Hello there!
How was your week? I hope it was fantastic, and that the weekend holds all sorts of fun things for you too. I’m excited about it for several reasons, including a facial, a Christmas shopping date with a friend, a TRX sweat date with another friend, and some recipe creation. Now if only I could snap my fingers and make it 5pm…. ?
Moving into our usual Friday subject matter…
Work It Out
Today’s routine is one I’ve been excited to share with you since I made it up in the gym last week. As you’ve seen recently, I’m all about the short, total-body circuits that develop strength and cardio. I also like tossing in a few explosive plyometric moves because they help to drive my heart rate up, and if you ask me, we don’t jump up and down nearly enough.
The only things you’ll need for this workout are a skipping rope, a moderately heavy kettlebell or dumbell and a timer. I’ve found that the Gymboss App is perfect for workouts like this because you can set the length of each interval (work and rest), and the number of rounds you want to do. It beeps to let you know when to move on, and you don’t have to keep an eye on the clock while you sweat. Best of all, it’s a free download from the App Store.
The Work the Circuit Workout
Set your interval timer for 4 rounds of 5 minutes with 30s rest in between each of the 4 rounds. (In total, this will take you 22 minutes.) Keep cycling through the exercises below, trying to get through as many as you can in each 5 minute round. When the 5 minutes is up, rest for 30s and pick up right where you left off. So, if you finish round 1 and do 5 of the 15 burpees, start round 2 with the remaining 10 reps.
Click here to print/download the PDF.
Exercise descriptions:
Push-ups with 6 mountain climbers – Get into high plank pose. Do 6 mountain climbers, then 1 push-up. That’s 1 rep.
Jumping jack with tuck jump – Do a jumping jack, extending arms fully overhead. After you jump your legs back together, crouch down slightly to gain momentum, then explosively jump up, tucking your knees up to your chest. Land as softly as you can. That’s 1 rep.
[Tweet “22 mins and you’re done this head-to-toe The Work the Circuit #Workout”]
Turn It Up
This week’s featured song to sweat to is Galactic Appeal by Pretty Sister and Dragonette. Not only is it a great, uplifting workout song, but it kind of reminds me of summer which I miss very dearly right now. Turn it up for a mini mood boost!
Can’t see the video? Click here.
I can’t not share a second pick with you, but it’s not a workout song. Think of this as a nice, cruisy calm one to help you get super chilled out for the weekend. John Mayer is good at that genre, and his latest song Love on the Weekend is one of my latest obsessions.
Have A Read
- 5 ways to make your ab workouts more effective – and less painful – via Women’s Health. This one is gold – a highly recommended read.
- How weight lifting changed my body image forever – via Fitness Magazine
- What Is Heart Rate Variability and How Can It Make Me a Better Athlete? – via Outside Online
Now over to you! Let’s hear…
- What was the best part of your week?
- Do you have any specific fitness goals for December? November was the month of 100 push-ups a day for me, but this month is all about flexibility and core strength. So far it’s off to a great start!
Oh – I have never heard of the Gym Boss app. I will absolutely give it a try. Another awesome workout. Thanks for sharing, Ange! Sounds like you have a busy and super fun weekend!
Jess, this one is an essential for you! It’s super handy and makes doing interval training sooooo much easier. I hate clock watching and the beeps are just enough to alert you, but not so obnoxious that they annoy everyone else in the gym. They also give you a little applause at the end! 🙂