MOVEMENT: Squat as deeply as you can without letting your back round over. Think about keeping your chest up and your knees tracking over your toes. As you come up, watch that you keep your knees from collapsing in.
OPTION: If you're having trouble with the squat movement, you can use your TRX to hold onto and de-load this exercise, making it easier as you get stronger, rather than holding a weight.
3 B Three-Point Dumbbell Row
You can’t just work what you see in the mirror—your back is what holds your posture upright and makes you look good as you walk out of the room too. As you perform this exercise, really engage the muscles in your back to build a nice sculpted upper back.
START: Stand in front of a bench with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend over and support yourself by placing your left hand on the bench while holding a dumbbell in your right hand. Your feet should be directly under your hips, and your back should be flat with your head, spine, and tailbone in a straight line. The dumbbell should be hanging straight down from your right arm.
MOVEMENT: Row the dumbbell up by squeezing your shoulder blade back while maintaining a neutral spine. Lower the dumbbell and repeat. Do not shrug your shoulder; the movement should all be from your back. Repeat with your left arm.
WHY THREE POINTS? This exercise is called Three-Point Dumbbell Row because you are supported by your arm and both legs. You'll progress to a Two-Point Dumbbell Row that will work to further stabilize your core.
3 C Wall Standing Ankle Mobility
Perform as previously described . Good ankle mobility means you can move better, which means you burn more calories!
4 A Lateral Lunge with Contra Load
Forget the inner thigh machine. After performing this exercise, your inner thighs will be sore tomorrow. Really work on your range of motion while keeping your spine straight.
START: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in your right hand. Your shoulders should be back with good posture.
MOVEMENT: Take a wide step out with your left leg laterally as you bend your knee and lunge, sitting back with your hips, and touch the weight to the inside of your left foot. Maintain a neutral posture with your lower back. Drive off your left leg and return to the start position. Repeat on the same side for 15 reps. Then switch sides.
4 B Half-Kneeling Single Arm Overhead Press
You will use this half-kneeling position often. Practice really bracing yourself by squeezing your glutes and stabilizing your core.
START: Get in a half-kneeling position with your right knee on the floor and your left knee up, and hold a single dumbbell at shoulder height with your right hand. Engage your glutes and core to keep your hips, knees, and shoulders in line and your upper-body posture upright.
MOVEMENT: Keeping your body still, push the dumbbell overhead, extending your arm all the way up. Be careful not to lean your body as you are pressing the dumbbell up. Lower the dumbbell back to the start position and repeat. Then switch sides.
4 C Wall Slide
Perform as previously described . This is a great movement to do during a Posture Check. You will open up your chest and shoulders.
5 Body Weight Speed Squat
Use the same form you used during your Goblet Squats with your back upright and your knees tracking over your toes. Do not let your heels pop up. The difference is that you are doing it with your body weight only this time.
START: Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Fold your arms behind your head, with your elbows out.
MOVEMENT: Squat until your thighs are parallel or below to the floor, return to the start position, and repeat. Keep your knees tracking over your toes, and keep your heels down the entire time.
PHASE 1:
Strength
Workout 2
Remember to do the Get Moving RAMP exercises to warm up! Then perform the following exercises as described in the chart.
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Speed
Rest
CORE
1A Side Plank
with Rotation
1-2
8
each
side
Mod
None
1B Active
Leg Lowering
1-2
8
each
side
Mod
45 secs
COMBINATION
2 Reverse Lunge
with Cable Row
1-2
10
each
side
Fast
1 min
STRENGTH
3A Romanian
Deadlift
2-3
15
Slow
1 min
3B Pushup
2-3
15
Slow
None
3C Hip Flexor
Stretch with Rotation
2-3
30 sec
each
side
Hold
None
4A Stepup
2-3
15
each
side
Slow
1 min
4B Pulldown
2-3
15
Slow
None
4C Double Leg
Hip Bridge
2-3
10
Slow
None
FINISHER
5 Mountain Climber
2-4
20 secs
Fast
20 secs
1 A Side Plank with Rotation
Rotational core stabilization is also important, which is why this exercise is in the mix.
START: Lie on your side with your bottom elbow directly underneath your shoulder and your shoulders and feet stacked on top of each other, your back in a straight line, and your abdominal muscles drawn in tightly. Lift your hips off the ground, putting your weight on the forearm of your bottom arm and the side of your bottom foot. Your body should be in one straight line. Reach your top arm up toward the ceiling.
MOVEMENT: While maintaining the side plank position, take the top arm that is reaching toward the ceiling and bring it around your body and slide your hand under your body as if to stick your hand in your pocket. Then reach it back up to the ceiling.
OPTION: If this exercise is difficult, perform it on an incline, resting your upper body on a sturdy object to decrease the load on your core.
1 B Active Leg Lowering
This exercise is all about working the deep underlying abdominal muscles that many women have forgotten how to engage. If you’re doing it correctly, you will feel it.
START: Lie on your back with your legs pointing up to the ceiling. Think about keeping your ribs down, pulling your belly button toward the floor through your back. Pretend you’re holding in your urine (yes, like Kegel exercises). Place your fingers just inside your hip bones to feel the deep muscle contracting.
MOVEMENT: While keeping your core stable completely, lower your right leg until it’s just barely off the floor, hold for a count of 2 seconds, and then return to the start position. Repeat with your left leg. During each rep, really focus on keeping your core tight and engaged while moving your leg slowly and controlled.
2 Reverse Lunge with Cable Row
Throughout the program you’ll see combination moves, which give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to an exercise. With this one we are getting the benefits of a row and a lunge; pairing them up equals a big-time calorie burn.
START: Grasp a cable with your right hand. Stand up tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, shoulders back, head looking straight ahead, and core tight.
MOVEMENT: Keeping your upper body still, shift your weight to one foot and lift the opposite foot behind you, engaging your glute to lift the leg and step back about 2½ feet as you
lower your back knee to the floor into a lunge position. Driving through your front leg, return to the start position as you perform a row.
3 A Romanian Deadlift
This exercise usually hits you the next day. While you’re doing it, you won’t feel like it’s too challenging, but the next day you’ll know you did it because the back of your legs and your butt will be sore. Really work on getting your form correct.
START: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbbells or a barbell in front of you, resting on your thighs.
MOVEMENT: Kicking your hips back and keeping the weight right along your legs, lower until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, but be sure to maintain a neutral spine. Do not round your back. Keep your knees slightly bent, not locked, as you push your hips back. Return to the start position.
3 B Pushup
For most women, the weak link on a pushup is the core. There are many different ways you can do a pushup to make it harder or easier. You can do it on an incline, using TRX straps, or, if necessary, on your knees on the floor. You can also perform a plank to pushup movement, working on your core strength first before you add the actual pushup.
START: Get in a pushup position on the floor, on an incline using a bench, or against a wall to support yourself, depending on how strong you are. If you are strong enough, do traditional pushups on the floor. Otherwise, the higher the incline, the easier this will be. Your spine should be in a straight line with your head, upper back, and tailbone in alignment.
MOVEMENT: Lower yourself until your shoulders go just below your elbows and then return to the start position, keeping your body in a straight line and your abdominals tight during the entire movement. If you cannot get the full range of motion without letting your back arch or without sticking your hips out, either increase the incline, perform a plank to pushup, or do the pushup on your knees.
3 C Hip Flexor Stretch with Rotation
You will use the half-kneeling position frequently throughout your workouts for stretches, strength exercises, and core exercises. Practice this position before you go into the Hip Flexor Stretch with Rotation.
START: Begin with your left knee on the floor (with a towel under it for padding, if preferred) and your right leg lunged in front of you with your foot flat on the floor, as if you are in a “Will you marry me?” pose.
MOVEMENT: Place your hands behind your head with your elbows opened out. Squeeze your left butt cheek as you stretch the front of your left hip in a small range of motion to keep your hips underneath you and come back to the start. After performing all of your repetitions, repeat on the other side.
4 A Stepup
The stepup is one of my all-time-favorite butt and leg exercises. The higher the step you use, the more your butt will be working in a full range of motion. Just don’t go so high that you have to push off your bottom leg to drive yourself up.
START: Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Standing in front of a step, place your left foot on the step with your posture upright.
MOVEMENT: Shift your weight onto your left foot and drive your body up onto the step. Do not put your weight on your right foot. Lower yourself slowly back down to the start position and repeat for 15 reps. Then switch sides. Be careful you don’t bounce off your bottom leg too much; instead try to really drive through the heel of your top leg to pull yourself up.
4 B Pulldown
As a woman, you may have been told that you’ll never do a pullup. Nonsense. Start with a pulldown movement, and as you’re performing this movement, visualize that one day you will perform a pullup.
START: If you can perform the pulldown in a kneeling position, sit tall on your knees with a band or a pulley coming from above. Hold the handles of the pulley with your arms extended. Your hips should be directly over your knees and under your shoulders so that your ears, shoulders, hips, and knees are in a straight line. Otherwise, you can use a seated pulldown machine if an over-head pulley is not available to kneel under. Take an underhand grip with your palms facing you about shoulder-width apart, either on handles or on a bar.
MOVEMENT: Pull the weight down by bending your elbows, bringing them toward your body and your chest up toward the bar or handles. Keep your shoulders down as you pull down, and think about pulling your shoulder blades down and back. Finish with your arms against your body, elbows bent. Slowly extend back to the start position. Repeat for 15 reps.
4 C Double Leg Hip Bridge
This exercise switches on your glutes, engages your core, and gives you an active stretch for the hip flexors. You’ll also see it in your strength program as your active rest.
START: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Your arms should be out straight with your palms facing up.
MOVEMENT: Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips off the floor until your knees, hips, and shoulders are in one straight line, engaging your core and your glutes. Hold for 5 seconds and then lower back to the floor.
5 Mountain Climber
For this exercise, you can use your body weight only, and if you need to, you can also do these on an incline either against a bench or using a TRX. Keep your body in a straight line and your core engaged as you drive your knees up one at a time.
START: Assume a standard pushup position with your head, shoulders, and butt in a straight line.
MOVEMENT: Drive one knee up toward your chest, then return the leg to the start position as you bring the other knee toward your chest. Alternate legs as fast as possible.
OPTION: If this is difficult, perform it on an incline with your hands placed on a sturdy object or in the TRX to decrease the load on your core. To make this exercise more difficult, you can put your feet in a TRX. Get into position and go for it!
PHASE 1:
Timed
Metabolic
Workout
Remember to do the Get Moving RAMP exercises to warm up! Then perform the following exercises one after the other for 30 seconds with 30 seconds of rest between each one. Repeat all five exercises three times and then rest for 3 minutes.
AMAP stands for as many as possible ! Challenge yourself to push past the number of times you could perform the exercise last time. Feel yourself getting stronger!
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Speed
Rest
CIRCUIT
1A Body Weight
Squat
30 secs*
AMAP
Mod
30 secs
1B Squat Thrust
30 secs*
AMAP
Mod
30 secs
1C Alternating
Body Weight
Reverse Lunge
30 secs*
AMAP
Mod
30 secs
1D Prone
Hand Touch
30 secs*
AMAP
Mod
30 secs
1E Kettlebell or
Dumbbell Swing
30 secs*
AMAP
Mod
30 secs
* Perform all five exercises for 30 seconds each, repeating the circuit three times.
1 A Body Weight Speed Squat
Perform as previously described . In this workout you're going for speed, but don't get sloppy. Keep your chest up, your knees over your toes, and weight evenly distributed.
1 B Squat Thrust
Combining a squat with a core stabilization movement is the ultimate pairing to really get your heart rate up and burn some calories.
START: Stand with your feet together and your arms at your sides.
MOVEMENT: Bend down and touch the floor with your hands. Put weight on your hands and jump out so your legs are extended into a pushup position, then jump back in so your feet are at your hands again and stand up.
OPTION: If performing a Squat Thrust on the floor is too difficult, place your hands on a bench or step. The incline will mak
e it easier.
1 C Alternating Body Weight Reverse Lunge
You did reverse lunges in the Get Moving RAMP workout—now it’s time to push yourself for speed while maintaining your form.
START: Stand up tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, your chest up, shoulders back, head looking straight ahead, and core tight.
MOVEMENT: Keeping your upper body still, shift your weight to one foot and lift the opposite foot behind you, engaging your glute to lift the leg and step back about 2½ feet into a lunge position. Return to the start position and repeat on the opposite leg.
OPTION: If the lunge movement is difficult, hold onto the TRX to take some of your body weight off and work on the movement de-loaded.
1 D Prone Hand Touch
This move has you in the plank position on your hands using your core to stabilize your body. You’ll be moving laterally back and forth with your upper body.
START: Get into a pushup position with your body in a straight line.
MOVEMENT: Shift your weight to one hand while keeping your body as stable as possible and quickly touch your free hand to the supporting hand. Place the free hand back in the start position, shift your weight to the other side, and touch your free hand to the supporting hand. Continue back and forth for the entire set.
1 E Kettlebell or Dumbbell Swing
If you’ve never done a swing before, take your time. Start by simply lifting the weight off the floor and setting it back down like a deadlift. Then start to add the swinging motion into the movement.
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