Medicine Ball

Med Ball HIIT Workout

April 17, 2018 by Nicole Leave a Comment

Before we get to this med ball HIIT workout, an embarrassing story …

For the last five years of posting workouts to this blog, I’ve used this “6-pound” medicine ball and always wondered why it was so challenging when I typically use 10 or 12-lb medicine balls when taking classes at studios. The other day I made Joe hold it and he was immediately like, “This is definitely more than 6 pounds. It’s probably 6 kilograms.”

KILOGRAMS. DUH!!!!

Took me FIVE years to figure that out. I haven’t felt this dumb since the time someone asked me what the name of my nail polish was and I turned over the bottle to read the label and replied, “Peel Here.” (It was one of those labels you peel open to continue reading.)

Speaking of workout equipment, I recently joined a gym (for the first time in eight years!) and now have access to all sorts of fun stuff. It’d be weird to shoot a mic’d-up full workout video there, but I’m going to post clips to my Facebook page frequently for additional workout ideas. You won’t be able to follow along with me, but you’ll see a demonstration of each exercise and get the breakdown of the workout structure. Here’s one I posted Monday using a soft medicine ball. Be sure to like the P&I page so you don’t miss out!

Med Ball HIIT Workout

Equipment I Used:

Medicine ball—I used 6kg which is about 13lbs
Exercise mat
Interval timer—I use a Gymboss at home and if I’m at the gym, I use the IntervalTimer app on my iPhone (you don’t need either if you follow along with the video!)

This workout will take you 18 minutes to complete. Set an interval timer for 18 rounds of 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest. Go through the circuit of exercises three times.

As with all workouts, make sure you’re properly warmed up beforehand. Always listen to your body, modifying or stopping as needed.

Workout Breakdown

To see all the exercises in action, fast forward to 1:44 in the above video.

Soccer Taps
Single-Leg Overhead Hop to Squat (right)
Single-Leg Overhead Hop to Squat (left)
Full-Body Pass Crunches
Alternating Uneven Push Ups
Med Ball Burpees

xo Nicole

Links to workout equipment and outfit details are affiliate.

Filed Under: Full Body, Interval Training, Medicine Ball, Video, Workouts

15 or 30-Minute Full Body Circuit Workout (Med Ball)

March 15, 2018 by Nicole Leave a Comment

Very excited about this full body circuit workout because I finally figured out how to add countdown clocks to the video! It’s actually not that hard, and I should have done this way sooner. It was just a matter of sitting down and sifting through how-to videos on YouTube until I found a good tutorial. You’ll now know exactly how many seconds of torture you have left during each work interval. 😉

15 or 30-Minute Full Body Circuit Workout (Med Ball)

This workout can take you 15 minutes or 30 minutes. If you’re looking for a longer workout, repeat the video twice. That being said, this is plenty challenging as a 15-min routine. 😉

There are five exercises in this circuit. For each exercise, you do an interval structure of 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest x3. Move immediately onto the next exercise when you’ve completed the three rounds.

As with all workouts, make sure to warm up beforehand. Listen to your body and modify as needed, stopping altogether if something doesn’t feel right.

To see how each exercise is performed and how to modify, check out the above video @1:36. Below are some additional notes on each exercise.

Low Lunge – Squat – Lunge Pulse with Extension
Med Ball Slam Stop Burpees | If you’re doing the workout at a gym or another place it’s ok to slam the ball onto the floor, you can do full slam burpees instead of stopping the momentum of the ball. (I have downstairs neighbors so I can’t).
Deadbug with Medicine Ball | If you don’t have a medicine ball or want to modify with less weight, you can use really any object (a yoga block works well!). Just make sure to actively press it between your hand and leg.
Logger Jumps to Squat Hold
Jump Lunge with Obliques Scoop

Hope you’re all having a great week so far! I filmed this video on Tuesday so you can see the Nor’easter raging outside my window. Anyone else counting down the seconds until spring weather arrives??!

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Circuit, Full Body, Interval Training, Medicine Ball, 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.