Workouts

10-Minute Core Workout You Can Do Anywhere

January 5, 2016 by Nicole 9 Comments

Ok I finished listening to season 1 of the Serial podcast yesterday and I’m pissed. WTF was that ending?! Why did you even bring Adnan’s case into my life if you weren’t going to resolve ANYTHING for me?! Gahhhhh. My friend just told me a follow-up podcast called Undisclosed takes a deeper look into Adnan’s case, so that does a bit to pacify my frustrations, but still. I need more!

Anywhooo, today’s workout is one I did a couple times in various forms while traveling in Costa Rica. It’s simple and quick but challenging! I even got two of my cousins in on it one afternoon (what troopers! haha):

10-Minute Core Workout

You’ll notice the flow of the exercises is circular: The first exercise you do on the right side will be the last exercise you do on the left. The reason for this sequencing is to break up the plank-based work. I don’t want a fatigued upper body/wrists to inhibit your oblique work.

In general, you’ll do two exercise combos on the right, hold a forearm plank, repeat the exercises on the left and then rest before repeating the whole thing again. Here’s a visual breakdown of the workout:

If you want a longer workout, you can always repeat a third time. While in Costa Rica, I did a treadmill/core workout where I did one circuit of this core move following by a 1-mile run and repeated that three times. So get creative! Detailed exercise descriptions below the pictorial.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER SLIDES (20 seconds, right side) | Start in a plank position with wrists aligned underneath shoulders, abs engaged and spine straight. From here, lift your right leg and bend your right knee in towards your right wrist, making physical contact if possible. From this starting position, you’re going to slide your knee up and down your arm, zipping it towards your armpit as you pull your abs in and round your back slightly up towards the ceiling (think of a mini-cat stretch) and then sliding it back down to the wrist. At the bottom, you want the knee at a hover; try not to rest it on the floor. The goal is to keep the knee lightly touching your arm the whole time, but just keep the knee pulled in as close to the arm as possible.

CROSSBODY MOUNTAIN CLIMBER HOLD (10 seconds, right knee to left elbow) | Still in plank with your right leg bent and hovering off the ground, crunch that right knee across your body in towards the left elbow (make physical contact if possible). Hold it there, in as close to the elbow as possible. Try to go immediately from the slides to this hold without dropping out of the plank.

REPEAT MC SLIDES + CB MC HOLD ON RIGHT | Try to go immediately from the first hold back to the slides without dropping out of the plank.

SIDEBODY V UPS (20 seconds, right side) | Start laying on your side, balancing on that bottom hip/side butt area with your bottom hand on the floor in front of you for support. Top arm is bent with hand behind your head and elbow out wide; legs should be extended and hovering off the ground. This is your starting position. From here, you’re going to crunch up and in, keeping your legs straight as you lift your torso up and in to meet them so that your sidebody forms a “v” shape. Use that bottom hand for support, but try to push off it minimally. Slowly lower back down and extend back out to a hover.

SIDEBODY V UP HOLD (10 seconds, right side) | For this just hold the top of your last v up rep. Once you’re in the hold, see if you can tent the left fingertips on the floor, reducing the support of the bottom hand—challenge yourself, it’s “only” 10 seconds! 😉

REPEAT SB V UPS + SB V UP HOLD ON RIGHT

FOREARM PLANK (60 seconds) | Most of us are familiar with a plank, so just a couple form queues: think of stacking your joints, elbows directly below shoulders. Pull the lower abdomen in to protect the low back (think of pulling up your jeans’ zipper). Squeeze the quads above the knees—notice how engaging these muscles helps straighten out your body even more. Tuck the tailbone slightly and then fire up the entire abdomen by pulling the forearms and balls of feel in towards each other (you won’t actually move, you’ll just contract the muscles). Need more explanation? I did a whole post on common plank form errors).

SIDEBODY V UPS / HOLD ON LEFT x2

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER SLIDES + CROSSBODY HOLD ON LEFT x2

Rest 30-60 seconds and then repeat the entire thing.

WEARING | leggings + bra c/o Tully Lou // Lululemon tank (old but similar look here) // bracelets from Stephie Chic and Lokai

Aren’t these leggings dope?? The mesh and white seams = amazing. Tully Lou is an Australian activewear brand and they’ve got some seriously fashion-forward workout gear. The collection is small, but I literally want everything they have.

Did you follow along with the Serial podcast? What’d you think of the ending? And what do you think of Adnan–innocent or charming sociopath? I think … innocent.

SHOP A SIMILAR LOOK:

Filed Under: Abs, Bodyweight, Workouts

Timed Workout Challenge: 100 Reps, 3 Ways

December 21, 2015 by Nicole 6 Comments

This is a quick, fun one!

Timed Workout Challenge: 100 Reps, 3 Ways

You’ll go through 100 reps of the three exercises three times, resting in between sets as needed. Each of the three rounds is done differently, but the end result is the same: you will have completed 100 reps of each move.

Round 1 | Complete 100 reps of each exercise (must do 100 of one before moving onto the next)
Round 2 | Complete 50 reps of each exercise, going through them twice (like a circuit to add up to 100 reps)
Round 3 | Complete 25 reps of each exercise, going through them four times (like a circuit to add up to 100 reps)

You’re going through these AS FAST AS POSSIBLE without sacrificing proper form. Time yourself each round to see which structure you can complete the fastest. I found that Round 3 was my fastest. Even though I was starting to tire from the previous two, moving from one to the next after only 25 reps gives certain muscles a rest while the others work so that I could fly through the circuit.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS | These are like doing high knees in a plank position. Start in a plank, hands stacked underneath shoulders, core squeezing in tight (don’t let your low back sag or your butt stick up in the air). From this position, drive one knee at a time up towards your chest, like running horizontally. The pace on these should be quick. Each pair (right, left) is one rep. So think one, one, two, two, three, three…

SQUAT PULSES | Feet about hips-width apart, squat down, sending your hips and butt back and down (not the knees forward!). Keep your chest open, shoulders back—it’s natural to lean forward slightly as you lower down, but we don’t want to hunch forward. Bring your hands in front of you as you sink down to your lowest point, bodyweight staying in your heels. This is your starting position and you’ll try to stay this low the entire time. From here pulse up an inch or two, down an inch or two. It’s a small movement, pressing through the heels to slightly straighten the knees and then sinking right back down to your lowest squat point.

BICYCLE CRUNCHES | Start laying on your back, hands behind your head (but not pulling on your head) and legs extended straight out, hovering off the floor a couple inches. From here, bend your left knee in, keeping the right leg extended out straight, and crunch your upper back up off the floor, twisting the right elbow across your body to meet the left knee. Repeat to the other side, fluidly moving from one side to the next, legs alternating in a pedaling motion. Go fast, but don’t move so quickly through these that you aren’t extending your leg out completely straight with each rep. Each pair (right, left) is one rep. So think one, one, two, two, three, three…

WEARING | Fabletics top // Booty by Brabants leggings // Nike sneakers (similar but cooler looking in my opinion)

Which round was your fastest? Tell me in the comments!

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Full Body, Reps/Rounds for Time, Workouts

No-Slam Sandbag Pyramid Workout

December 17, 2015 by Nicole 2 Comments

I’ve mentioned a bunch on the blog how much I love boxing workouts at Peter Welch’s in Southie and other studios around Boston, so you can imagine how pumped I was to get to team up with Everlast. Boxing and MMA-inspired workouts are trendy right now for a reason—they’re SO FUN and extremely effective because the type of training is functional (Everlast FIT stands for Functional Integrated Training).

I was sent Everlast’s Universal FIT Gloves, 30-lb FIT Powercore Bag and Cardio Fitness Training Bag. The training bag isn’t meant to be hit hard (as I found out after throwing my first cross and completely knocking it over … not-so-humble brag?) so I’d recommend it more for speed work. I’m not going to include it in today’s workout because I don’t expect many people have one at home, so instead let’s focus on the Powercore Bag—any type of weighted bag can be used.

I’ve wanted a sandbag for my home gym forever, but I think my excitement was topped by Joe’s. Before I could even try it out, he started tossing it over his shoulder and body slamming it onto the ground like the wannabe professional wrestler that he is (haha). Someone who’s definitely not excited? Our downstairs neighbor. That’s why for today’s workout, I wanted to focus on some exercises you can do with a weighted bag that don’t involve slams.

No-Slam Sandbag Pyramid Workout

Equipment I Used:

30-lb sandbag from Everlast

Each time you go through the circuit of three exercises, you’ll perform one less rep of each. Start by doing 10 reps of each, then 9, then 8, all the way down to 1 rep. For the plank pulls and lunges, you’re alternating side to side so 10 reps really means 20 (10 reps to each side).

Clean to Front Squat | Start standing with the sandbag the long way on the floor, knees bent, butt back, back flat and straight arms gripping the bag handles. From here, you’re going to clean the back up and over your hands so that it lands cradled in your elbows, palms facing out. As you catch the bag at your chest, lower down in a deep squat. From there, power up to standing, squeezing your glutes and thrusting the hips forward. That’s one rep. Reverse the clean, returning the bag to the floor with control (don’t slam it down).

Tip: As the bag is coming over the tops of your hands to land in your arms, loosen your grip on the handles so that it doesn’t jerk your wrists back uncomfortably.

Crossbody Bag Pulls in Plank | Start in a plank position with the sandbag long to your left. Reach your right hand across your body to grab the top handle and pull the bag underneath you with enough power that it slides clear to your right. Reverse the movement, reaching your left hand under and across your body to grab the sandbag and pull it back to the starting side. As you do these, try to keep your hips level.

Front Lunge with Side Scoop | Start standing with feet hip’s width apart, holding the sandbag long ways in front of you. Lunge forward onto the right foot and as you do, sweep the sandbag to your right (think of paddling a boat), leading with the right hand. As you push off the front right foot to return to standing, swing the sandbag forward and back to center. Repeat to the left.

WEARING | tank c/o Reebok // Nike bra // leggings c/o Sweaty Betty

I can’t wait to post more sandbag workouts! There is SO much you can do with them. You can check out Everlast to buy your own (take 15% off with code FitFluential) or follow them on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter.

What’s your favorite way to workout with a sandbag?

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Everlast FIT.

Filed Under: Full Body, Pyramid, Workouts