Pumps & Iron

Lower Body Circuit Workout with HIIT Bursts

October 5, 2016 by Nicole 2 Comments

You have no idea how many technical difficulties I had making this post–every electronic device I own mutinied on me yesterday. So a day and a half later than planned, let’s just get right to it…

Consider THIS with Weighted Low-Body Exercises

Before getting to the workout, I want to talk a little about choosing weights for the exercises we’ll be doing in the circuit portion. With weighted lower body exercises, don’t just think to yourself “Ok, how much extra weight can I handle for these exercises?” Consider where that added weight will be. A squat with a 20-lb dumbbell held at your chest, for example, will feel different from a squat with two 10-lb dumbbells held at your shoulders. That added front weight is going to alter your center of gravity and will require your back to work a bit harder to stabilize. This is especially true for any exercise in which your torso is hinging forward rather than remaining perfectly upright.

I mention this because you can really use any weight (dumbbell/s, kettlebell, medicine ball, etc.) for this circuit (or just body weight!), and if you go with a singular weight, you’d be holding it at your chest. If your form is on point and you know these exercises like the back of your hand, challenge yourself–go heavy! But if you’re newer to working out or have any history of back issues, I’d definitely encourage you to go lighter than you think you can handle. And that goes for everyone, regardless of where you’ll be holding your weight (shoulders, chest, down to your sides).

Lower Body Circuit Workout with HIIT Bursts

Equipment:

Set of dumbbells (or just one held at chest) — I’m using 8-lb weights because they’re the heaviest available at the studio where I filmed the workout. Normally I would have gone with 12-lbs. (No complaints haha).
Exercise mat — I didn’t have one when I filmed and my knees were angry during the surrenders. Use a mat!
Interval timer — I used this tabata iPhone app for the HIIT bursts and a regular stopwatch for the circuit.

For this workout, you’ll be alternating between a circuit of low-body exercises and a quick 2-minute bodyweight HIIT. The HIIT is all about speed and doing as many reps as you can in the given work interval. The circuit is about control and challenging yourself with weight load (keeping the above info in mind!). Each time you go through the circuit, you’ll stay on it for a shorter period of time.

Breakdown of the Workout:

Exercises and descriptions can be found below the pictorial. You’ll get 15 seconds of rest in between sides and before/after the HIIT.

Weighted Circuit on the Right (45 sec each exercise)
Weighted Circuit on the Left (45 sec each exercise)
2-Min HIIT Blast
Weighted Circuit on the Right (30 sec each exercise)
Weighted Circuit on the Left (30 sec each exercise)
2-Min HIIT Blast
Weighted Circuit on the Right (15 sec each exercise)
Weighted Circuit on the Left (15 sec each exercise)
2-Min HIIT Blast

Make sure to warm up before starting this workout (here’s a 5-minute warm up you can do at home). Always listen to your body and modify as needed!

Weighted Circuit

Complete 45/30/15 seconds of each exercise on the right then repeat on the left. Try to go from one exercise to the next without rest. If it gets to be too much, just slow down the pace. You can rest for 15 seconds in between the right and left legs.

Side Lunge to Knee Raise | Start standing with one weight at each shoulder. Step your right foot out wide to the side, bending that knee and sinking your hips back and down into a deep side lunge. Press off that right foot to push yourself back up to standing, but instead of bringing your right foot to the floor, drive the knee up and into your chest and then lunge right back down to the side.

Make it easier: No knee raise; come back up to standing with both feet on the floor instead.
Make it harder: Add a hop off the left foot as you drive your right knee into the chest at the top.

Curtsy Lunge to Side Kick | Start standing with feet hip-width apart. From here, sink down into your curtsey lunge: right foot stays planted on the ground and as you bend that right knee, reach your left foot behind it as far to the right as you can, planting the ball of the foot down. As you come back up to standing, swing that back leg up and out to the left side in a wide kick. As if sweeps back down, lower into your next curtsy lunge.

Squat to Surrender | Start standing with weights at shoulders, feet a little wider than hip’s width apart. Squat down, sliding your hips back and down, keeping your chest open. From here, come to a kneeling position, stepping your right foot back behind you, planting the ball of the foot and knee on the floor and then doing the same with the left. Continuing to lead with the right, return to a low squat position, stepping the right foot forward onto the floor and then the left. From this low squat position, straighten the legs as you drive the hips forward to your starting position.

HIIT Blast

Set a timer for 4 rounds of 20 second work and 10 seconds rest. You’ll go through the following four exercises (20 sec on each with 10 sec rest in between).

Squat Jacks | Start in a low squat position with feet wide. Staying low in a squat, jump your feet in close together and then jump your feet out wide again to the starting position. When your feet are wide, one hand should come to the ground in front. Continue jacking your feet in and out, staying low in the squat and alternating which hands touches the floor (this ensures you’re staying low through the legs!).

Lunge Hop RIGHT | Start in a split-stance lunge position: both knees bent to 90 degrees, right foot flat in front; left foot in back, ball of the foot planted on the ground. Keeping the same foot in front/back, you hop a few inches into the air and land softly back into your starting position. Your legs are never fully straightening during this; it’s a small upward hop, pushing off the balls of the feet. To modify, take out the jump and just pulse at the bottom.

Lunge Hop LEFT

Hot Feet | You probably know these best as a basketball or football drill. You essentially run in place as fast as you can while in a wide-leg squat position. With your feet a bit wider than hip-width apart, squat down. Staying low, you’ll quickly run your feet up and down, staying on the balls of your feet and barely picking them off the floor (an inch or two) so that you can maintain the speed.

WEARING | Terez SU2C Mantra leggings (5% of sales are donated to Stand Up To Cancer) // GAP tank // adidas neo sneakers (also love them in black with the marbled sole!) // Athleta bra (sold out in orange but much cuter colors available)

Just to highlight what’s mentioned above in the outfit details, the leggings I’m wearing in today’s post give back! Terez (also the makers of these skull leggings everyone loves) will donate a portion of the proceeds to Stand Up To Cancer.

Outfit detail links are affiliate (except the charitable one). I appreciate your support!

Filed Under: Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Interval Training, Lower Body, Video, Workouts

5-Min Warm Up for At-Home Workouts

September 27, 2016 by Nicole 4 Comments

5-Minute Warm Up for At-Home Workouts - do this warm up video before working out at home (or the gym)! #warmup #exercise #athomeworkout #workout #fitness

Let’s talk about warm ups. Before any workout—and especially a high intensity one!—it’s important to prepare your body. Depending on the type of workout you’re about to do and any muscle imbalances or recovering injuries you have, a proper warm up will vary. But today’s is a great generalized one.

If you’re just starting out on your fitness journey or are looking to keep things as low-impact as possible, I also have a gentle version of this warm up.

Warming Up for Your Workout 101

In general, the components of a solid warm up are:

Light Cardio

5-10 minutes on your favorite cardio machine at the gym will do. Gradually increase the pace (think brisk walk, ending with a brisk jog). If you’re at home, you could walk/jog around the block. If you’re short on time and have no equipment, well, that’s why I made this 5-minute warm up video! Bodyweight exercises work, too.

Dynamic (Active) Stretching

When most people think of stretching, they think of holding a position in stillness for a prolonged period of time. I’m not talking about that. Personally, I save static stretching for post-workout. Before a workout, focus on functional movements that are going to facilitate the range of motion needed to complete the exercises you’re about to do: actively stretch. We’ll do a series of movements to open up the hip flexors, lower body, shoulders, core and arms.

Self-mayofascial release (SMR) techniques like foam rolling or trigger point are optional before a workout. If you’re super tight in a certain area to the point that it’d severely hinder a normal range of motion, I’d recommend foam rolling the problem area before the dynamic stretching and cardio portions of your warm up. Otherwise, I think it’s fine to omit.

Personally, I prefer to foam roll at the end of a long day or on rest days and spend a solid 20-30 minutes sprawled out on my floor with my roller while watching TV (and most likely making odd moaning noises). One example of a time I would foam roll before a workout is with long distance runs. My calves are super tight so while I was training for the Boston marathon, I always did some SMR on them before running. Helped a lot!

5-Minute Warm Up for At-Home Workouts

This warm up was made with the workouts I post to the blog in mind. We’ll start with 2 minutes of cardio exercises (4 moves, 15 seconds each, twice through) to gradually increase the heart rate. We’ll then do 3 minutes of dynamic stretches to open up the body and prepare it for intense movement.

It’s worth it to take the extra five minutes and warm up before HIIT workouts. It makes a world of difference when it comes to injury prevention! Could you spend more time warming up? Definitely. And in some cases you should. I’m just being realistic with this sequence: If you’re doing a 15-minute interval workout from my blog do you really want to spend that same amount of time preparing for the workout? My guess is no. Always listen to your body: If you need more time to ease into your workout, do just that.

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Stretching, Workouts

10 or 20-Minute Med Ball Full-Body Circuit Workout

August 30, 2016 by Nicole 2 Comments

I’ve got a full-body workout for you today that will take 10 or 20 minutes to complete, depending on how much time you have. I originally planned this as a 20-minute circuit and then got a request for a 10-minute workout and figured I’d let you guys decide! If you’re following along with the video, just go through it twice for the 20 minutes.

I’m using a medicine ball but all the exercises could be done with just your bodyweight or a dumbbell/sandbag so don’t let the equipment throw you off–improvise as needed!

Med Ball Full-Body Circuit Workout

Equipment I Used:

Medicine ball (I’m using a 6-lb ball because it’s all I have at home but it’s a bit too light for me — hope that helps you guage what weight is best for you!)
Interval timer

Set an interval timer for 10 or 20 rounds of 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest. There are five exercises in the circuit and you’ll go through them two or four times. So here’s what it looks like:

45 sec exercise 1
15 sec rest
45 sec exercise 2
15 sec rest

And so on and so on for the 10 or 20 minutes.

Soccer Drill | This is kinda like high knees. Run in place, lifting the feet in front of you one at a time and tapping the medicine ball. These should get your heart rate up so keep it quick! Try to make contact with the ball every time without kicking it–little love taps. It’s harder to actually touch the ball than it is to just hover the foot over it.

Jump Lunge to Torso Twist | Start in a lunge position holding the med ball in both hands at chest height, arms held straight in front of you. Both knees should be bent to opposing 90-degree angles. Holding this low lunge, twist your torso to the right or left (if right foot is in front, twist to the right), keeping arms straight as you do. You want your whole upper half moving as one unit on this—imagine your waist is a wet towel that you’re wringing out as you twist. Reverse the sequence, twisting back to center and bringing the med ball in tight to your chest. Do a jump lunge, landing with the opposite foot in front. Repeat.

Chest-to-Floor Burpees with Lateral Hop over Ball | This is a traditional chest-to-floor burpee but instead of jumping straight up with arms overhead at the top, you jump laterally (to the side) over the medicine ball. So one burpee to the right of the ball, one burpee to the left of the ball, hopping side to side.

V-Up Crunch Spreads | Start on your back with arms stretched overhead holding the med ball at a hover 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, lifting your legs straight up and separating them out wide as you bring the med ball overhead and through the legs. Lower back down to starting position. If possible, your feet and the med ball should never touch the ground between reps.

Squat Slam Stops | Start standing holding the medicine ball overhead. From here, you’re going to explosively drop down into a low squat as you swing the med ball down in front of your body as if you were going to slam it on the floor. You want to build momentum as you do this so really put some oomph into it. Just as the med ball is nearing the floor, stop the movement, catching it hovering over the floor, arms extended out in front of you. Pause in this low position and then just as explosively power back up to the starting position, pressing through your heels to stand as you swoop the med ball back overhead.

The more power you use to swing the ball down, the harder your muscles will have to work to stop the momentum. If you’re a beginner, start with a slow motion and work your way to a more explosive downward swing.