To plan your total body workout, think about doing something focused 3-6 times a week and taking 1-3 days of what’s called active rest (clean house, walk the golf course, go for a hike, take the dog for a long walk, do squats throughout the day – link it to every time you go to the bathroom for example.
This movement is important for recovery and allows your body to do something active for fun, wellness, blood flow to the sore spots from your focused workout, etc. This keeps the body oriented toward energy flow and movement.
Making sure to get a weekend workout in is a great way to make sure your active rest days are not consecutive. Consecutive days off can make it harder to return to your focused workouts on Monday.
Workout Basics and Warm Up
Make sure to warm up. Spend 5-10minutes doing easy movement, stretching, and allow the muscles you are going to work to “wake up”. Work to include all the big joints and major muscle groups. It’s a great time to get your music right, your shoes tightened or loosened, or make sure you hair is out of your way. By fixing these things now, you are more likely to stay focused on the work portion.
When you complete the round, give yourself a pat on the back, a fist pump, something that celebrates your accomplishment. This is a big deal for helping habits stick, and helps you be realistic about all the hard work you are doing.
If you are unclear about a movement, look it up (Check out my YouTube Tutorials Here). There are lots of resources online that allow you to make sure you have good form. Always work up to adding weight or making a movement less stable. Good form comes first.
The Workout
Part 1: Total Body Shred
The first portion of the workout consists of a metoblic fat burning time set. Do each movement for 1 minute as many/hard as you can, then rest for 30 seconds. Move the next exercise. Do this whole set 2x through.
- Compass Jumps
- Plank Spider Walks
- Rocket Girls
- Bear Crawl
- High Skip Traveling Jumps
- Plank Rockers
Part 2: Total Body Shred
The next portion includes a dumbbell matrix. With each DB move use the abdominals to rotate while lifting. It is important to have good form here. Go slower and lighter on the weight until you feel strong enough to hold good form. You’ll do one DB exercise followed by a 30-second plank hold in between each DB movement. Do the whole group 2x through.
- Rotate and overhead press
- Rotating bicep curl with alternating leg backward lunge
- Alternating uppercuts with isometric plié squat
- Narrow squats with Y overhead press
- Frontal to lateral should raise
- T-Burpees
Part 3: Total Body Shred
The third portion of the workout is all about balancing out your core strength. Do these exercises 2x through then congratulate yourself and stretch!
- Bicycle curls
- Supermans with cactus arm pull-downs
- Upper to lower body curls
- Quadruped opposite elbow to knee curls and extensions
Finish Strong
YOU DID IT!! Now that you have finished the “work” portion, it is time for flexibility training. Spend some time stretching all the muscles you worked – in this workout, it’s full body so give all your major muscles a good stretch. Then grab a good post workout snack. Together these get your muscles ready for tomorrow’s movement and make sure you are ready to meet your goals.
Words of Caution...
Please make sure to follow your body. Do not push through pain. Discomfort/Challenge are different than pain. We want to challenge ourselves we do not want to hurt ourselves. Find the level that is right for you and move at that level. Make sure to choose weight and stances that support your body style – if you have to use the wall to do your push ups do that, if you need a chair or a bench use those. Make sure you are doing what you need to do for your body type and current personal level of fitness.
Thank you for taking the time to either switch up or begin your total body shred routine!
Taking time to workout properly IS HARD but once you start doing it, it becomes a lifestyle!!
Learn more and reach out!
And as always, if you are struggling to engage fully in your life and would like to see how psychology might be able to help you contact me today!