Hand Weights/Dumbbells

Upper Body Pyramid Workout (15 Mins)

October 7, 2019 by Nicole Leave a Comment

Today’s upper body pyramid workout uses the same structure as last week’s focusing on lower body. If you’re looking for more of a total-body workout, try doing the two back to back! Next week I’ll have one focused on core, and finally one that’s total body. All are just 15 minutes long but pack a big challenge!

Upper Body Pyramid Workout

EQUIPMENT I USED:

Set of medium dumbbells + a drop set – I’m using a set of 10-lb weights and a set of 8-lb weights for my drop set. The last two exercises focus on shoulders, and you’ll probably want to have a lighter set on hand for those.

This upper body pyramid workout is structured like a game of Simon or Bop It. Each round, we add on an exercise, building up to six exercises in the final, longest round. Exercises are done for 35 seconds. Rest is for 30 seconds. Here’s what it looks like:

Exercise 1
Rest
Exercise 1 + Exercise 2
Rest
Exercise 1 + Exercise 2 + Exercise 3
… and so on up to six.

As with all workouts, you want to make sure you’re properly warmed up beforehand, and always listen to your body, modifying or stopping as needed. I have two warm ups on my channel:

5-Min Warm Up
7-Min Gentle Warm Up (no jumping)

Workout Breakdown

See times in above video for a preview of the exercises and how to modify.

Biceps Circle Curls (1:55)
Row x2 + Overhead Raise (3:00)
Marching Push Ups (4:41)
Surfer Get-Ups (6:58)
Bent Raise, Rotate, Shoulder Press (9:50)
Shoulder Press Ups (13:20)

Outfit is from Legit Activewear. Use my code NICOLE15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Pyramid, Upper Body, Video, Workouts

Heavy Glutes Workout

April 15, 2019 by Nicole 1 Comment

This heavy glutes workout will take you just about 17 minutes to complete. If you’re looking for a longer workout, try pairing it with the heavy core workout from last week. Same equipment needed for both!

Heavy Glutes Workout

EQUIPMENT I USED:

Set of heavy dumbbells – Heavy will mean something different for everyone. I’m using a set of 20-lb dumbbells.
(optional) Resistance band loop – For some of the exercises, this will increase the challenge of the move and help you activate your glutes. But all exercises can be preformed without it.
(optional) Stepper – I used this for just one exercise (hip bridges) to increase the challenge of it. You could use any bench or elevated surface. Or you could simply keep your foot on the floor!

Each exercise in this heavy glutes workout is done for either 40 or 70 seconds. That might seem like a random length of time, but it’s to account for transitioning between one move and the next. So really it’ll be closer to 30 seconds and 60 seconds.

You’ll do a squat-based exercise for 40 seconds, then three 70-second exercises isolating one side of the body. You repeat, isolating the other side. Then you rest for 30-60 seconds. (If you need to rest between sides of the body as well, do so!) You’ll then repeat the whole thing once more.

The first time through, I used one heavy weight for the squatting exercises. The second time through, I used both heavy weights.

As with all workouts, you want to make sure you’re properly warmed up beforehand. I have two guided warm up to choose from if you don’t want to do your own:

Workout Breakdown

See 2:18 in the above video for a preview of each exercise. To modify, use lighter weights.

Weighted Squats — add a lateral step at the bottom the next time you do these.
SL Deadlifts
Clamshell Lifts
SL Hip Bridge

More Glutes Workouts

If you like this heavy glutes workout, check out some of my other workouts from the archives that target the butt:

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Butt, Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Video, Workouts

Heavy Core Workout (20 Mins)

April 8, 2019 by Nicole Leave a Comment

Today’s heavy core workout left my obliques super sore the next day. Most of the workouts I post use medium dumbbells (10ish pounds), but today we’re ramping it up and going heavier. “Heavy” will of course mean something different for everyone, but aim for a weight about twice as high as what you consider “medium.”

Heavy Core Workout

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

2 heavy dumbbells (I’m using 20 lbs) – We’ll really only be using one, but you’ll need a second as an anchor between your feet for a couple exercises.
Stepper or step bench

The exercises in this heavy core workout are done for either 60 or 30 seconds. You move from one to the next with no rest, making for a 5-minute block of work. The first time through, do the first three exercises on the right. Second time through, on the left. Repeat. We’ll rest for 30 seconds in between sets, 60 seconds at the halfway mark. You’re looking at 20 minutes of work, 22 minutes total including rest.

As with all workouts, make sure you’re properly warmed up beforehand. I have a 5-minute warm up and a gentler, low-impact version of it. Always listen to your body, modifying or stopping as needed. The best way to modify this workout is to simply use lighter weights.

If you don’t have a dumbbell for this heavy core workout, a kettlebell would do for most of the exercises. It just might be awkward with the row depending on how high your step bench is.

I’m in a bit of a predicament with shooting workout videos because Joe won a Peloton (!!!) and it now takes up our entire tiny living room, where I typically shoot. I have a glutes-focused workout I shot at my parents’ house that I’ll post next week, but then I don’t know what I’m going to do. That’s not to say there won’t be workouts—I’ll figure something out—just might be shot in a very random place. TBD.

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Abs, Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Video, Workouts