are done for 60 seconds and meant to be a burnout finisher. You then flip over into a Hip Bridge and that’s held for 75 seconds with pulses mixed in. Follow along with the video embedded above!

Let me know how the workout goes and don’t forget to check out the Nike sale before it ends!

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Butt, Resistance Band, Video, Workouts

25-Minute Circuit Workout with Cardio Blasts: Legs & Butt

October 27, 2017 by Nicole 3 Comments

Happy Friday! I’m looking forward to a busy, fun weekend. Tonight I’m heading to Credo for a makeup event with some other Boston “influencers” (I hate using that word to describe myself but “Instagrammers” also sounds weird—can’t win) and tomorrow I’m doing a photoshoot with Reebok. I’m really excited for the shoot but admittedly a little nervous. Getting the chance to work with a big fitness brand brings out the little insecurities as my mind falls into the comparison trap (I don’t have a visible, ripped six pack; I’m not flexible enough to do crazy-cool poses; blah blah blah). It’s useless chatter that doesn’t serve me and I’m sure the shoot is going to be a blast and my tight hip flexors and l will be fabulous. *snaps fingers and flips hair*

Now to shift focus on to a photoshoot I most definitely was not nervous about … let’s talk about me alone in my living room with a camera set up on a tripod (aka today’s workout). 😉 This 25-minute circuit workout focuses on legs and butt and damn did it burn!

25-Minute Circuit Workout with HIIT Blasts: Legs & Butt

EQUIPMENT I USED:

20-lb kettlebell (you can use a dumbbell, or just your bodyweight if you’re a beginner!)—pick a weight that works for your fitness level
Resistance band loop

This workout is broken up into four mini circuits. For each of the circuits, you do three exercises for 30 seconds each, three times through. So that’s four and a half minutes of continuous work. You then rest for 30 seconds and finish the circuit with 30 seconds of cardio finisher. The last circuit is a little different in that instead of resting after the circuit, you go right into your finisher which is just a 30-second hold.

I’m using a 20-lb kettlebell but you could totally do this with a dumbbell and, as always, adjust the weight to fit your current fitness level. I’m also using a resistance band loop. If you don’t have one, don’t sweat it. All the exercises can be done without it as well (and will still be challenging, I promise).

As with all workouts, make sure to warm up beforehand. I have a 5-minute warm up on my YouTube channel or you can do your own. Listen to your body and modify as needed. If something doesn’t feel right, stop. There’s a difference between challenging your body and hurting it—let’s stick to the former!

Circuit 1

30 seconds each exercise x3 – loop band around thighs, use weight

Sumo Squat | Hold your weight at your chest with elbows in tight (like a goblet squat). Feet are a little wider than hip’s width apart, toes are angled out. Keep your chest open and upright, shoulders back and you bend your knees and sink down into your squat. Actively push out against the resistance band so that your knees track in line with your middle toes the whole time. Press back to the top, bringing your hips forward and squeezing your butt at the top.

Sumo Squat Pulses | Hold your lowest squat and pulse up and down at the bottom. For these, you’re going to keep the weight at your chest as long as you can. When it gets to be too much, place it on the floor but stay low in your pulses!

Low Squat Side to Side Step | No weight for this one (unless you’re really advanced and want it—then be my guest!). Staying in a low squat position, you’re going to walk side to side, three or four steps to the left and three or four steps to the right. You want tension on the resistance band the whole time so never let your feet come in too narrow as you do these. Think wide and low.

CARDIO BLAST (30 sec): Squat Jacks | No weight for this one either. Start in a low squat position with feet wide, weight in your heels, low abs engaged, hips back. Staying low in a squat, jump your feet in close together and then jump your feet out wide again to the starting position. When your feet are wide, bring one hand to touch the ground, alternating hands each time.

Circuit 2 – RIGHT LEG

30 seconds each exercise x3 – use weight

Single Leg Deadlift to Reverse Lunge | Hold the weight in your left hand. Your right foot will stay firmly planted on the ground the whole time. Left toes are *lightly* on the floor about six inches behind the right foot. From here, do your deadlift, sending your hips back and hinging from the hips as you lower the weight towards the floor. This is a hinge, not a squat, so the weight doesn’t need to come all the way down to the ground. Keep your chest open as you do this. Come back to stand and then step your left foot far back behind you, sinking into a reverse lunge. Come back up, bringing the left toes lightly to the ground behind the right and repeat.

Curtsy Lunge | Start standing with feet hip-width apart, weight held at your chest. To modify, do these without the weight. From here, sink down into your curtsey lunge: right foot stays planted on the ground and as you bend that right knee, reach your left foot behind it as far to the right as you can until the ball of the left foot is planted on the ground as well. From this deep lunge position, you’re going to slowly stand up on the right foot, bringing the left foot back to center, lighting touching it to the ground (don’t shift too much weight into that left side)

Reverse Lunge to Low Squat | No weight for this one (unless you want it, in which case rock on!). Start in a low squat position. Staying low, step your left foot back into a low lunge and then quickly back up to the squat. You continue lightly stepping back and up, staying low through the legs and keeping weight in your right heel. This one burns!

CARDIO BLAST (30 sec): Sprinter Hops | Start in a low lunge position with right foot forward and fingertips lightly on the ground framing your front foot. From here, you’re going to hop everything off the ground (your feet barely need to leave the floor) and land right back low. Keep your chest open as you do these (try not to hunch). If mobility issues make these ones tough, do regular lunge hops with your torso upright instead of getting so low through the upper body.

Circuit 3 – REPEAT CIRCUIT 2 ON LEFT LEG

Circuit 4

30 seconds each exercise x3 – resistance band loop around thighs

Circuit 4 is five straight minutes of hip bridge work (talk about a glute burn!). If you want it to be harder, you can place your feet on an elevated surface or place a weight across your hips. In the video for this workout, I talk a bit about form in hip bridge exercises and if you’re new to working out, it’s definitely worth watching. Scroll up to the embedded video and fast forward to 20:05 for form tips.

Hip Bridge Lifts | Start laying on your back with knees bent, feet hip’s width apart, heels under knees, arms by side. Pressing into your heels and squeezing into your glutes, lift your hips up to a bridge position. Lower back down to hover your hips over the floor (try not to rest them)

Hip Bridge Pulses Out + Up | Hold the top of your bridge and pulse your knees out wide against the resistance band then pulse your hips up an inch higher to the ceiling. Continue pulsing out and up.

Hip Bridge March | Holding the top of your bridge, you’re going to lift one foot at a time, crunching the knee in towards your chest like a march. Try to keep your hips level as you do this (both hip bones same distance from the ceiling). If your resistance band rides up during this, don’t sweat it, just keep on marching.

FINISHER (30 sec): Hip Bridge Hold | Hold the top of your bridge.

WEARING | (outfit c/o of adidas) leggings / tank / sports bra / sneakers

I know that last picture of my outfit has nothing to do with the workout, I just think it’s cute. [insert sassy girl emoji] Speaking of cute …

Activewear Sale Alert!

Now until 10/29 you can take 20% off your *first* order from Carbon38 with the code CARBON20. I pretty much want every single piece of activewear on their site, but if you’re looking for specific suggestions, almost everything in this fall style roundup post I did last month is from Carbon38. Shop the site HERE.

Links to equipment and outfit details are affiliate.

Filed Under: Butt, Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Kettlebell, Lower Body, Video, Workouts

30-Minute Low Body Workout (Glutes) with Resistance Band Loop + Med Ball

May 22, 2017 by Nicole 2 Comments

Hope you all had a great weekend! I spent mine on Nantucket, and even though it was a little chilly, it felt like an unofficial kickoff to summer. We rented bikes, hung out with friends, did lots of eating and drinking outside in the sun—it was wonderful. And after a few days of relaxing, I am craving a good sweat! This 30-minute low body workout will pay extra attention to the glutes (my bum was sore for two days after filming it).

30-Minute Low Body Workout (Glutes)

Equipment I Used:

6-lb medicine ball
Resistance band loop (go light to medium so that you can get the needed range of motion)

This workout is broken up into three circuits. The first two circuits use a resistance band loop for low-impact, targeted exercises for the glutes. The third and final is a HIIT circuit using a medicine ball to target the lower body with high(er) impact exercises. Rest for 30 seconds in between each circuit.

Resistance Band Loop Circuit 1: Tabletop Exercises

Do each of the exercises for 30 seconds, moving one right to the next without rest in between. Go through the four exercises twice. First on the right, then on the left.

Donkey Kick Pulses | In tabletop position with your hands stacked under shoulders and knees under hips, engage your core and bring your right foot up so that the knee is bent and around hip height. The resistance band should be around your left ankle as an anchor and your right foot. In this position, pulse your right leg up and down a couple inches, keeping tension on the band.
Straight Leg Lifts Up + Out | Straighten out your leg at about hip height. From here, lift the leg up then swing it out to the side with control, back to center, and then lower back to starting position. These are small, controlled movements. Keep the top of the foot pointing to the floor the whole time and the hips square.
Spider Crunch with Pulses | From tabletop position, lower onto your left forearm so that your upper body is stacked open. Your right kneecap and toes should face the wall, not the floor. Start with your right leg straight and then crunch the knee in to your shoulder and back out straight. Do three straight-leg pulses here. You’ll be targeting the right side but your left glutes need to work as well. Try to keep your left hip stacked over your left knee as best as you can. If you have super tight hips, this can be a tough one. Try doing it laying on your side instead to modify.
Tabletop Plank Jacks | Start in a plank position with the resistance band a couple inches above your ankles. Jump your feet out wide (like a horizontal jumping jack), back to center plank, and then bend your knees and hop your feet forward so that you land in a hovering tabletop position (knees under hips hovering a couple inches off the floor).

Resistance Band Loop Circuit 2: Standing Exercises

Do each of the exercises for 30 seconds, moving one right to the next without rest in between. Go through the four exercises twice. First on the right, then on the left.

Out-turned Straight Leg Pulses | Stand with the resistance band a couple inches above your ankles and your hips pointing forward. Your right leg should be straight, extended behind you at an angle and rotated outward. Keep a soft bend to your left knee. From here, pulse the right leg up and out.
Deadlifts | Square your hips to the floor. Keep that mini-bend to the left knee and your core engaged as you tilt forward as if your body is a seesaw. Come back upright with control until your right toes lightly tap the floor.
Deadlift Pulses | Hold the tilted position and pulse your back right leg up and down a couple inches.
Popcorn Squats | Jump your feet out wide as you sink into a squat and touch the floor with one hand. Jump your feet together as you come upright and then repeat, touching the floor with the other hand.

REPEAT CIRCUIT 1 + CIRCUIT 2

Repeat the two circuits, this time starting on the left side and then the right side.

Circuit 3: Med Ball HIIT

For your final circuit, you’ll do 15 rounds of 30 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. You’ll have five medicine ball exercises that you’ll go through three times. It will take 10 minutes in total.

Jump Lunge Scoops | Start in a split-stance lunge position, one foot planted on the ground in front, the ball of the other foot planted behind you, both knees at opposing 90-degree angles. Holding the med ball in both hands overhead, do a jump lunge, switching your feet midair and landing back in a lunge with the other foot forward. From here, scoop the med ball down and to the outside of your front leg. Scoop it back up overhead and repeat to the other side.
Bottom-Half Burpees with Forward/Backward Hop | Start in a low squat position with med ball at chest. Bring med ball to the floor and jump feet back into a plank. Jump them back up into a low squat position, bring the ball back to your chest and hop backwards, staying low. Repeat, but the next time hop forward.
Soccer Taps | This is like high knees but as you drive your knees up, tap your foot on top of the medicine ball. Try to make physical contact with the ball each time without causing it to roll away.
Marching Wall Sit | Hold the med ball at chest height. Back against a wall, knees bent to 90 degrees, feet hip’s width apart. Lift one foot at a time, marching the knee up towards your chest.
Pivoting Low Lunge – Squat – Lunge | Pulse in a low lunge position with right foot in front and then, staying low, pivot to center and pulse in a low squat position. Finally, pivot to the other side so that the left foot is leading the lunge and pulse there. Stay low the whole time as you pulse right, center, left, center, etc.