Category: Wednesday Workout

Wednesday Workout: 3 Circuit Total Body Blast

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Good morning! I have a few other draft blog posts that I need to finish up, but until I muster up the time/energy to post those, a workout post will have to do. While I haven’t been consistently following any sort of strength plan that would foster big muscle growth, I have been having fun trying new formats, exercises, classes, etc. However, I’m starting to feel like I’m ready to settle down a bit and create some sort of specific training plan to follow … at least for a little while.

The thing with me is that I get bored with workouts pretty quickly, so I tend to find myself jumping around rather than seeing something through to the end. There’s nothing wrong with this by any means- heck, as long as I’m working out consistently then I’m feeling pretty good, haha. But, as I’ve mentioned before, having no sort of plan makes it hard to see any sort of growth progress, or gainzzzz as I like to say 😉

I think another factor that makes it hard for me to stick with a consistent strength-focused workout plan is that those workouts tend to require a bit more time, unlike the HIIT style workouts I generally gravitate towards. When I’m not teaching, I like to be in and out of the gym as quickly as possible so I can use the extra time doing other things. Which is why workouts like the ones I’ve been posting have been my workout style of choice as of late. This workout left me pretty sore the next day, which I have to attribute to the leg-heavy aspect of it.

The way it works is you’ll complete the designated reps of each of the 3 exercises within each set for a total of 3 times before moving on to the next set. Each set/circuit has 3 exercises: legs, cardio, upper body, but like I said, the leg exercises were killer so I felt that the most the next day.I think with warm up this workout took about 30 minutes to complete.

3-circuit-total-body-blast

Explanations:

  • Step up-> lunge back- I’ll walk you through this one since it sounds more complicated than it actually is. You’ll need a step or some sort of elevated surface that’s safe to step up onto and you’ll want to grab either 2 dumbbells or 1 kettlebell. From there, step up onto the step with your right foot & drive your left knee up (engaging the core). Then, you’ll step back off the step with your left foot and bring your right foot back to come into a reverse lunge- both feet are on the ground. So it’s step right, left knee, left step down, right step back into reverse lunge. Then you’ll repeat on the left.
  • Push-up ->: knee tuck: Do 1 push-up and then when you’re back in the high plank position bring your right foot into your chest then the left foot. If you want to do your push-ups on your knees, just make sure you come up to your toes when it’s time for the knee tuck.
  • Banded side-step goblet squats- For this, you’ll need to put a resistance band around your upper calf area, right below the knee and grab a kettlebell & hold in the goblet position. Step your right foot to the right and sink into a deep goblet squat. Step your right foot back to the center and then step your left foot to the left and sink into a deep squat.

If you have extra time (and energy!), at the end you can do a finisher of 8 lateral ball slams using a Dynamax ball, 8 toe touches & 8 sit-up and toss for a total of 3 rounds. And then I think it’s pretty safe to say you’re all finished 🙂

I really loved this workout and plan on doing it again- I’d love to know if you try it!

Questions for you: How long do you normally spend at the gym or when you workout?

Wednesday Workout: Descending Rep Total Body Workout

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Good morning and happy Wednesday! I have so many workouts to share with you guys that I might have to start posting them twice a week 😉 I have to say that I really enjoyed the format of this workout. What I mean by “descending” is that each round you’ll decrease the number of reps performed for each exercise. We go from 12 reps to 10 reps to 8 reps…. etc. all the way down, but instead of ending with just 2 reps (where’s the fun in that?!), you’ll do 12 reps again.

In addition to enjoying the format of the workout, I liked the upper and lower combo moves because doing them always jacks up my heart rate- more bang for your buck, especially if you’re short on time like I normally am!

descending-rep-total-body-workout

 

Here are a few explanations in case you’re confused by any of the combo moves:

  • Chest press & leg lowers- for this you’ll start out on your back with your legs lifted straight above your hips and your arms straight above your shoulders/chest. Since you’re working multiple things here, I’d suggest keeping it a littler lighter for the chest press weight. There are two options for doing this exercise: 1. you’ll lower your legs and bring your arms closer to your chest at the same time- this is advanced since it requires a lot of core strength to ensure your lower back stays glued to the mat or 2. you can do a chest press and then do a leg lower, as separate exercises.
  • Goblet clean & squat
  • Bent over rows- For these you’ll hold a weight in both hands and hinge forward at the waist, keeping a slight bend in the knees and keeping your chest open and shoulders pulled back. Engage your lats & squeeze your shoulder blades together as your pull your elbows back. make sure you’re going slow and controlled here!
  • Russian twist & press- This is just taking your standard Russian twist & adding a little more onto it. After your twist right, you’ll come back through center and press the weight up overhead. Then, you’ll bring it down and twist left.

This workout shouldn’t take you much longer than 20-25 minutes; if it takes you much less time than that, consider upping your weights and if it takes you longer than that, you might want to consider dropping your weight a bit.

I hope you try this!

Question for you: Would you like to see more workouts on the blog or keep it as is?

burpees

Wednesday Workout: My Favorite Kickboxing Combos {Take 4}

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Good morning! I’m so happy to say that I FINALLY have some more kickboxing combinations for you. The existing kickboxing combination posts on B2B are by far the most popular blog posts to date, which makes me happy because I love being able to share helpful posts for you guys! If you missed those, here they are:

Kickboxing Combos pt 1
Kickboxing Combos pt 2
Kickboxing Combos pt 3

If you’re new to kickboxing/boxing/punches, I suggest you check out the first post that I linked above since that breaks down each punch for you.

As I was going through my instructor notebook to pick out some good combos to share, I realized that I should probably try doing this more frequently– I have SO many more that I want to share with you! For now, these will have to do:

 

Jack & Jab, Shuffle & Jab, Center Jabs & Oblique Twist, Sumo Jump Squats

  • Do 1 jumping jack and then 1 right jab to the front. Repeat with the jack and then the jab on the left
  • Shuffle & jab 3 times to the right, clap, then shuffle & jab 3 times to the left
  • Hold center and do 4 alternating jabs followed by 4 oblique twists
  • 2 sumo jump squats

Speed Bag Rt & Lt, Jack Feet & Jab arms, Single-Single-Double Uppercuts Rt & Lt, 4 Hops Up & Back & 4 High Knees

  • Speed bag punches by your right hip for 4 counts then do them by your left hip for 4 counts
  • While you jack your feet in and out you’ll perform 4 alternating jabs to the front
  • Right uppercut, left uppercut, 2 upper cuts on the right, then repeat and do left, right, 2 on the left
  • Bring your guard up and hop forward and back 4 times followed by 4 high knees

Jab, Jab, Jab, Cross, Jab, Cross (x2), 2 Left Knees, 2 Right Cross Jabs, 4 High Knees + Sumo Squat

  • Standing in the orthodox fighters position (left foot forward, right foot back), do a jab, another jab and then do jab, cross, jab cross and repeat that for a total of two times
  • Do 2 left knee repeaters followed by 2 cross body jabs with the right hand
  • End with 4 high knees into a sumo squat

Single, Single, Double Jab Right & Left Lead, 2 Knees on the Right & Left, Burpee + 2 Push-Ups

  • Jab right, left, double right then left, right double left
  • Bring your knees up twice on the right and left
  • Bring yourself down and back into a high plank, do 2 push-ups then jump yourself back up

Cross Body Hi/Lo Jabs X2, 3 Knees + 1 Kick, Speed Bag Arms W/2 Hops Up & Back, Burpee

  • Perform a cross body jab at chest height and waist height (hi & lo) twice (so, jab high, low, high, low) with the left arm
  • Then, do 3 right knees & a kick
  • Bring your arms to chest high while doing the speed bag and do 2 small hops up and back
  • Finish with 1 burpee

And there you go! I hope you find these helpful as you try and do your own at-home kickboxing workout OR if you’re an instructor and need some new combos for your class. As always, please don’t hesitate to ask me if you have ANY questions. While I realize kickboxing is very different than boxing now that I actually teach heavy bag boxing, as long as you understand that these combinations are not meant to teach you how to fight we’re all set 🙂 They are merely a way to give you a great cardio workout, but I do make sure people at least know the basics of the punches so that they don’t injure themselves.

Wednesday Workout: 15 Minute AMRAP DB Blast

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Good morning! It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, huh? With RM’s birthday, Christmas, Florida and then NYE, I was more than ready for a break from anything other than those things. I have the intentions of recapping the wedding and our Florida mini vacation as well as reflect on 2016, but for now, a workout will have to do 😉

As you’ve probably seen on Instagram, right before Christmas I bought us a spin bike. The Handle-Bar spin studio was selling some of their older bikes for an incredible deal so I had to jump on it. RM was a bit reluctant at first, but now that it’s in our place and all cleaned up, he’s almost as excited as I am. It’s perfect because it doesn’t take up a lot of space, it can be moved around easily and it’s another thing that saves me from needing to go to the gym since I can get some cardio in without even having to leave the house 🙂

This workout started with about 20 minutes of spinning, using the first 6 songs on the song list below:

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Once that was over, I did the following 15 minute AMRAP using just a set of dumbbells:

15-minute-amrap-db-blast

Few notes:

  • Man-maker- hold a weight on each hand and squat until the weights come to the ground. From there, jump back and do 1 push-up. A true man-maker means you’ll do a row on each arm, but I skipped that part so after the push-up I just jumped my feet back in to a low squat position, stood up and did an overhead press.
  • Bicep curl -> bend side arm raise- You’ll do the top part of a bicep curl, so start at a 90* arm bend and curl up to your shoulders. When you get back down to 90*, lift your elbows up so that the upper part of your arms are parallel to the ground and your forearms are parallel to each other. Bring them back down and start over.
  • Reverse lunge with OH weight- you’ll just hold a weight overhead while you do reverse lunges.

I gave myself 15 seconds between rounds because the 5 man-makers back to back left me compromising form so I took the 15 seconds to catch my breath and make sure my form was not compromised.

This was such a fun workout- and a perfect way to kick off my workouts of 2017!

Questions for you: What was your first workout of 2017? Do you have any at home cardio equipment? What’s your favorite workout song right now?

Wednesday Workout: 32 Minute Full Body DB Tabata Workout

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Good morning! I know I keep saying this, but how is it Christmas this weekend?! Time is tight this week, but I wanted to pop in and share a quickie workout I did the other morning before work. During busy seasons, it’s not uncommon for workouts to be the first thing to skip, right? But, it doesn’t have to be if you prioritize it as part of your day’s agenda and focus on shorter, more effective “quickie” workouts, as I like to call them.  For me this week, it meant getting up before work to squeeze in my workout. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- tabata format is generally my workout format of choice when I’m short on time and want an effective workout.

This one only requires a set of dumbbells, so it’s really easy to do right in the comforts of your own home! I kept the exercises simple, too, so it’s less to think about which is nice if you do it first thing when you’re still half asleep 😉

32-minute-full-body-db-tabata-workout

The way this works is you’ll do each a & b exercise 4 times within each tabata round. If any of these exercises don’t work for you, feel free to change them up! Please let me know if you have any questions 🙂

Questions for you: Have your workouts changed throughout the holiday season? Do you like to workout at home?