Chin ups, sit ups, push ups. We’re keeping things super simple with today’s workout. Pull ups and chin ups are something I can’t yet do unassisted (I’m working on it!), so I tie a resistance band around the bar and place one of my feet through it. It helps so much! The lower the resistance of the band, the harder the pull ups will be; if you need more support, go for a band with a heavier resistance. 

“Ups” Pyramid Workout with Cardio Intervals

Equipment I Used:

• Pull up bar (with a resistance band tied around it for assistance)
• Treadmill
• Exercise mat

You’ll go back and forth between a set of the “ups” and the treadmill. Every time you switch, the number of reps gets reduced by one and the distance you run gets reduced by .05 miles. So round one = 10 push ups, 10 v ups, 10 chin ups, .5 mile run. Round two = 9 push ups, 9 v ups, 9 chin ups, .45 mile run. By the end, you will have run a little under 3 miles and done 55 reps of each exercise. The rounds are quick! You’re running as fast as you can and getting through the “ups” taking as few breaks as possible. I know push ups and chin ups are familiar to most people, but if you’re unsure of what a v up crunch is:

• V-UP CRUNCH | Start on your back with arms stretched overhead and legs hovering just slightly above the ground. Pull your abs in tight and press your low back to the ground. You’ll then crunch up, bringing your hands towards your toes (keeping legs and arms straight). When done correctly, your body will make a “v” shape as you crunch; this means you’re not just reaching your arms up, your chest needs to move towards your knees. Lower back down to starting position. If possible, your feet should never touch the ground between reps.

WEARING | tank: Lorna Jane // leggings: Lululemon (out of stock, but similar ones here and here) // sneakers: Asics c/o Millet Sports

SHOP A SIMILAR LOOK:

I know this picture makes the workout look totally overcomplicated, but I swear it’s not—bear with me…

Hope you all are enjoying the weekend! I’m off to Btone in a couple hours to take a class before teaching a couple. For all you Boston peeps, Michele’s class is worth waking up early on a Sunday for—kicks my ass EVERY time. Add it to your must-try fitness list.

Anywho, I’ve got a fun cardio workout for all you gym-goes and treadmill owners. The treading class at Hilton Head Health was probably my favorite of the many varied exercise classes I tried there, so I thought it’d be fun to share one of my own creation and talk a little bit more about the fitness aspect of my stay at H3. If you missed my first post about the blogger trip to Hilton Head Health, I talked about the education component, specifically a lecture on portion control I attended.

All throughout the day at H3 there are fitness classes offered, ranging from yoga to TRX to aqua boxing in the pool. Some have capacity limits and require sign-up the day before, but for the majority of them, you can just pop into whichever ones sound appealing. That’s something I really liked about Hilton Head Health’s programming—they don’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. Yes, the majority of guests are there to lose weight, and there is guidance and encouragement to do certain classes, but there’s no drill-sergeant mentality. You make your own decisions about what you want to do.

Sarah and I at a TRX class at H3

During my stay, I tried a bunch of classes: Pilates for Flexibility, Yoga Flow, TRX Circuit, Muscle Mobility (SMR with lacrosse balls) and Treading (twice). A lot of the guests at H3 are just starting out on their road to health, and the instructors do a great job of teaching to beginners while also offering modifications for those who are more advanced in the class. As someone who’s in the industry, trust me—it’s a sign of a damn good instructor if a group of people ranging from young fitness bloggers to 60+-year-old beginners leaves a class all feeling like it was an awesome experience. So let’s slow clap it out for Camila at Hilton Head Health—her treading class had everyone sweating (and dancing).

45-Minute Treading Workout

This workout is made for the treadmill, but you could easily adapt it to another cardio machine (stationary bike, elliptical, etc.) The numbers used are for a treadmill with a 0-15 incline range, so adjust accordingly if your machine uses a different scale.

All levels can do this workout! You’ll see I use the terms walk, jog, run and sprint to describe the speed you should go—these terms will mean different speeds to different people. If you’re advanced, sprint might mean 10+mph. If you’re a newbie, sprint might mean power walking at 4+mph. Both are great! These terms represent more of an effort scale than a numerical speed value:

As you’ll see, the workout is broken up into sections. The numbers always represent incline. For speeds, I use walk, jog, run, sprint. The image at the beginning of this post is super detailed (you can print it out and bring it to the gym with you), but if you’re a treading pro, the following summary might be enough to guide you.

WARM UP | 0:00 – 3:00
At a 0 incline, do a minute of slow walking lunges (set treadmill to .5-1mph for these) then jog for two minutes.

STEADY CLIMB | 3:00 – 13:00
Maintain a steady jog-run pace throughout the 10 minutes. Every minute, you’ll change the resistance up by two points, starting at a 3 and peaking at a 15. You’ll then decrease the incline by four points each minute, returning back to a 3 incline.

CLIMBING SPEED INTERVALS | 13:00 – 17:30
Using 30-second intervals, you’ll run, sprint, and then walk (recover). Do this at a 3 incline, then a 6, then a 9.

BREAK | 17:30 – 19:00
Walk it out, grab a drink of water, catch your break. You can jog if you’re ambitious.

ROLLING HILL | 19:00 – 29:30
Maintain a steady jog-run pace the entire time. You’ll change your incline every 60 seconds climbing up to the top, staying at the top for 30 seconds. Incline changes are in increments of three and get less steep with each of the three hills: 6, 9, 12, 15 (first hill); 3, 6, 9, 12 (second hill); 0, 3, 6, 9 (last hill).

BREAK | 29:30 – 31:00
Walk it out, grab a drink of water, catch your break. You can jog if you’re ambitious.

SPEED INTERVALS | 31:00 – 36:30
These are done at a 0 incline. You recover for 30 seconds between each of the five sprints. The first two sprints are 60 seconds long and the last three sprints are 30 seconds long.

BREAK | 36:30 – 38:00
Walk it out, grab a drink of water, catch your break. You can jog if you’re ambitious.

FINAL PUSH | 38:00 – 41:00
Run for a minute each at a 10, 5, and then 0 incline.

COOL DOWN | 41:00 – 45:00
Walk for three minutes, gradually slowing it down. Finish with a minute of those slow walking lunges we started with.

Andie from Can You Stay For Dinner?, Beth from Beth’s Journey, Monique from Ambitious Kitchen, Sarah from Sarah Fit and I before our first treading class at H3. Not pictured is Lisa from Snack Girl who joined us for our second treading class the next day.

In addition to taking classes, I also got a tennis lesson (I LOVED it!) and went for a couple beautiful runs on the beach by H3. The sand there is hard so it’s perfect for running and even bike riding. If you follow me on instagram, you’ve already seen the view, but it’s just too pretty not to share again:

Have you ever taken a treading class (or something similar) before? I find running on a treadmill painfully boring alone, but in the group setting it was so fun!

This is a great workout for both outdoors and the gym. No equipment is required for the strength-training circuits, so you can stop at given points in an outdoor running route to complete them in the grass/sand/etc. On the flipside, if you’re gym bound, just snag one of the treadmills and a small area of floor space.

Bodyweight Circuit with Running Pyramid Workout

You’ll alternate between running (the distance decreases each round in a pyramid fashion) and completing three rounds of the following bodyweight circuit. In total, you run 2.5 miles and complete 9 rounds of the strength circuit. Here’s the breakdown:

• Run 1 mile
• 3 rounds of strength training circuit
• Run .75 miles
• 3 rounds of strength training circuit
• Run .5 miles
• 3 rounds of strength training circuit
• Run .25 miles

You should try to run each leg as fast as you can without stopping. And if you don’t have a treadmill or just hate running, feel free to replace it with another type of cardio (the elliptical, biking, etc.).

Strength Training Circuit Breakdown

Complete three rounds of the following in between each running leg:

• 10 Reptile Push Ups: Start in push up position (a plank with hands aligned under shoulders). As you lower down, crunch your right knee forward, in towards the right shoulder, squeezing those obliques. Return the foot back to the ground as you press back up into high plank position. Repeat, this time on the left.
• 20 Hindu Squats: A Hindu Squat can best be described as a fluid, deep squat in which you roll onto the balls of your feet as you come up. This is one squat variation where it’s okay for your knees to stick out farther than your toes—but only when you’re on the balls of your feet. Keep feet shoulder-width apart and start by squatting down, hands behind you, torso leaning forward. Move your arms in a circular motion so that your fingertips brush the ground when you’re at your lowest squat, shifting weight onto the balls of your feet and sweeping the arms forward as you come up.
• 10 (each side) Side Plank Crossbody Crunches: Start in a side plank position, top arm bent, hand behind your head, and bottom leg hovering a couple inches off the ground. From there, tuck your bottom knee forward as you crunch the opposite elbow towards it, twisting your torso towards the ground.
• 10 (each side) Forward/Backward Pivoting Lunges:This is essentially a front-to-back lunge with one foot planted on the ground. Start in a split-stance lunge, one foot forward, and on the ball of the back foot. Both knees should be bent to 90 degrees, back knee hovering a couple inches off the ground and front knee aligned over the ankle. Using the front foot as your anchor leg, step the back foot forward, landing back in the starting position only with the opposite leg forward, and then quickly pushing off that foot and returning it back behind the anchor foot to where it started.

Yeah yeah, ok, workout shmorkout—these leggings! So. Stinking. Comfy. I had seen the lucy brand floating around the internet for a while, and then spotted one of their stores while in San Francisco a couple months ago. I remember thinking how cute everything in the window display looked, and then as if reading my mind, the awesome people over at lucy reached out to me about rocking some of their apparel on P&I. Yes, please! I’m wearing the I Run This Capri (retail at $89), and love them. They’re soft and comfortable with a wide, flattering waistband, thick enough material to keep everything where it’s supposed to be, and cute color options.

Now per usual, I’ll leave you with a couple questions to get the ol’ comments section going…

Outdoor running or the treadmill—who ya got? (I think treadmills are torture—I’m Team Outdoors all the way!)

Have you tried out lucy workout apparel before? Thoughts?

Happy Humpday, friends!

Hello from Logan Airport! I’m here bright and early about to head to San Francisco for a fun blogging trip with Stitch Fix & LUNA Bars. I’ll obviously post ALL about it when I get back, but for now you can follow my trip on Instagram and Twitter. If you read a bunch of health & fitness blogs, you’ll probably recognize a lot of the other bloggers going with me–I was actually a little shocked (but so excited) to see I made the list! If they’re the MLB of fit blogging, I’m still playing tee ball over here haha. Anyway, on to today’s post…

I don’t have a gym membership, but every once in a while I’ll mooch a guest pass to Equinox or Sports Club LA from one of my friends and get in a workout using cardio equipment. This deck of cards workout is perfect for the treadmill, but can also be done using an elliptical, stairmaster, jump rope—or just by running outside. Get creative with the cardio portion!

Cardio Deck of Cards Workout

Equipment I Used:

• Treadmill
• Two 10-lb dumbbells
• Deck of Cards (or a deck-of-cards app like RipDeck)

For the deck-of-cards workout structure, you flip over one card at a time. Each suite corresponds to a different exercise, and the number on the card indicates the number of reps you’ll do. For example, a three of diamonds = 3 jack-jump planks in this workout. Go through the entire deck. There are smartphone apps out there (I use RipDeck) you can use so that you don’t have to be that weirdo walking into the gym holding a deck of cards.

CLUBS = PUSH UPS WITH DUMBBELL ROWS

Holding a dumbbell in each hand in a plank position, do a push up. Row your right hand up, elbow thrusting up, and then do the left. That’s one rep. If it hurts your wrists to hold the weights while in plank, place them besides you and just grab them after you do the push up for the rows.

DIAMONDS = JACK JUMP PLANKS

Start in a plank position. Jump both feet up towards your hands. Jump them back into plank position. Jump feet apart (like a horizontal jumping jack) and then jump them back together into your starting plank position. That’s one rep.

SPADES = V-UP CRUNCHES

To do a V-Up, you start on your back with arms stretched out overhead and legs hovering just slightly above the ground. You’ll then crunch up, bringing your hands towards your toes (keeping legs and arms straight). When done correctly, your body will make a “v” shape as you crunch; this means you’re not just reaching your arms up, your chest needs to move towards your knees. Lower back down to starting position. If possible, your feet should never touch the ground.

HEARTS = TREADMILL FOR 2 MINS

• Face card or Ace = Sprint (9-12 mph)
• 6-10 = Run (7-10 mph)
• 2-5 = Jog (5-7 mph)

WEARING | tank: Athleta // bra & leggings: c/o Reebok // sneakers: Nike

Like what I’m wearing in today’s post? SHOP A SIMILAR LOOK:

First off, I loved reading all your comments on yesterday’s post—so many great suggestions for new workouts and blog topics! I’ve added all of them to my to-do list. And I was especially excited to see a few of you wanted to know more about Btone and the classes I teach there. I’ve tried not to talk too much about it on the blog because I know most of you guys aren’t in Boston or an area that offers Megaformer classes, but now I’m definitely going to dedicate a few posts to explaining more about this uh-mazing workout. As for today’s…

While in Mexico, I ate a lot, drank a lot, slept a lot, sunbathed a lot—but wasn’t a total slob (well, if the breakfast buffet could talk, it might say otherwise). I worked out a couple times at the resort’s gym, and wanted to share what I did the first day with you guys because it was actually a real ass-kicker. My boyfriend and I decided to do a Barry’s Bootcamp-inspired workout, mixing treadmill intervals with strength training. He’d do eight minutes on the treadmill while I was doing strength training, then we’d switch; doing this twice for a 32-minute workout. The majority of my strength training intervals were bodyweight exercises, but he did some crazy-looking dumbbell boxing thing. Here’s what I did:

Barry’s Bootcamp-Inspired Hotel Gym Workout

Equipment I Used:

• Treadmill
• Two 10-lb dumbbells
• Exercise mat

As a reference, the treadmill I was using had a speed max of 12mph and an incline max of 15%. It also really really didn’t want me to workout:

Mexican treadmill = LOL pic.twitter.com/4HK1w5AjEQ

— Nicole Perry (@nicoleperr) May 4, 2014

Lazy treadmill aside, let’s get to the workout breakdown. Check out the picture tutorial then read the full description below for any needed clarification.

Think of this workout as being broken into four sections:

1. 8-minute AMRAP focusing on lower-body muscle groups
2. 8-minute treadmill hill workout
3. 8-minute AMRAP focusing on core
4. 8-minute treadmill sprinting workout

8-Minute AMRAP (Lower Body)

Do as many rounds of the following exercise circuit as you can in 8 minutes. Try not to take any breaks; push yourself as hard as you can without sacrificing proper form.

• 10 Burpees:The whole burpee sequence will look like this: squat down placing hands on the ground; jump back into plank position; jump legs back up towards hand; stand back into squat position; jump up with arms overhead.
• 10 Squat Pulse Jumps: Squat down, sending hips back like you’re sitting in a chair. Jump up, coming out of the squat and into the air. Land back down softly, sinking right back down into that deep squat position. Staying low, do 3 squat pulses, up a couple inches, down a couple inches. That’s one rep. Go right into your next jump.
• 10 Pivoting Lunges (each side):Holding a kettlebell in each hand, lunge forward onto one foot and then pushing off that front foot, come back upright and immediately step it back into a lunge. The other foot stays planted on the ground in the same position as you lunge forward and backward, back and forth. Hold a 10-lb dumbbell (or appropriate weight for your fitness level) in each hand.

8-Minute Treadmill Hill Workout

Adjust the speeds listed below to your fitness level, but try to stick to the incline changes.

• [Min 0-1] 5 mph @ 5% incline
• [Min 1-2] 6 mph @ 7.5% incline
• [Min 2-3] 7 mph @ 10% incline
• [Min 3-4] 6 mph @ 10% incline
• [Min 4-5] 5 mph @ 10% incline
• [Min 5-6] 5 mph @ 7.5% incline
• [Min 6-7] 5 mph @ 5% incline
• [Min 7-8] 7 mph @ 15% incline

8-Minute AMRAP (Core)

Do as many rounds of the following exercise circuit as you can in 8 minutes. Try not to take any breaks; push yourself as hard as you can without sacrificing proper form.

• 50 Bicycle Crunches:Lay on back, hands behind head. When you crunch up towards your bent left knee, your right leg should be extended out and not touching the ground. Switch sides, crunching over towards the right with your left leg extended. Continue in a fluid, cycling motion.
• 10 Windshield Wipers:Lay on back, legs perpendicular to the ground and arms outstretched for support. Lower your legs to the right, twisting your hips, until they are just hovering above the ground. Lift back to starting position and over to the left side. Continue back and forth in a windshield-wiper motion.
• 10 Hip Dip Forearm Planks:Start in an elbow plank position. Keeping shoulders level, twist your torso to lower your right hip to the floor. Return to plank position and then twist the other way, lowering your right hip to the floor.
• 10 Sawing Forearm Planks: Go right into these from the hip dips; don’t come out of the plank position. Get into an elbow plank position. Rock forward, pointing your feet, and then back, flexing them. Keep core tight and body straight throughout the movement.
• 5 V-Up Crunches:Start on your back with arms stretched out overhead and legs hovering just slightly above the ground. You’ll then crunch up, bringing your hands towards your toes (keeping legs and arms straight). When done correctly, your body will make a “v” shape as you crunch; this means you’re not just reaching your arms up, your chest needs to move towards your knees. Lower back down to starting position. If possible, your feet should never touch the ground.

8-Minute Treadmill Sprint Workout

Stay on 0% incline the whole time. Adjust the speeds listed to your fitness level, but try to stay in a -2/+2 range if possible.

• [Min 0-1] 6 mph
• [Min 1-2] 7 mph
• [Min 2-3] 8 mph
• [Min 3-4] 10 mph
• [Min 4-5] 6 mph
• [Min 5-6] 10 mph
• [Min 6-7] 6 mph
• [Min 7-8] 10.5 mph

At Barry’s, on those amazing Woodway treadmills, I can max out closer to 12 mph when sprinting, but on the one at the resort I felt like I was dying at 10.5. Couldn’t have gone .0001mph faster if I tried.

WEARING | shorts: Lululemon / tank: H&M / sneakers: Nike Free +3

Have you guys ever done Barry’s Bootcamp? They opened a location in Boston this fall and it’s suuuuuch a good workout. I don’t get in for classes as often as I’d like, but have been trying to make it to one every week or two. They’re longer (and harder) than this workout I’ve posted, which is just loosely based off Barry’s, so definitely try out the real thing if you have a studio in your area!

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Reebok. All opinions are my own (duh).

My first post fueled by FitFluential—I think this means I’m finally a legit fitness blogger, right?? *Takes bite of Ben & Jerry’s while watching Real Housewives on the couch* Eh, ok, maybe not.

A few months ago, I was excited to find out I’d been approved as a FitFluential Ambassador, and shortly after I was chosen to try out the Reebok ONE Series Cushion running sneaker. To give you a brief intro to the shoe, its defining characteristics include:

• A three-foam midsole with distinct layers for chock attenuation, foot guidance and forward propulsion.
• A stable lateral arch area.
• Outsole release zone for pronation control.
• Special design for absorbing shock at the heel strike.

The first thing I noticed about the ONE Series Cushion was just how comfortable it is. I typically run in a minimalist shoe, but they don’t transition well into any sort of cross-training exercise because of the soft structure. The Reebok ONE is a much sturdier, supportive shoe (while still being flexible), so I figured it’d be a perfect solution for workouts that include both running and dynamic strength training exercises.

Bingo! I wore them during today’s cardio bootcamp workout and found them both flexible enough for the running intervals, and supportive enough for all the burpee-ing and jumping around. I don’t know that I’d wear them during a longer run (5+ miles) just because I’m now so accustomed to the more minimalist models of running shoes, but they’re perfect for the shorter runs mixed with strength training I do so frequently.

You can get the Reebok ONE Series Cushion online or in store at the Reebok FitHub or Outlet locations.

Cardio Boot Camp Workout

You can do this with a treadmill, on a track, or anywhere outside (just measure distance beforehand or use a running app to keep track). The workout is a mix of running and bodyweight exercises and is broken up into three main parts:

1. Run half a mile. Pace should be a brisk jog/light run. On a treadmill you probably want to shoot for 5-7mph.
2. Complete four rounds of the bodyweight/sprint circuit (details below).
3. Run half a mile. Pace should be a brisk jog/light run. On a treadmill you probably want to shoot for 5-7mph.

BODYWEIGHT/SPRINT CIRCUIT

Go through the following four times:

• 25 Burpees:The whole burpee sequence will look like this: squat down placing hands on the ground; jump back into plank position; jump legs back up towards hand; stand back into squat position; jump up with arms overhead. If you want more of a challenge, you can add in a push up (I did not).
• 25 Side Plank Lift Crunches (each side): Start in a side plank position. Dip your hips down towards the ground (they can lightly kiss the floor, but never let them come to rest), then lift them back to starting, squeezing the oblique. Next, crunch your top knee in towards your top elbow. Return to starting side plank position. That’s one rep.
• 25 Squat Jumps: Squat down, sending hips back like you’re sitting in a chair. Jump up, coming out of the squat and into the air. Land back down softly, sinking right back down into that deep squat position.
• 25 Plank Jump Jacks:Start in a plank position. Jump both feet up towards your hands. Jump them back into plank position. Jump feet apart (like a horizontal jumping jack) and then jump them back together into your starting plank position. That’s one rep.
• Quarter-mile run/sprint: For .25 miles, run as fast as you can. On a treadmill, I’d shoot for 7-10 mph, but if you can go faster and maintain the speed for the full .25, then do it!

This is a good one for you gym-goers as well as my workout-at-homers!

Alright, I’m off—I have a busy day of packing ahead of me. First thing tomorrow morning, I’m heading down to Mexico for a wedding and CAN. NOT. WAIT. The weather in Boston has been consistently depressing since, oh, November, so this trip could not come at a better time. I have posts scheduled for while I’m away, and you can follow me on Instagram to keep up with all my daiquiri guzzling and sun bathing.

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I’m running a half marathon the first weekend in June and trying to incorporate some speed workouts into my training. I decided to start out on the treadmill instead of a track or running trail because it’s an easy way for me to force myself to maintain a certain pace for a given amount of time. If, for example, you tell me to run at a 10K pace for half a mile…that literally means nothing to me. I’ll just go as fast as I feel like because, well, that’s what I pretty much do during any race ever. I love running, but I’m actually a huge joke of “a runner.”

This was a good way to ease into the whole speed workout thang—not too intense, but still forces you to get those legs moving. It takes just over 30 minutes to complete.

Speaking of running, after everything that’s happened in Boston this past week, I find myself appreciating my daily runs around the city even more. This really is a beautiful, amazing place to call home. Here are a couple Instagram pics I snapped trotting around Southie:

And before I send you off to carpe the shit out of this diem, I wanted to spread the word about a Spin-A-Thon at Ten X Club in Dedham on Saturday May 11^th that’s raising money for Girls on the Run, a great organization that supports positive emotional, social and physical development in 3^rd to 6^th grade girls. Jocelyn reached out to me and told me that she and 11 other ladies are running the 200-mile Reach the Beach relay, and this spin-a-thon is part of their fundraising efforts. Visit the Facebook page for more details and sign up for one of four spin classes if you’re in the area! I’m not sure if I’ll be in Boston that weekend yet, but if so, I’ll most definitely make it for a class—I LOVE spinning (and charity, of course).

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have a gym membership, but I do have access to a gym at work, which I frequently use on my lunch break. This 45-minute workout incorporates both cardio and strength training, alternating 5 minutes on the treadmill with 4 minutes of weighted tabata intervals. The treadmill intervals get easier as you go through the workout, so don’t let the first five minutes of sprinting scare you off.

Equipment I Used:

• Treadmill
• Power wheel
• Two 10-lb weights
• 30-lb kettlebell
• Gymboss Interval Timer

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the tabata intervals. You’ll set your Gymboss Interval Timer for 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest of each exercise.

Power Wheel Tucks

Strap your feet onto the power wheel and start in a plank position. Bring your knees to your chest, rolling the wheel forward. Roll back out into plank position.

Weighted Plié Squats

Think of a ballet dancer doing a plié. Start with legs more than shoulder-width apart with feet facing outwards. Hold two 10-lb weights, one in each hand (feel free to adjust weight to your fitness level). Squat down in a plié, keeping back straight, and return to standing.

Kettlebell Figure 8

Start with legs a bit more than shoulder-width apart and lower yourself into a shallow squat. Keep your back straight and chest up. You’ll hold the kettlebell in one hand (I use a 35-lb bell when I do this move; I recommend using a weight 5-10lbs heavier than that which you swing), and weave it around your legs in a figure 8 motion, passing it off between hands as you swing through the center. Alternate the direction in which you swing it around your legs each 20-second work interval. You’ll really start to feel this working your lower back and thighs towards the end!

Plank Rows to Push Up

Start in a plank position. Grab a 10-lb weight in your left hand and pull your elbow straight up, rowing the weight up to chest-level. Return to plank and pick up a weight with your right hand now, doing the row on the other side. With both hands back on ground, do a push up. Repeat sequence. If you use square dumbbells, you can hold onto the weights throughout the whole move. Mine are rounded, so I’m unable to balance on them and simply keep them to the side of either hand so I can easily grab them for the rows. Also, pushups while holding weights tend to bother my wrists.

Alternating Lunge & Curls

Start in a standing position holding 10-lb weights with palms facing out. Step forward with your right leg into a deep forward lunge, knees bent at 90 degrees. As you lunge forward, curl the weights up. As you step back to the original standing position, lower weights. Repeat, stepping forward with your left leg now. Granted, my upper-body strength is wimpy at best, but I found the curls super challenging.

Next time you’re not sure what to do at the gym, give this workout a try!

I abhor treadmills. I can’t do more than a mile without wanting to rip my hair out from boredom. Usually, I don’t have a problem avoiding the machine, as running outside in the winter doesn’t bother me as long as it’s not snowing. However, with each passing year, it gets harder to venture out in the cold because I have Raynaud’s Disease, a circulation condition in which smaller arteries providing blood to my fingertips, toes and other small body parts close when my skin is exposed to the cold. It’s not a big deal—just annoying, slightly painful when it happens to certain body parts and, more than anything, it looks a little freaky.

As my Raynaud’s gets worse each winter, the treadmill becomes unavoidable if I want to run on cold days. And while I don’t think I’ll ever be able to knock out a long-distance run on the devil machine, I’ve started to do brief speed workouts that I actually enjoy. Usually I’ll couple 15 minutes on the treadmill with a quick body-weight routine for a well-rounded workout. And while 15 minutes seems like a short time for cardio, you’ll still work up a killer sweat if it includes some sprinting intervals. I did this 12-minute ab workout before hopping on the treadmill and doing the following 15-minute interval ladder.

I got real ambitious—and by “real ambitious” I mean “over-caffeinated”—and made the above visual masterpiece breaking down the workout, but in short:

• Warm up for 1 min, jogging at 5mph
• You’ll do 1-min sprint intervals, starting at 6mph (easy run pace) and working up to 10mph (full-on sprint), and then back down again to 6mph. Between each sprint, you’ll have a 30-second long recovery period at 5mph.
• Cool down for 1 min, jogging at 5mph.

Feel free to adjust the sprint speeds to fit your running level!