Workouts — Page 44

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

20-Minute Full Body Workout (High/Low Intensity and High/Low Weights)

January 8, 2018 by Nicole 1 Comment

Today’s 20 minute full body workout coming to you later in the day than planned because I spent a solid two hours uploading the wrong video to YouTube (go me!). Hope you enjoy it and if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my channel. 🙂

20-Minute Full Body Workout (High/Low Intensity and High/Low Weights)

EQUIPMENT I USED:

This workout consists of high-intensity bodyweight tabatas and circuits with weights. You’ll alternate between the two: tabata, weight circuit, tabata, weight circuit. A tabata is 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. For this workout, you’ll do four exercises, cycling through them twice. For the weighted circuit, you do each exercise for 60 seconds and complete all six exercises back to back with no rest.

As with all workouts, always listen to your body, modifying or stopping as needed. Make sure to properly warm up beforehand and take time to cool down and stretch afterwards.

WEIGHTED

Truck Driver Squats | Start standing with weight at chest. Squat down. Holding low in your squat, press the weight in front of you at chest height. Twist the weight to the left then to the right. Return to center, pull weight back into chest and stand up.

Curls to Balance (Right) | Start in a split lunge with right foot forward and ball of the left foot planted behind you. Holding low in your lunge, do two biceps curls. With weights by your side, shift your weight forward into the right heel as you hinge forward with your torso, bringing you left leg off the ground (picture your body is like a seesaw with your right leg as the base). Make sure you keep a soft bend to your right knee as you do this. Pause in the position and then return back to your low lunge stance.

Curls to Balance (Left)

Shoulder Hinge to Press | Start standing with one weight in each hand and you elbows bent to 90 degrees at your sides (as if you were doing a hammer curl). From here, lift your elbows up wide to shoulder height, maintaining the 90-degree bend at the elbows (at top, weights and elbows will be at shoulder height). From here, rotate to a goal post position, raising the weights up, still keeping the 90-degree bend. From here, do two shoulder presses. Reverse the motion back down to starting position.

Crossbody Squats | Start in a wide-stance low squat with toes turned slightly outward and weights at shoulders. As you drive up from your low squat, pivot onto the ball of your right foot and twist to the left as you press the weight in your right hand overhead. Return back down to squat and repeat in the opposite direction.

Sit Ups | Sit on the floor with one dumbbell at your chest and the other between your feet (that’ll help you stay in position). Do traditional sit-ups, lowering and lifting your back off the floor, keeping the weight touching your chest the whole time (resist the urge to press it away from your body for leverage).

TABATA

Chest-to-Floor Burpees | Jump up into the air, arms overhead. Land and squat down, bringing hands to the floor. Jump feet back to plank and as you do, lower your body with control to the floor. Press back up to your feet.

Plank Jack to Bear | Start in a plank position with feet hip’s width apart. Jump your feet out wide, back to starting position, and then bend your knees, hopping your feet under your hips in a tabletop position. Jump them back out to starting position.

Squat Jack to Star Jump | Start in a narrow squat with feet close together. Staying low, jump your feet out wide then back to starting position. From here, jump up into the air, reaching your arms and legs wide in a star position. Land back down in your narrow squat.

Crab Kicks | These should burn those triceps! Start in a flipped tabletop position. Feet under knees, wrists under shoulders with fingers pointing forward. Kick one leg up straight as you bend your elbows. Switch the kick over to the other side, straightening arms, lifting hips and then landing down in the dip.

WEARING: Nike Dri-FIT Training tank (currently on sale!) / Crane & Lion leggings (available in a different color) / Nike TR Flex Supreme sneaker (old, but check out the newest versions of this sneaker here)

Let me know in the comments what equipment you’d like to see in workout videos this year! I’m thinking of buying a step bench, and have already gotten requests for more resistance band workouts. 🙂

xo Nicole

Outfit and workout equipment links are affiliate.

Filed Under: Full Body, Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Tabata, Video, Workouts

Mini-Circuits Workout (Full Body, Set of Dumbbells)

December 23, 2017 by Nicole 4 Comments

For many months now, it’s been pretty quiet here on the blog. A post here, a post there, sometimes with weeks in between. I’m really excited for that to change. I have a ton planned for 2018 and P&I will soon be back to a regular 3-5 posts each week. Woop woooop! I know a lot of us are in vacation mode this week and not checking blogs, but I’m sharing this mini-circuits workout anyway. Mainly because these leggings are only appropriate for a few more days and I need to get maximal wear out of them. 😉

Mini-Circuits Workout

EQUIPMENT I USED

10-lb dumbbells – you might want two sets of weights, a heavy and medium set (I wished I had a heavier pair during the first circuit)
Exercise mat

This workout is broken up into three mini circuits. For each circuit, you’ll complete four sets of three exercises. You do each exercise for 30 seconds, back to back, and then rest for 15 seconds before starting the next set.

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

CIRCUIT 1 – Core & Upper Body

Row to Crossbody Crunch | In a plank position with a dumbbell in your right hand, row your right elbow up, bringing the weight to your armpit. Return it to the floor and crunch left knee across to your right elbow. Alternate sides each set.
Rolling Crunches | For these, you just alternate between a side v-up crunch on your right side, then roll onto your back for a regular full-body crunch, then roll onto your left side for another side v-up, back to center, and so on. Start laying on your right side with right arm stretched outwards on the ground for support. Do a side crunch, lifting your legs up and crunching the knees in to meet your left elbow and raised torso. Lower down and roll onto your back with arms overhead and legs straight out, hovering a couple inches off the floor (to make these challenging, try your best to never let your feet rest on the floor, even while rolling from side to side). From this position, bend your knees into your chest at the same time as you crunch your torso off the floor. Slowly release back down onto your back and roll over to your left side for your next side v crunch.
Windmill to Shoulder Press | Start in a standing position, feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, dumbbell pressed above head in right hand. Your right foot should be pointing forward, your left foot pointing out to the side (perpendicular to the right). Slowly bend down from the hips, keeping legs and the arm holding the weight straight (but don’t lock out the knees). Lightly touch the ground by your left foot with your left hand, keeping the weight perpendicular to the ground the whole time. Slowly rise back up to starting position. Do a shoulder press, lowering the weight and pressing it back up. Alternate sides each set.

CIRCUIT 2 – Legs & Glutes

Low Squat to Side Lunge | Start in a low squat position with a weight at your shoulders. Staying low, lightly tap your left foot out wide into a side lunge then back to center. Alternate sides each set.
Surrender Squats | Start by squatting down with weights held at shoulders. Step your right foot back behind you, planting the ball of the foot on the floor as you gently lower your knee to the ground. Both knees should be at opposing 90-degree angles. Step your left foot back to meet the right so that you’re kneeling on the ground. Step your right foot forward so that you’re in the same position as before, just with the opposite foot in front. Bring your left foot forward (staying low), returning to your starting low squat position. Power up to stand. Switch your lead foot each rep.
Popcorn Squats | Jump your feet out wide as you sink down in a squat, brining one hand to touch the floor. Hop back up brining feet together then immediately go back down bringing opposite hand to the floor. Continue, jumping as quickly as you can.

CIRCUIT 3 – Full Body

Overhead Swing to Marching Plank | Start in a low sumo squat position with weight between your feet, toes angled outward. Swing the weight overhead, staying low in a squat. When you do this, make sure you’re engaged through the core, not letting your rib cage poke out. Bring weight back to floor and hands outside of it. Hop back into a plank position and march down to a forearm plank and back up to hands. Hop feet up wide and start from the top. When you do the march, alternate which is the lead hand.
Torso Twist in Lunge | With right foot forward and left foot back, hold a low lunge position, front knee bent to 90 degrees and stacked over the ankle. Hold a dumbbell in both hands and outstretch arms at chest height. From here, twist torso, brining arms out over to the right. Return to center. Alternate sides each set.
Squat Press | With one weight on each shoulder, squat down and drive up, doing a shoulder press at the top. Keep your core engaged as you do this so that you don’t arch into the low back too much.