Fitness that Fits Real Life

Cardio and Core Workout

Stephanie Huckabee — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:00:54 +0000

Cardio and Core Intervals

Equipment: Treadmill or
cardio equipment for warm up

Aerobic step with two
risers under each side (four total)

Medicine ball

Floor mat

Warm up for 5 minutes at
an easy to moderate pace.

Circuit One

Push up plank position –
arms straight, glutes low, body a long, lean line

16 Alternate R/L leg (8 per leg) – Leg Up, in to chest, extend out and down

8 push ups – try the first
two on your toes

2 minutes of cardio on
step – 1^st minute lunge straight back

2^nd minute lunge
stepping back wide (almost like a curtsey dip)

Push up plank position –
arms straight, glutes low, body a long, lean line

16 Alternate R/L leg (8
per leg) – Leg Up, in to chest, extend out and down

8 push ups – try the first
two on your toes

2 minutes of cardio on
step – 1^st minute start on top of step and side squat side to
side, 2^nd minute go over
the top adding power if you can – big arms circles if you’re comfortable
adding them.

Circuit Two

Hold medicine ball in
hands, lift straight overhead and lean over to the left side, focusing on
working the right obliques – 12 reps

Move to step into side
plank position with your right side closest to the floor – and lower hips down and up 8 times

Repeat on left side

2 minutes of cardio:
Charleston on step 1 minute to left side, Charleston on step 1 minute to the
other side… Feel free to add power as
you leap on to step and reach to touch the step on the back move.

Circuit Three

Medicine ball overhead,
sit into a low plie/squat position like a Sumo wrestler – bring Right knee up
and lean to right with ball. 8 reps.

Full body dead lifts –
reach all the way up and down – legs as straight as you can – 12 reps

Cardio: 8 reps

Football run for 8 counts,
drop down, out to push up position, jump knees back in and stand up in
football run.

Repeat Sumos and deadlifts
on left

Circuit Four

On the floor – push up
position – arms wide, feet wide for Spiderman crawl

Bring Right leg up to
Right elbow then return leg to start position. Repeat left.

8 reps on each side for 16
total.

Side reaches

Start leaning down on
Right arm, left leg on top and press up – straighten arm and take left leg
all the way out to side

8 reps on the right side then 8 reps on the
left side

Move into supine position
– hands behind head – feet in butterfly position

12 reps moving slowly –
upper body lifts straight up for a regular crunch but the R knee moves in
toward center line of body slowly (feet stay on floor touching)

Change left knee for 12
reps

Hands behind head, both
legs out and lift R leg up for 5
seconds, change L leg up for 5 seconds – alternate for a minute if you can.

Stretch with lots of side
bends, side reaches, spinal rolls, etc…..

Total Body 4 Circuit Workout

Stephanie Huckabee — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:59:16 +0000

Total Body 4 Circuit Workout

Warm up for approximately
3 minutes to engage major muscle groups.
You may want to add 1-10 minute cardio “breaks” in between each
circuit and round out the routine by adding some abdominal/core work at the
very end. And don’t forget to
stretch! If you keep it moving
straight through, you’ll spend less than 30 minutes to work the entire
body. The number at the front of the
exercise name is the number of recommended reps.

Circuit 1

Walking lunges back and
forth across room (try for 12 per leg if you have the space)

12 push ups

20 plie pulses – start at
the bottom of the move

8 plie jumps – no weights

12 French Press for
triceps

Circuit 2

12 dips off step box R leg
working

16 lat row Right – one
heavy weight – first 8 reps frame shoulders still and second 8 do full-form
with low reach diagonal and up and look past shoulder to ceiling.

12 dips off step box L leg
working

16 lat row Left – one
heavy weight – first 8 reps frame shoulders still and second 8 do full-form
with low reach diagonal and up and look past shoulder to ceiling.

12 closed squats (feet are
close together)

12 seated double bent rows

Circuit 3

12 Overhead presses
sitting on ball

16 unweighted hover
push-up squats from seated position on ball

12 upright rows

12 per leg – alternating
leg press starting from the top

10 alternating front and
side shoulder lifts

Circuit 4

12 regular squats

12 hammer curls – palms
in – only go to 90 degrees in elbows

12 curtsey dips on floor
working R side – put weight on R shoulder

12 regular biceps curls

12 curtsey dips on floor
working L side – put weight on L shoulder

12 angled biceps curls

Turn up the Heat for Summer!!

Stephanie Huckabee — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:58:02 +0000

It’s the official first day of summer – though from where I’m writing in South Carolina it seems “summer” has been hanging around for quite a while by now. Of course, as someone who has lived here her entire life, I’m rather comfortable in the humidity and heat. When I arrived home from California recently I couldn’t wait to get off the plane and soak my lungs with a good dose of thick, heavy humid air. Like many from the Southern realm, I feel like a fish out of water if I’m not automatically whisked into a sauna the moment I leave the chill of air conditioning.

Now that it’s summer time, I’ve switched recently to a two-day split – legs/arms on one day and power work/chest/back on the other – infused with some core and running so that I don’t completely embarrass my girlfriends when we run the Army 10-miler in October. My friend Keri suggested I read Run Less, Run Faster and I’ve started studying! I am all for the “run less” part….It’s the “fun faster” part that’s providing me with some real challenge! Of course, that’s the fun of fitness I suppose… the challenge ahead and working to overcome self-imposed limitations.

If you’re looking for some new ideas for turning up the heat in your workout life, check out some of the routines I’ve posted. As far as equipment is concerned, you can use anything from bands and cords to dumbbells to heavy gym equipment. Just find some sort of resistance. I also use a Reebok step and have plenty of risers to pile it up high for tall step work when needed. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water and pace yourself in the heat.

Stay Cool!

steph

Pull Workout for Biceps, Back, Hamstrings, Adductors and Delts

Stephanie Huckabee — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:18:22 +0000

This workout compliments that “Push” workout you’ll already find published here on the blog and I hope you’ll find that this provides a challenge to help balance out your weight training efforts. As always, warm up for about 3 minutes and do some large range-of-motion moves to loosen up and prepare to work. The entire workout doesn’t take long at all if you keep it moving and by the end you should feel like you were challenged, but not completely exhausted. After all, you have too much other stuff to do to completely knock yourself out with your work outs!!

(A note on shoulders/delts: This unique muscle group could technically be trained on a “push” (over head press) or “pull” (upright row) day…It’s kind of like which came first, the chicken or the egg… you can argue either way… I’ve elected to put most of the delt training on “pull” day, but feel free to move it on over to “push” if that’s more your style!)

You’ll need dumbbells, a band, and a stability ball for this workout.

Circuit 1:

16 Hammer Curls (your heaviest biceps weight – palms are in, elbows locked into your waist, only come up to 90 degrees – very slow, controlled motion…)

16 Double Bent Row (make sure you’re leaning forward from the hips – not rounding the back – and even though you’re technically leaning forward, keep your shoulders rolled down and back…)

12 Hammer Curls

12 Double Bent Rows

Circuit 2

16 plies as heavy as you can go… toes turned out to corners of the room, watch your knees – make sure they’re not going beyond your toes, posture perfect – like your back is against the wall…

Put the weight down and do 20 plie jumps… If you don’t want to add power, simply do 20 fast plies – really fast!!

16 Alternating 4-ct dips with a hamstring curl – Heavy weight!! This is an 8 count move and I’ve broken it down for you here:

You start with feet together then dip the right leg back into a dip (1-2)

then holding the left foot right where it is – bring the right leg up into a hamstring curl (3-4)

Now go right back to the original dip position with the right leg back, left foot still right where it’s been the whole time, (5-6)

and then step the right foot back in and change sides… (7-8)

Circuit 3:

16 reps Upright Row – your heaviest shoulder weight

Pyramid down to a medium weight – 16 Plies with medial flyes - take a wide plie stance, starting bottom, elbows locked into the sides at 90 degrees, then as you lift up through the legs, lift the arms up to the side like you’re pressing something away with your elbows.

Ham + Bicep combo: medium weights…. Start by balancing on the left foot, right foot prepared to come up to a 90 degree hamstring curl in standing position. Weights are by sides, palms open to front, preparing for curl.

12 Hamstring Curls with the Right leg – then add in a biceps curl for 12 more. After the last one, allow the arms to relax by the sides and do 16 quick hamstring pulses on the Right leg (the same one you’ve been working…. since we’re using no resistance with the leg move – we need to do high reps…)

Repeat Hamstring Curl + biceps move on the Left side

Circuit 4

16 Single Arm Lat rows on the Right – place the left hand in the center of the stability ball for support. Core MUST be tight or the ball will roll…. Make sure your knees are bent, head is higher than the heart – think of the way a football player looks when he’s down on the line – but just a little higher…

Hold the dumbbell horizontally and move into a wide plie…. 16 reps of moving down, then dragging the right leg over to the left, then step back down into the plie, then step up by dragging the left heel into the right… Go back and forth for 16 reps.

Single arm lat row on the Left

Second set of plie heel drags with one weight.

Last set for shoulders and biceps: as heavy as you can go!! Clean and Press: Start with arms by sides, palms facing front,

16 reps. Raise arms up into biceps curl, press arms overhead into overhead press, bring arms back down with elbows to side, then release all the way.

Circuit 5 – last one!

16 standing oblique pulls with the band… Put the band under your left foot, right arm behind the head, keep the chest lifted as you work the body by leaning side-to-side – but really focusing on the right side in this position…

16 posterior flyes - Have a seat on the ball and place the band under both feet. With smooth control, lift to the side slowly feeling the shoulder blades wrap around the spine. Keep elbows slightly flexed to protect the joints.

16 standing oblique pulls working the opposite side.

Move to the floor with the stability ball. Place your feet on the ball, back is on the floor. Lift the glutes off the floor to transfer the work to the hamstrings. Now roll the ball slowly out and in for 16 reps.

Place the ball between the feet, lift legs overhead and squeeze ball for 16 reps – inner thighs/adductors working!!

Move back into hamstring roll position – LAST SET!!! 16 reps out and in… Make it count!!!

Congratulations! You’re done!!

Take some time to stretch and hope you enjoyed your workout!

steph

The “just sit there” ab workout

Stephanie Huckabee — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:47:40 +0000

Freeze!! Right this second as you read this…. Be perfectly still…. Now – do a quick check of your body positioning…

Where are your shoulders? Are they rounded over as you lean over to read the computer screen?
What are your abs doing? Are they hanging out leisurely waiting for the next meal?
How is your lower back? Are you feeling a little bit of stress in that area since you allow your entire upper torso to slump over the moment you sit?
How is your breathing? Is it shallow because of your positioning?

It’s interesting how when many of us sit down to work or read at the computer, or when we hop in the car to drive, we completely become unmindful of our bodies and just let it all go… and then we wonder why we feel aches and pains after a few moments when all we’ve been doing is “just sitting there.” Our breathing isn’t on par and we feel less energized and though we may have decided to take a seat to “catch some energy” – it’s completely gone…

Let’s do a re-check on how you may want to sit to not only sit stronger, but to feel better while you ARE working so you’ll have more energy to do what you need to do while you’re staring at your computer screen.

First of all, take a deep breath in – sit tall and roll your shoulders up, around and down.
Make sure that you angle your eyes down comfortably at the screen – that you’re not leering forward with your neck.
Put your abs where they belong! Do you want to instantly feel leaner? Tighten through your abs, move your belly button toward your spine – and here’s the trick – continue to breathe normally as you hold the abs in this position.
Slightly tuck forward through your hips to alleviate any pressure on your lower back.
Visualize a strong line running up from your tail bone all the way to your neck and lengthen your body into this position.
Focus on taking full, big breaths. If you don’t supply your body with the oxygen needed to kick in energy at it’s most basic, molecular level, you can’t expect to feel energized!

And here’s the real challenge – see how long you last in this position before you go back to where you started!!

It can be difficult to retrain yourself on how to sit, but if you spend many hours doing it each day you are forming your body into a particular position. Do you want to mold yourself into someone with the slumped over look OR the long, lean, flatter-abs version? It really comes down to you being aware, making a choice and making sitting a workout challenge… Write yourself a reminder on sticky note and put in on your screen or have a little office competition to see who can handle sitting correctly the longest. And you may just notice a little more ab definition in the next few weeks!

If you really want to make the office time into a true workout, there’s nothing better than sitting on a body ball. If you don’t sit properly on one of those things, you’ll be rolling off onto the floor. Even better – you’ve got a great tool for an impromptu killer-ab routine or side lying leg lifts without having to get your office clothes dirty on the floor. Just shut your office door first or give your cubicle mates that heads-up before you dive into your routine! And if you find yourself slumping over in the car despite adjusting your seat properly, try putting a tennis ball behind your back which I found works beautifully. This is something I tried first when I was pregnant and to this day if we go on a long trip I always make sure I have a tennis ball on hand in case my back starts getting a little tight.

Have a wonderful week!

steph

Is Cosmetic Surgery a Sin?

Stephanie Huckabee — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:37:45 +0000

Here’s a question I recently received on the blog:

“I have a question about accepting your body where it is. If God gave me this body and I am working out and doing well with that, why is there pressure to get a breast enhancement? I think that goes against His word. What are your thoughts?”

Let me say from the start that I have personal experience with this one. I chose to have surgery myself years ago when I was a single woman and had what I perceived to be disposable income. I was also in a corner of the world where women had this procedure done like it was going to get your teeth cleaned. That’s not an excuse – just a perspective on where I was at the time. Now, years later as I’ve hit the same age as my mother’s first breast cancer diagnosis, there are days when I wish I wouldn’t have made that decision. Of course, there are many days where I wish I wouldn’t have made plenty of other decisions as well, but we’ll stick to this particular topic…

If we define “accepting your body where it is” strictly speaking, I would be in tremendous violation if this were indeed “against His word.” I use toothpaste that says it will whiten my teeth…I have a favorite brand of self-tanner which darkens my skin…I am a huge fan of hair coloring, hair cuts and hair-dos…I absolutely love having the time and energy to do full-make up before my husband and I go on the rare dinner date… I am in awe of under garments that smooth, flatten, tighten and lift…

Ultimately, when sin first entered the world and Adam and Eve recognized their need for cover, the legacy of “enhancement” began… However, thankfully through the redemption of Christ, no matter what we do to ourselves – no matter how bad we mess things up physically or spiritually – there’s a grace that covers it all. Is choosing cosmetic surgery a sin? Nope – I don’t believe so… not in and of itself. Now, the motivation behind it may be. At the time I chose to do it, I made a choice that I thought would make me feel better about myself. The problem with that which “goes against God’s word” is that I wasn’t looking to Him for fulfillment. However, I am a different woman now, fully forgiven through the redemption of Christ and I don’t think that when I die, one of those TSA scanners will be at the pearly gates and upon detection of saline I’ll be dropped to the depths of hell.

On another note, think of women who have had breast cancer and reconstruction. Is it against God’s word that they would seek to have their bodies changed again due to the ravages of cancer? What about children born with a cleft palate? Burn victims seeking to have skin grafts to replace scar tissue? I don’t think anyone would argue that these are “wrong” in any way and I think that we can look at surgical advancements on the cosmetic front as blessings to many who can truly benefit.

The discussion of Christianity and cosmetic surgery – or even beauty for that matter – can be somewhat complex… We are naturally drawn to beauty – beautiful places which God has created, beautiful people, a beautiful flower or stunning rainbow…. No doubt that heaven is a place of unknown beauty to us as we’ve experienced it on this earth. It’s when we cross the line in the quest for beauty that we lose our focus on living for God’s glory that I believe it becomes an issue. If I believe that I am only beautiful if I grace the cover of a swimsuit magazine and sacrifice my time and energy attempting to create something I’m never going to be to the detriment of my family…to the destruction of the person who God created me to be…to make an idol of an unrealistic goal… to the destruction of my body with starvation for a particular look… then there are clearly some problems present that I believe are not living within the boundaries of God’s Word.

I’d love to know what you think on this topic as it can certainly be controversial, but it’s a discussion certainly worth having as we evaluate our own standards and sacrifices for beauty in a Christian context. Feel free to post your comments and share your own thoughts!

God bless!

steph

6 Simple Steps to Becoming a Morning Exerciser

Stephanie Huckabee — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:03:03 +0000

Rise and shine, sunshine!!

Is becoming a morning exerciser one of your fitness goals for this year? It can be a daunting challenge initially, but by following these six simple steps you can become part of what I call the “Early Bird Brigade” – and reap the benefits of more consistency and intensity that can come from choosing to workout before others are barely up!

1. Decide how early you need to get up to get in your workout. If you need to get up 45 minute earlier, start shifting your bedtime back in 10 to 15 minute increments giving yourself a few nights to adjust to each increment you’re altering.

2. Give yourself a couple of weeks to make the entire shift to your bedtime and wake time. This isn’t an overnight change so be patient with yourself as you make the transition.

3. Be realistic with how much you can really get done in the morning and chose workout plans that will allow you to fit this schedule. In other words, don’t tell yourself that you’re going to get up and work out for a solid hour when there’s no way that would really work and allow you to get out of the door on time. Instead, shoot for whatever amount of time works for you.

4. You may find that the intensity of your workouts increases greatly because you really do have a limited amount of time and this forces you to focus more, so look forward to morning workouts as an additional way to challenge yourself.

5. Have everything ready and sitting out the evening before – shoes, clothes, workout equipment, the video you’ll watch or the music you’ll listen to, water bottle already filled in the fridge… I’ve written a little bit more about this below…

6. If you need to get a little something on your stomach, try eating a scoop of peanut butter. I have to give a shout out to my friend Kathryn for that tip!

Physically, my ideal time for working out is 5pm and before jobs and kids, this worked out just fine. It took me a while to fall in love with the early workouts, but now I wouldn’t change them for the world. I’m much more consistent and I can see a distinct difference in my energy level and ability to handle stress on days when I get up and invest the time early. Devotions and prayer journaling over coffee are first, then it’s on to the workout… and I can step into my day knowing that before the day has even officially begun, I’ve made investments in both the spiritual and physical parts of life.

If you’re already a part of the “Early Bird Brigade” let me know your own tricks and tips for doing it successfully!

God bless!

steph

Push Your Way to Firm Your Quads, Glutes, Chest and Triceps

Stephanie Huckabee — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:57:47 +0000

Want to “push” yourself into getting fit with a workout you can do at home? Try this workout which focuses on muscles worked with a pushing motion – chest, triceps, quadriceps and glutes. You don’t need any fancy equipment or a designer home gym – just some weights or bands and a little bit of space. As always, prepare for your workout with 2-3 minutes of warming up either by walking on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike or by doing large range-of-motion moves like marching and pumping your arms and a few full-form squats.

Soon I’ll post the corresponding “pull” day workout that balances out your training with biceps, back, and hamstrings. I recommend doing each workout (push and pull) at least once a week and because they work different muscles you could actually do them on the same day. An example of how to incorporate this workout into your training schedule is:

Monday: Push workout

Tuesday: Long cardio (whatever that means to you – for some of you that would mean 20 minutes, for others you’d be pushing an hour…)

Wednesday: Pull Workout

Thursday: Cardio

Friday: Push and Pull

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Cardio

Now it’s time to work and push away!!

12 Push Ups (and at least try the first four on you toes!)

16 Triceps kick backs (either with the band or with light dumbbells)

12 Push Ups

16 Triceps kick backs

8 “challenge” pushups: These should be TOUGH!! The first two sets should have worn you out, so this set is where you really push yourself to do that little bit of extra work that makes all the difference.

12 Squats – wide stance focusing on glutes (heavy weights/resistance)

12 Standing French Press (one heavy dumbbell or band)

12 Squats

12 Standing French Press

12 Hover squats – keep the whole set low…never stand up all the way during the set and don’t use any weights – just your own body’s resistance.

8 Triceps Dips

12 Hover squats

8 Triceps Dips

Move to floor:

12 Bench Press (Heavy resistance)

12 Lying French press (otherwise known as “skull crushers” – go with two light dumbbells)

16 Bridge lifts for glutes – feet wide (Heavy resistance)

12 Bench Press

12 Lying French press

16 Bridge lifts for glutes – feet wide

12 Pec Flyes

12 Triceps press (like a bench press but your elbows start from down by the waist and press straight up – palms in. Go heavy!!)

16 Bridge lifts – feet together

12 Pec Flyes

12 Triceps press (like a bench press but your elbows start from down by the waist and press straight up – palms in. Go heavy!!)

16 Bridge lifts – feet together

Roll over to table position and add ankle weights, the band around your foot or a dumbbell behind the working leg knee.

16 Right glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

16 Left glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

16 Right glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

16 Left glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

And then take some time to stretch focusing on the chest, triceps, quads and glutes… It shouldn’t take you long at all to go through this circuit and as always, if you want to mix things up a little bit you could easily insert cardio intervals if you’d like.

Have a great workout and hope you have a wonderful week!

Steph

16 Minute Express Workout

Stephanie Huckabee — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:33:22 +0000

Judi requested one of my shorter total-body circuit workouts and you’ll find one of my favorite 16 minute Express Workouts called “The Twelve Days of Christmas Workout” right here on the blog under the fitness category from about two years ago. It allows you to hit every major muscle group in about 16 minutes and believe me, if you put your all into it – you’ll feel the difference! I’ve copied the moves right here from the original workout, but for those of you who might have a little more time, I want to offer some ideas for taking this workout and making it longer and more challenging.

You begin with a 2 minute warm-up – marching in place, some full-form squats..folding the laundry…vacuuming…mopping the floor… you know the drill… if you’ve been doing some sort of house work you’re probably pretty warmed up! Then you do each move for 45 seconds with good form. You have 15 seconds to set up for the next exercise. Be your own personal trainer and pay close attention to your form – make sure you’re pushing yourself with enough resistance whether you’re utilizing dumbbells, bands or even just your own body weight.

First of all, here are the moves…

1. Push Ups
2. Squats with Overhead Press
3. Plyometric Jumps (If you’d like a non-impact option – step squat side to side and sweep arms front as you squat down)
4. Alternating Dips with Hammer Curls (palms in for the biceps curl and do the lifting of the biceps when you’re lifting up from the dip)
5. Plies with Upright Row
6. Plie Jumps (feet wide in plie position and jump trying to get high enough to point toes – since we’re going for 45 seconds straight I’d do one and then take a couple of second to recover rather than firing them off right after one another…unless you want to of course!) Low impact option is to simply do plie pushes – feet wide and plie down and about half-way up. The reason you only come up about half-way is because if you were to come up all the way to where your knees are straight, you’re at a rest point and we don’t want that as we’re working…not resting
7. Biceps Curls – palms open to the front
8. Alternating Leg Press or Dips – Start on top of box if you’re using one
9. Double Bent Row
10. Alternating Leg Press or Lunges – Start on floor
11. Triceps Dips
12. Ab crunches – start out with upper and after 20 seconds add in lower body for a full form crunch. Another option here is to do V-sits sitting on top of your tall box or on the floor.

Now, to take this workout up a notch you can do a couple of things:

Do the entire circuit twice and the second time through lift heavier on the lifting sets
Add in additional cardio drills between 1 and 2, 4 and 5, and 7 and 8. You may want to jump rope, run in place, do a tall box climb… but if you add in this extra cardio work you’ll get a little more fat-burning out of your workout.
Mix up the moves in a different order… Try doing all of the lower body moves together, all of the upper moves alone and then do the combo moves with a little cardio mixed in to jazz things up… Or do it following moves 1-12 then do it in reverse – moves 12 through 1…

And of course, when you finish up make sure you take some time to stretch appropriately and be proud of what you’ve done for yourself!!

Tone Legs, Glutes and Hips – a Lower Body Sculpting Session

Stephanie Huckabee — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 02:45:21 +0000

What do you get when you combine targeted sculpting circuits for the lower body with fat blasting intervals to lean out your legs? One fabulous workout!! This has become one of my favorite routines and I generally don’t combine it with any additional cardio or lifting as it offers plenty of challenge on its own. It usually falls on a Monday or a Friday and it’s a once-a-week routine in terms of frequency. If you have any questions or some suggestions on how you’d tweak it to improve upon what I’ve shared, speak up and post right here on the blog! I’d love to hear from you!

Warm Up:

March in place for 1 minute – take in some deep breaths sweeping the arms side all the way up and down. Place your hands on your hips and alternate 8 lunges forward, alternate 8 side squats, alternate 8 dips rear. Step into plie position and sink down and up 8 times. Hold bottom and shift right and left making sure your knee doesn’t overshoot your foot too much as you move side to side. Walk your feet in. Take a deep breath in, be thankful for the privilege of movement and remind yourself: No Whining….Just Work!

The first time through each circuit, use your lightest weight and do 16 repititions.

The second time through the circuit, use your medium weight and do 12 repetitions.

The third and last time through, use your heaviest weight and go for 8-10 reps.

Circuit One:

Squats/Alternating dips /plie

Cardio Burst One:

Power March for 30 seconds. 8 plyometrics jumps. Power March for 30 seconds. 16 plie jumps. Power March for 30 seconds. 4 plyometric jumps.

Circuit Two:

Dead lifts/Alternating Lunges/Closed Squats

Cardio Burst Two:

Step Touch for 30 seconds. Make it a skate or hop for 30 seconds. Calf pumps with jump rope arms for 30 seconds. Take arms up for 30 seconds. Low jack for 30 seconds. High jack for 30 seconds.

Circuit Three:

(This one is a little different and takes a little longer as you do one leg at a time…You also will only use your light, medium and heavy weights on the first set of leg press of each circuit. The long leg sweep lifts and quick leg presses are done without any resistance.)

Leg Press Right starting from the bottom using weight

Lean over supporting yourself on a tall box, wall or bar with the left leg planted, Right long leg sweeps from the floor to as high as you can lift it with control working the Right glutes

Stand on top of tall box (no weights) and do a reverse quick leg press – R leg is planted on top and left leg is travelling to floor. Careful not to bounce – control the move!!

Repeat Left beginning with the weighted leg press, then do the left leg sweeps, then the quick leg press starting from the top of the tall box – left leg planted and right leg travels to the floor.

Move to floor, BOSU, or a stability ball.

16 R abuctions – hold leg out on the last one and shift body into table position leaving the leg extended.

16 long lever drops – move the leg from the raised position to the floor working the negative part of the motion (rather than from the floor to a lifted position)

16 ham curls – bring the heel in and out to squeeze through the hamstrings

32 pulses top.

Repeat on the Left Side

To completely finish up your workout, take some time to stretch! Make sure you unwind hamstrings, quadriceps, hips and glutes with smooth, solid positioning.

And now you’re done!! Hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!

God bless!

steph