Hello! Hope you guys are all hanging in there with these super cold temps this week! I’m popping in quickly today to share a little bodyweight workout finisher that I did the other day after I finished my treadmill run. On days I run, I typically just do some stretching and light bodyweight/core exercises. I save my weight lifting for the other days where I am not spending 30+ minutes doing cardio. If I combined running and weights I would be at the gym for an hour+, and as they say: ain’t nobody got time for that!

Last week I shared this quickie finisher and today I have another one for you. What I love about “finisher” circuits/workouts is that they are great as just that- a finisher, but they are also great if you make them as your whole workout by adding in more rounds. I did 3 rounds of this after a 4-miler on Monday, but if I was looking for a quickie workout while I was traveling or short on time, I could totally just add a few more rounds or make it an AMRAP style workout.

• Squat & Knee lift X10 (5 each leg)-  With your hands behind your head and your elbows wide,  perform a squat. When you come back up to standing, engage your core and lift your right knee and cross it over your body to meet your left elbow. Perform another squat and then lift your left knee over to your right elbow. Each knee should come up 5 times (you’re doing a total of 10 squats).
• Hand release push-ups- Start in a high plank position, either your knees or on your toes. Slowly lower yourself to the ground, keeping your body flat like a board and making sure to not drop your knees or hips before your chest. In the same plane/board-like motion, press into your hands and push yourself up in one motion, again making sure your chest isn’t coming up before your hips- everything should go up and come down together.
• Hip lifts/bridge- On your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, engage your core and press your heels into the ground as you lift your hips, making sure to squeeze your glutes! Lower back down and repeat.
• Full sit-ups- Staying in that same supine position, place your arms along your side and exhale as you perform a full sit-up, reaching your hands to your feet.
• Plank hold- Flip back over and hold a plank for 15 seconds the first round, 30 seconds the second round, 45 seconds the third round, etc… adding 15 second to the plank hold each round. You can either do the plank with straight arms or on your forearms and you can do them on your knees or toes.

As always, let me know if you try adding this to the end of your workout!

Questions for you: Do you keep your cardio and weights on separate days if you aren’t doing a metabolic combination workout?