New Circuit 9.21.09

New Circuit this week :)  Incorporates a few more posterior muscle groups to get that backside looking good!  You should be increase your weights in some of these exercises to increase your muscular endurance and to feel the burn a little more.  This is going to help burn the fat around your trouble areas and add cardio for the heart and lungs, ultimately burning more calories in your workout.  Post comments at the end of my blog too if you like/dislike some of the moves, suggestions and questions are always great! :)


1)  Step Ups + Overhead Press - Skip a step and increase the distance in your step!  This will target more glute muscles and get your heartrate up.  Holding the weights at the shoulders with a 90 degree angle in each elbow, press overhead as you step up and back to the 90 degree hold above the shoulders as you come down off the step.  Repeat 10 times with each leg leading.

2)  Bent Over Row - Standing tall with weights in hands, hinge forward from the hips and keep your knees softly bent.  Palms of your hands are turned in and neck in nuetral position.  Begin to lift your elbows up and back keeping them close to your body.  With elbows all the back, you should finish by pinching your shoulder blades together incorporating the mid-back area.  Hold for 2 counts and lower back to start slowly.

Repeat this 20 times.

3) One-Leg Squat (Sit/Stand) - Make sure you have a chair/bench/couch close.  With hands out in front of you stand on one leg.  Slowly sink you hips down to the chair until you are completely sitting, then pop right back up only using the one leg.  To increase intensity, stand back up immediately when your thighs/butt touches the chair, or not completely sitting.  Repeat 10 times on each leg.
Here are two versions depending on what equipment you have.

4)  Biceps Curl - Holding weights in both hands, keep your palms facing in toward the body.  Curl the weight all the way up in full range, and slowly release all the way back down toward the thigh.  Perform reps until failure.  If you can do more than 20 each time, you need to up the weight!!!  Stand on one foot to incorporate abs and balance with this simple exercise.

Here's Ryan performing the exercise......;)

5)  Dead Lift - USE YOUR BUTT, NOT YOUR LOWER BACK!  Standing with weights in hands, keep your back flat and your knees soft.  Hinge foward from your hips reaching the weights down the legs as far as you can feel a good stretch of the hamstrings and keeping your shoulders back and back flat.  Slowly being to come back up SQEEZING YOUR BUTT CHEAKS together and finishing with hips under the shoulders.  Repeat 10-12 times.  (Add a bent over row for an extra bonus move if you want...JUST DO IT)

6)  Reverse Crunch - Start by lying on your back and hands at your sides.  Begin to curl your knees into your chest engaging the abdominals.  Now lift your hips up off the floor and SLOWLY set them back down.  The eccentric (release) phase of this exercise is important in strengthening the abdominals so be in control of your hips.  Repeat 10-15 times. 

7) Jump Rope -  If you don't have a jump rope, pretend that you do and go through the motions.  Jump Rope fast for 1 full minute.

Beware, next week we are adding more exercises to this circuit.  Three times through and challenge yourself!