Blog Archives
Fitness Friday : Two New 30 Minute Strength Workouts
By popular demand! It’s been a while since I updated my Ways To Move page so I decided to incorporate these workouts into the usual Fitness Friday post.
The following workouts are shorter than my usual ones – 30-40 minutes. For those days when you’re cramped on time but still want to get a decent strength sesh in. Especially important during all the busyness of the holiday season! The first workout is meant to be performed at a gym, but the second one you can do anywhere. So now you really have no excuses to skipping out on the strength training ;)
30 Min Full-Body Weight Lifting Workout
Alternating Sets – perform three times through
| Push-ups | 15 reps | n/a | Chest, front of shoulders |
| Bench dip | 15 reps | n/a | Triceps |
| Kettlebell swings | 20 reps | 15-20 lbs | Quads, glutes, inner thigh, back of shoulders |
*If you can’t do toe push-ups, instead of doing them on your knees, do them on an incline off a bench or Smith machine. This mimics a full push-up more and better prepares you to do them off the floor.
Alternating Sets – perform three times through
| Wall squat with hammer curl | 15 reps | 8-15 lb dumbbells | Quads, glutes, biceps |
| Walking lunge with alternating shoulder press | 20-30 reps | 8-15 lb dumbbells | Quads, hips, glutes, shoulders |
*When doing the lunges, step forward with one foot, and press the opposite arm above your head as you lunge. This is to help keep your balance. Doing the same side at the same time may cause you to fall over! Remember not to rest your foot between lunges, keep moving forward.
Alternating Sets – perform three times through
| Back extension on ball | 15 reps | n/a | Lower back, glutes |
| Sit ups on ball | 20 reps | 0-15 lbs | Abs |
*When doing the back extension, think about squeezing your butt every time you lift up. It will take some of the pressure off your lower back and get your glutes working.
Alternating Sets – perform three times through
| Hamstring curl on ball | 15-20 reps | n/a | Hamstrings, calves |
| Prone jackknife | 15-20 reps | n/a | Abs, shoulders |
*If the hamstring curls are too easy, try lifting one foot off the ball and pulling in using only the other foot. MUCH harder!
30 Minute Living Room Workout
This is based off a workout I designed for my sister a while back. She’s in good shape and said it was brutal. Mission accomplished!
This chart is colour coded into mini-circuits. Perform exercises of the same colour one after another three times through, then move on to the next colour coded set. Once you finish the whole thing, start from the top! You should be able to get through the whole thing two times in 30-40 minutes with no breaks. Or you can just keep doing it until you’re blue in the face ;)
| Jumping Jacks | 30 sec | Cardio |
| Speed skaters | 30 sec | Cardio, Back, Glutes |
| Jump squats | 30 sec | Cardio, Quads, Glutes |
| Mountain Climbers | 30 sec | Cardio, Back, Shoulders |
| Wall sit | 60 sec | Quads, glutes |
| Wide pushups | 15 | Chest, front of shoulder |
| Narrow pushups | 15 | Chest, triceps |
| Lunge jumps | 30 sec | Cardio, Quads, hips, glutes |
| Plank ups | 60 sec | Abs, shoulders, chest |
| Swimming | 30 sec | Back, glutes |
| Roll up | 15 | Abs |
My only tip for this workout is to blare some motivating music and have fun working up a sweat in your living room!
As for my workout today, I walked all around my hometown with my mom. Fresh, non-polluted air. Empty space. Grass. It’s good to be back :) Happy weekend friends! xo
Let’s Get Physical
Hello friends!
No pretty pictures or friendly babble today. Nope. We are getting straight down to business ;)
As promised, here are two new full-body strength training workouts I designed for two very different clients. Pick your poison and enjoy!
Full Body Cardio and Strength Circuits
This is a workout I made for a client who has a lot of weight to lose. That means the exercises should be appropriate for someone dealing with excessive bodyweight and mobility restraints in mind. Listen to your body and stop if anything gets painful. Cardio sprints are added to burn extra calories off!
Start with 10 minutes on a cardio machine of your choosing. Make sure you’re warmed up and breathless by the end of it.
Circuit #1
| Walking lunge with one arm alternating dumbbell shoulder press | 24 reps | 12 lbs | Quads, glutes, shoulders |
| Dumbbell straight leg deadlift | 10 reps | 12 lbs | Hamstrings, hips, lower back |
| Dumbbell diagonal woodchop | 10-15 reps each side | 12 lbs | Obliques, legs, shoulders |
Go through first circuit 2 times then hop on a cardio machine for 5 minutes hard work.
Circuit #2
| Swiss ball squat with dumbbell bicep curl at bottom | 15 reps | 10-15 lbs | Quads, glutes, biceps |
| Single leg dumbbell row | 6 each leg | 15-30 lbs | Back, hamstrings |
| Toe touch crunch | 20 reps | 5-10 lbs | Abs |
Go through second circuit 2 times then hop on a cardio machine for 5 minutes hard work.
Circuit #3
| Smith machine split squat (bring back leg forward to bend in front of body after every rep) | 12 each leg | Quads, glutes, hips |
| Incline push up on Smith machine | 12 reps | Chest, shoulders |
| Dumbbell overhead tricep extension | 12 reps | Triceps |
Go through third circuit 2 times then hop on a cardio machine for 5-10 minutes hard work followed by a short cool-down and stretching.
A strength and weights-based workout designed for an experienced exerciser who is already flexible thanks to yoga and pilates. Aiming for overall “tone” at an already healthy bodyweight with a focus on compound movements and core.
Warm up on a cardio machine first for 5-10 minutes.
| Seated machine chest press, alternating if machine allows | 12-24 reps | 10-20 lbs | Chest, shoulders |
| Squat with front shoulder raise (holding swiss ball instead of medicine ball) | 15-20 reps | swiss ball | Quads, glutes, hips, shoulders |
| Plank shuffle on medicine ball | 60-90 sec | – | Abs, shoulders |
| Diagonal woodchop with medicine ball | 15 each side | 5-10 lbs | Obliques, legs, shoulders |
| Dumbbell bicep curl to shoulder press | 10-15 reps | 8-15 lbs | Biceps, shoulders |
| Side plank with leg lift | 30-45 sec | – | Obliques, inner + outer thighs |
| Single arm cable row with reverse lunge | 12 reps | 15-30 lbs | Back, biceps, quads, hips, glutes |
| Single arm 90 degree cable extension | 12 reps | 5-15 lbs | Triceps |
| Single leg hamstring curl on ball | 10 reps each side | Hamstrings, calves |
| Ball pass | 10-20 passes | Abs |
Don’t forget to stretch after!
See ya tomorrow for Fitness Friday where I’ll be answering all your running shoe questions!
