The Best Exercise to Strengthen Your Core

What would I tell my 30-year-old self about exercise?

You need this body to be functional and healthy for decades. Listen to your body!

Before I became a trainer, I was ridiculously skilled at getting injured.

My injuries included:

• Torn calf muscle

• Fractured foot

• IT band strain

• Tendinitis in the left knee

• Tendinitis in both of my Achilles' tendons

• Groin strain

The list represents months of rehab, pain, and frustration — and so many crying sessions! I was exercising a lot, but I had no clue what I was doing.

Until I became a trainer, I didn't know what not to do. I followed my instructors in class and did what they told me to do—much to my detriment.

No workout is worth being injured. Listen to your body and do what feels right.

We want to train correctly, safely, and comfortably.

This Week’s Exercise:

We will build on last week's push-up exercise and add in a core movement.

Your core is made up of layers of muscle that support your spine, hips, stomach, pelvis, back, and butt.

You use your core in almost every activity you do.

Anytime you are bending, lifting, twisting, reaching, standing, or sitting, you are using your core. Your core also helps with posture and balance, and it protects your organs.

We will practice forearm planks this week. Planks are one of the best exercises you can do to strengthen your core, and there are a lot of options for skill levels.

We will keep our push-ups from last week and add planks to our routine.

See below for a video tutorial on how to properly (and safely!) do a forearm plank.

Day 1 – 10 push-ups & 15 - 30 sec. plank

Day 3 – 10 push-ups & 15 – 30 sec. plank

Day 5 – 10 push-ups & 15 - 30 sec. plank

Day 6 – Any activity you want – just get moving for 10-15 minutes.

Your core is getting a double workout between the planks and push-ups, so adjust your reps as needed.

If you can’t do all of the reps or plank for the suggested time, no big deal! Exercise is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. Do what works for you!

Try to follow the training schedule as many days as you can!

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How to Get Back to Working Out in One Simple Step

Over a month ago, I went in for a routine procedure. I ended up being one in 250 people who had complications. It’s been a long month, and I’m still not back to my old self. But, I have been cleared to get back to working out.

Where do I start? My instinct is to go hard and try to gain back all of my missed workouts in one month. (BAD IDEA) I know that is not safe, smart, or feasible. Instead, I’m going to start slowly.

If you’ve been on an exercise hiatus, are coming back from an illness, or need to start slower, this workout is for you!

This workout is a circuit workout. Do it once all the way through and stop. Or go through it again. You determine what feels right for you. It’s comprised of bodyweight exercises, so no weights or equipment are needed. If you are truly coming back from an exercise break, I wouldn’t recommend doing it more than three times.

10 Jumping Jacks

10 Squats

10 Push-ups

10 Bridges

10 Hydrants

10 Bird Dogs

20-Second Plank

5 Close Grip Push-ups (on knees or toes) - this will work your triceps

10 Reverse Lunges

If you liked this workout, try some other quick ones:

10-Minute Upper Body Workout
Beginner Bodyweight Workout

Five Secret Ways to Squeeze in Exercise Throughout the Day

Our best intentions for exercising can go up in smoke when Monday rolls around. An unexpected meeting or added to-do can quickly erase our designated time to exercise. But, if you are having one of those weeks, don’t despair! Here are a few ideas that will help you incorporate some activity into your day.

1. Take the longer route. If you park at an office building or the grocery store, pick the spot furthest away. As you walk toward your destination, challenge yourself to pick up your pace. Speed walk or jog to the front doors!

2. Plan five-minute exercise bursts to do as a break between tasks. Finished drafting a report or cleaning up the dishes? Do three exercises for 10 repetitions for a total of three times. For example, 10 Jumping Jacks, 10 Squats and 10 Push-ups. Or, 10 reverse lunges, 10 chair triceps dips and 10 desktop/countertop push-ups.

3. Set the timer on your phone for 5 or 10 minutes and commit to moving. Maybe you are picking up kids’ toys or sticks in the front yard. Or, you are having a dance party for five minutes. Commit to a time, set your timer, and do it! Don’t stop moving until your timer goes off!

4. Rather than bending over to pick something up off the ground, squat down to get it. If you are grocery shopping, don’t bend over to grab something on a lower shelf - squat down to get it. Or, as you sit in your chair, don’t just plunk yourself down. Slowly lower yourself down, so you are engaging your quadricep muscles.

5. Plan your daily to-dos to include one active chore each day. Vacuuming your rugs, weeding your garden, walking to the mailbox, mopping your floors, or dusting your house are all chores that require your body to be more active than more sedentary chores (folding clothes, paying bills, etc.)

Set a goal to try one of these activities 3-5 times a week. At the end of the week, see if you noticed a difference. Did you feel better by incorporating some movement? Every bit of activity makes a difference, so don’t let a busy schedule derail your goals of being more active.

Have some extra time to work out? Try one of these bodyweight exercises.

• 7-minute “I-dont-have-time-to-exercise” workout

• At-home, 20-Minute bodyweight workout

• HIIT ladder workout

Easy Thanksgiving Workout: No Equipment Needed!

I love Thanksgiving.

I love the food, the warm atmosphere, Black Friday newspaper ads, and the relaxed pace.

Although I enjoy kicking back, I usually feel better if I try to move for 20 minutes before or after eating. So, I try to squeeze in a quick workout once I’ve gotten the turkey in the oven.

The workout below is what I will be doing this year. It’s a bodyweight workout you can do anywhere, and it only takes 20-25 minutes.

If you don’t love this workout’s format, check out some of my previous Thanksgiving workouts:

Alphabet Thanksgiving Workout (Bodyweight!)

Full-body Turkey Day Workout

Directions: Complete 2-3 rounds of the exercises listed below.

20 Forward Lunges

20 Mountain Climbers

20 Supermen

20 Push-ups

20 Squats

20 Scarecrows (with or without light weights)

20 Single-leg Deadlift

20 Seal Jacks

20 Plank with Alternating Leg Lifts

20 Fire Hydrants

20 Seated Straight Leg Raises

20 Triceps Dips

20 Elbow Plank Alternating Arm Reaches

20 Bicycle Crunches

20 Single-leg Bridges

20 Cross Punches

20 Lateral Lunges

20 Jumping Jacks

20 Skaters

20 High Knees

Quick, At-Home Kettlebell Workout

Confession: the first time I ever used a kettlebell, I did it wrong. Very wrong. The following day I woke up with such an achy sore back that I didn’t think I’d be able to get out of bed. I eventually hoisted myself out of bed and spent the next few days babying my back. All because I didn’t take the time to understand how to do kettlebell swings correctly.

Fast forward to eight years later. Yesterday I woke up after doing a kettlebell workout, and I was SO SORE. But, unlike the first time, this was the right kind of soreness. I had done a challenging kettlebell/dumbbell workout (with the correct form), and my body was recuperating.

I created the following kettlebell/dumbbell workout, so you could also experience a challenging workout. (No kettlebell swings included!)

If you don’t have kettlebells, use one dumbbell instead of the kettlebell for this workout. If you have questions, feel free to send me a note through my contact page!

Workout:

10 Goblet Squats Holding Kettlebell

12 Kettlebell Glute Bridges

12 Push-ups

12 Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlifts (per leg)

12 Kettlebell Bicep Curls + Shoulder Presses

20 Kettlebell Pass-Through Lunges

12 Kettlebell Overhead Triceps Extensions

Changing up Your Workout: Pyramid Format

Changing up the format of my workouts is a necessity. If I begin to get bored, I lose all motivation to exercise. Not only does changing up your routine help combat predictability, but it also helps strengthen different muscles and avoid overuse injuries. 7 Reasons to Switch Up Your Workout | One Medical

Changing up a routine can involve trying a new activity or switching the format of your existing exercise. I do a lot of interval strength training workouts and get tired of doing circuits or supersets. So, I switch it up by doing an As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) workout or ladder workout.

The workout below is another one to try: the pyramid workout. You start with a low number of reps and increase each set until you reach your desired maximum. Next, you work backward, repeating the sets until you are where you started.

It’s a challenging workout – with a different format! Give it a try and let me know what you think. If you liked this format, I have another pyramid workout that’s fun to try.

Pyramid Workout:

Set #1

5 Push-ups

5 Squats + Bicep Curls

5 Deadlifts with Dumbbells

5 Renegade Rows with Dumbbells

5 Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks

5 Squat Jumps

Set #2

10 Push-ups

10 Squats + Bicep Curls

10 Deadlifts with Dumbbells

10 Renegade Rows with Dumbbells

10 Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks

10 Squat Jumps

Set #3

15 Push-ups

15 Squats + Bicep Curls

15 Deadlifts with Dumbbells

15 Renegade Rows with Dumbbells

15 Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks

15 Squat Jumps

Set #4:

10 Push-ups

10 Squats + Bicep Curls

10 Deadlifts with Dumbbells

10 Renegade Rows with Dumbbells

10 Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks

10 Squat Jumps

Set #5:

5 Push-ups

5 Squats + Bicep Curls

5 Deadlifts with Dumbbells

5 Renegade Rows with Dumbbells

5 Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks

5 Squat Jumps

Exercise With Your Child - Indoors!

It’s winter. We are in a pandemic. Your kids may or may not be in school. They have so much ENERGY.

If that describes your environment, then give this kid-friendly, indoor workout a try. I have a 9-year-old who is doing hybrid school. The temperatures outside are chilly, so getting enough activity during the day is a challenge.

I am always coming up with workouts for my son, so I thought I would share one. This workout is loosely based on the 12 Days of Christmas song; except we are going to start with 12 repetitions of the first exercise. After you’ve done 12 repetitions of the first exercise, start at the top again and do 12 repetitions of the first exercise (jumping jacks), and then add on 11 repetitions of the next exercise (butt kicks). Keep this format until you are down to the last exercise, which is one, 30-second plank.

Rnd 1: 12 jumping jacks, Rnd 2: 12 jumping jacks, 11 butt kicks Rnd 3: 12 jumping jacks, 11 butt kicks, 10 single-leg hops, etc. On your last round, you will complete all 12 exercises ending with the plank.

For more kid-friendly workouts, check out two more of my favorites:

Indoor Workout for Kids

Indoor Workout You Can Do With Your Kids

Workout: (See instructions above on the sequence: 12, 12 + 11, 12+11+10, 12+11+10+9, etc.)

12 Jumping Jacks

11 Butt Kicks

10 Single-leg Hops (10 left, 10 right)

9 High Knees

8 Lateral Hops

7 Crab Walks (Both hands have to move for “1” rep)

6 Frog Jumps

5 Push-ups

4 Star Jumps

3 Windmill Toe Touches

2 Inchworms

1 30-second Plank

Full-Body Dumbbell Workout in 20 Minutes

I have always been a person who likes to “go hard and be done” when doing workouts. I would much rather do an intense, 20-minute workout than 40 minutes of working out with multiple breaks. Both methods are great - I’m just usually strapped for time.

This workout is a great one for those days when you only have 20-30 minutes to spare.

You only need dumbbells for this workout, but if you don’t have any, grab some cans of soup or Gatorade bottles. Anything that will give you some resistance.

The main portion of this workout is two, seven-minute As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) sections. You will set your timer for the designated amount of time and go through the circuit as many times as you can before your timer goes off.

I like to write down how many rounds I completed on each section, so I can use it as a benchmark for the future.

If you like AMRAP workouts, try some of the ones on my site:

“No Time to Exercise” 20-Minute AMRAP Workout

Full-Body AMRAP Workout

20-Minute AMRAP Workout

Workout:

Circuit #1:

10 Squats

10 Skaters

10 Jumping jacks

Repeat a total of three times.

Circuit #2: (Set your timer for 8 minutes - complete AMRAP of circuit in that time)

10 Walking lunges while holding dumbbells

10 Single-arm dumbbell row (10 per side)

10 Dumbbell deadlifts

10 Push-ups

Circuit #3: (Set your timer for 8 minutes - complete AMRAP of circuit in that time)

10 Dumbbell bicep curls while holding a static lunge (Make sure you are in a deep lunge in order to work your legs.)

10 Dumbbell lateral lifts + leg abductions

10 Plank alternating leg lifts (10 per leg)

10 Alternating opposite hand to opposite toe crunch

10 Dumbbell triceps kickbacks

At-Home Agility Workout - No Equipment Needed!

Indoor, at-home workouts got a little monotonous for many of us during the spring, so the thought of doing it again this winter is a little deflating. My clients feel the same way!

I’ve been doing this type of workout with my clients via Zoom, and they have all been enjoying it. It’s different, requires no special equipment and you’re done in 20 minutes!

For this workout, you need four water bottles, cans, toys, Gatorade bottles or anything you can use in the place of a cone. I used water bottles in my pictures.

By mixing in some agility drills, we are increasing the heart rate and making this workout a little more challenging. Check it out:

Repeat this circuit 2-4 times!

20 Walking Lunges (10 per leg) If you have a set of dumbbells, use them!

45-sec. drill shuffling down one side of the cones/water bottles and returning to start by shuffling down the other side. Do a burpee (or step back) and start your shuffle sequence again. (See picture below)

10 Push-ups

45-sec. drill hopping down one side of cones/water bottles on left foot, hopping back down the other side of cones on your right foot. (See picture below)

10 Supermen

45-sec. drill running/shuffling around four cones in square formation. (See picture below)

20 Elevated Bridges (feet up on step, couch, ottoman, etc.) If you have a dumbbell, feel free to place it on your hips.

45-sec. drill of lateral hops from one cone to the next. Starting at cone 1, push off your left foot and hop over to cone 2. (See picture below)

20 Reverse Lunges + Bicep Curls (If you have dumbbells, use them. If not, just do the motion.)

45-sec. of Jumping Jacks

15 Triceps Dips on a chair or bench

25 Squat jumps

30-sec. Plank with Arm Reaches – Don’t let your hips move!

Shuffle + Burpee - first drill listed.

Hop on left foot, hop on right foot. Second drill listed in workout.

Shuffling around four cones - third dill listed.

Lateral leaps around the cones - fourth drill listed.

Beginner & Experienced Benchmark Workouts to Track Fitness Gains

Your fitness achievements should never be gauged by a number on the scale! We have a tendency to group exercise and weight loss together, which prevents us from celebrating our fitness achievements independently from weight loss goals.

One of the best ways to measure your fitness progress is to conduct a benchmark workout. I usually have a client benchmark where she is at the beginning of her fitness journey and revisit the same workout in a month or two. The strength and cardiovascular gains are always so impressive (and encouraging)!

Your benchmark can be one or several exercises. I always tie the exercises to the overall goal my client has identified. If my client has a goal to do 20 push-ups, I will make sure “doing push-ups to exhaustion” is one of her benchmark exercises. I also make sure I incorporate exercises that test balance. We always need to be working on our balance and flexibility! Whatever exercises you choose, make sure you always go in the same order when you do the benchmark workout.

I’m including some of my favorite benchmark exercises below. Take time this summer to benchmark where you are at and revisit it again this fall. You will be amazed at your progress!

For additional ideas about benchmarking, visit my other post “Three Ways to Measure Your Fitness Progress”.

Benchmark Exercises/Workout:

Plank to exhaustion. Plank time: ________________

Wall sit for as long as you can: ___________ Minutes (Make sure your arms are out straight, crossed over your chest or against the wall. No bracing your hands against your legs.)

Push-ups to exhaustion: __________ Repetitions

Total number of Jumping Jacks in one minute: ______ Repetitions

Balancing on one leg (Warrior 3 Pose) Time for Left:_________ Time for Right:__________

How long it takes you to do 100 walking lunges (option: while holding dumbbells): ________Minutes (50 lunges per leg)

Waterfalls/Ball Exchanges in one minute: _______Repetitions

On-the-ground Triceps Dips (or on bench):__________ Repetitions (until exhaustion)

Balancing on one leg with arms straight overhead – and looking up at the ceiling:

_______ Left Leg _______Right Leg

Full-Body Dice Workout - No Equipment Needed

I change the format of my workouts every day. I need variety! Today’s workout is a format I use when I feel like I’ve done everything else recently.

To do this dice workout, I create a list of six exercises with varied repetitions or times. Each movement correlates with a number from the dice. When I roll that number, I have to do the exercise as it’s written - not the number of repetitions the rolled dice represents.

Directions:

Set your timer for 10 minutes. Roll the dice and complete the exercise that corresponds to the number that you rolled. For example, in Circuit #1, if I rolled a 3, I’d do 25 jumping jacks. Keep rolling and exercising until the timer goes off. Once you are done with 10 minutes of Circuit 1, set your timer and start on Circuit 2.

Circuit #1: (Set your timer for 10 minutes.)

1 – 20 Walking Lunges (10 per leg)

2 – 10 Push-ups

3 – 25 Jumping Jacks

4 – 30 Second Plank

5 – 15 Supermen

6 – 15 Donkey Kicks (per leg)

Circuit #2: (Set your timer for 10 minutes.)

1 – 20 Squat Jumps

2 – 30 Second Wall-sit

3 – 6 Up-Down Planks

4 – 20 Elevated Bridges

5 – 15 Triceps Dips (on bench, chair or ground)

6 – 15 Skaters

Indoor Workout for Kids

Every Friday morning, I’ve been Facetiming with my nephew, so he and my son can do a workout together. My nephew lives in northern Idaho, and it definitely doesn’t feel like spring up there. In fact, they got several inches of snow yesterday! Being active is a bit more challenging, so we take these family workouts very seriously!

Keeping the boys engaged is a challenge. I created this ladder workout for last week’s session. The boys liked it, and I thought it was a great way to burn some energy. If you need more activity for your kiddos, check out this fun, easy workout!

Ladder Workout:

Go through all of the exercises listed below and do 9 repetitions of each movement. When you are done, start at the top of the list and do the exercises again, but this time, only do 8 repetitions. Continue with this decreasing pattern until you are down to 1 repetition of each exercise!

Jumping Jacks

Squats

Push-ups

Lateral Jumps/Hops

Cross Punches

Frog Hops

Crunches

No-Equipment Workouts You Can Do At Home

The ability to exercise in your own home has never been more needed than it is now. With quarantines happening all over the world, our living rooms are also becoming our makeshift gyms. Our lives are more stressful and uncertain, so if there ever was a need for some endorphins, it’s now!

If you are finding yourself needing a workout that uses no equipment and can be done from home, you are in the right place! My workouts page has dozens of bodyweight routines you can try. Most are full-body workouts, so you will get your major muscle groups worked as well as some cardio. I’m going to try to post new workouts this week. In the meantime, here are some of my favorites:

Workout for Small Spaces

Fast, At-Home Workout

Low-Impact, Full-Body Workout

20 Min. AMRAP Workout

Isometric Burn Workout

5-Min. Ab Workout

HIIT Ladder Workout

I went to the gym this morning for a quick, 30-minute class. The class did what it was supposed to do – it got my heart rate up. However, it was painfully BORING. I kept looking at the clock because I wanted it to be over as soon as possible.

As a trainer, my job is to create workouts that are engaging and “fun” for my clients. They should get a full-body workout but not be watching the clock because they are bored. (Now if they are watching the clock because they are dying from exertion…. that’s a different situation!)

This workout is a one that makes the time fly by. It’s an easy format to follow, but you will find yourself distracted because you are trying to complete it. I also like it because this format lends itself to hundreds of combination possibilities.

If you are looking for a quick workout, give it a try.

Ladder Workout:

Circuit #1:

10 Push-ups

1 Deadlift

9 Push-ups

2 Deadlifts

8 Push-ups

3 Deadlifts

7 Push-ups

4 Deadlifts

6 Push-ups

5 Deadlifts

5 Push-ups

6 Deadlifts

4 Push-ups

7 Deadlifts

3 Push-ups

8 Deadlifts

2 Push-ups

9 Deadlifts

1 Push-up

10 Deadlifts

Circuit #2:

10 Surrenders

1 DB Row

9 Surrenders

2 DB Rows

8 Surrenders

3 DB Rows

7 Surrenders

4 DB Rows

6 Surrenders

5 DB Rows

5 Surrenders

6 DB Rows

4 Surrenders

7 DB Rows

3 Surrenders

8 DB Rows

2 Surrenders

9 DB Rows

1 Surrender

10 DB Rows

Circuit #3

10 Skaters

1 Plank Jack

9 Skaters

2 Plank Jacks

8 Skaters

3 Plank Jacks

7 Skaters

4 Plank Jacks

6 Skaters

5 Plank Jacks

5 Skaters

6 Plank Jacks

4 Skaters

7 Plank Jacks

3 Skaters

8 Plank Jacks

2 Skaters

9 Plank Jacks

1 Skaters

10 Plank Jacks

Intense 20-Minute HIIT Workout

Whenever I have a group of varying fitness levels that I’m training, I create an As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) workout. It encourages participants to go hard (at their own level) for a specific amount of time, but the workout has enough variety that it’s not boring. Also, my clients are so busy trying to finish as many circuits as possible that they don’t have time to chat with one another!

If you are needing a quick, intense workout that will work your whole body, give this workout a try. Set your timer for 20-25 minutes and keep doing this circuit until your timer sounds. Write down how many times you made it through the circuit and try to increase the number of times you do the circuit in the set amount of time.

AMRAP Workout:

20 Squat Jumps

10 Push-up Negatives

10 Surrenders (holding weights if you have them)

10 Reverse Plank Leg Lifts (5 each leg)

10 Supermen

10 Triceps Dips on the Ground with Leg Extended

10 Side Plank Crunches (each side)

10 Lateral Lunges (Per Leg)

15 Jumping Jacks

If you like these types of workouts, try some of my other AMRAP workouts:

20-Minute AMRAP Workout

“No Time to Exercise” AMRAP Workout

Best Workout for Bad Knees AMRAP Workout

Nutrition Experts No. 1 Piece of Advice for Long-Term Health

I stumbled upon this article last week, and I was instantly sucked in by the headline. What is the one thing nutritionists are recommending to help maintain long-term health? I figured it was going to be about limiting your sugar intake, striving for a vegetable-rich diet of cutting out processed foods.

It wasn’t.

The recommendation the nutrition experts offered had nothing to do with food. The recommendation? Exercise.

As we start a new year, I want to encourage you to drop those unrealistic resolutions. Don’t try to go from no trips to the gym to a goal of six visits a week. That’s not realistic – or fun.

Let the 20’s be the decade of movement. Start with walking the dog, taking the stairs at work or trying to complete 10 push-ups before bed. Start where you are at and commit to something reasonable. Maybe it’s just walking once or twice a week, or a goal of planking for 30 seconds, 2-3 times a week. Pick somethings small and do it – regularly.

I have a new ebook coming out in February about movement. It has a variety of workouts and suggestions on how to get moving and incorporating strength training into your weekly workouts. Until then, check out some of my favorite workouts on my site. They are all 30 minutes or less and require little to no equipment.

Low-Impact, Full-Body Workout

Feel the Burn Dumbbell Workout

Workout for Small Spaces

Beginner Bodyweight Workout

Top 5 Most Popular Workouts of 2019

I’m always interested to see what workouts on this site get the most traffic and interest. All of the workouts on this list are bodyweight workouts, so you don’t need equipment. You can easily do them from the comfort of your home, at the gym or even in a hotel room. Many of these workouts have knee-friendly or wrist-friendly variations, so be sure to scroll down through all of the workouts.

My five most popular workouts for 2019 are:

5. At-Home Tabata Workout (An equally popular workout on this blog post is the Knee-Friendly Tabata workout.)

Click on the image for instructions on how to set up a Tabata timer and do the exercises.

4. Heading Back to the Gym Bodyweight Workout - Beginners Workout, Knee-Friendly Workout and Wrist-Friendly Workout

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

3. Bodyweight Cardio Workout You Can Do Anywhere

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

2. Bodyweight Knee-Friendly Workout

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

1. Five Minute Ab Workout

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

Visit my workout page for more cardio, strength training and HIIT workouts.

15-Minute Dumbbell Workout For Your Arms

Having a strong upper body is so much more important than just being able to sport enviable arms! Having a strong upper body improves your posture, reduces the risk of injury and helps with flexibility. As with all muscles in your body, participating in resistance training helps strengthen your bones; additionally, strength training helps reduce your risk of osteoporosis.

Often, when I start training clients, they think an individual is either strong in her lower body or upper body. The assumption is made that an individual can only have strength in one of the two areas. The good news is that just isn’t true. You can – and should be – strong in both your upper and lower body. You might naturally have more strength in your lower body, but that just means you have an opportunity to strengthen your upper body!

These are a few exercises that are my go-to upper body strengtheners. If you only have 15 minutes, give this upper body workout a try or tack it on to the end of an existing workout.

If you want more upper body workouts, check out some of my favorites:

10-Minute Upper Body Workouts

5-Minute Triceps Workout

15-Minute DB Upper Body Workout

Circuit 1 – Repeat 3 times:

4 Plank Walk-Outs

10 Dumbbell Rows

Circuit 2 – Repeat 3 times:

10 Push-up Rotations (Into Side Plank)

10 Lying Chest Fly (option: add Leg Raises)

10 Bird Dogs

Circuit 3 – Repeat 3 times

10 Bicep Curls

10 Triceps Kickbacks

10 Scarecrows

20-Minute Track Workout for Runners and Walkers

I love to sneak in a quick track workout as often as I can. I try to be kind to my knees whenever I work out, so the padded track surface is perfect for my joints! I usually make these workouts fairly short – quick and intense. This is a great workout if you are trying to add some intensity to your workout or are in need of a change. I try to squeeze in a few track workouts each month. I’d love to say I do one each week, but that doesn’t always happen. Give this a try – you will be glad you did!

Walk/Run a slow paced warm up lap.

Walk/Run Lap #2

10 Push-ups

20 Squats

10 Side Plank Dips

Walk/Run Lap #3

100 Walking Lunges

10 Push-ups

20 Squats

10 Side Plank Dips

Walk/Run Lap #4

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Left)

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Right)

15 Supermen

Skip across the field and back. (not lengthwise – I’m not making you go 100 yards!)

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Left)

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Right)

15 Supermen

Sprint/Speed Walk 100 yards. Jog/walk back.

TRX & Dumbbell Circuit Workout

Whenever possible, I sneak in a TRX/weightlifting class at my local gym. It’s 30 minutes of non-stop movement designed to work all of your major muscle groups. I like it because I tend to favor some strength training moves more than others, so this class forces me to try alternative exercises.

The class format is challenging – 60 seconds of intensity followed by 15 seconds of rest. I’m not always crazy about the order in which we train our muscle groups, so I created my own version of the workout.

I’m using my TRX at a local park. My son used to be obsessed with swinging and going on slides for hours, so I would sneak in a workout while he played. Photo credit: Nick Krug.

You will train each major muscle group by doing three different exercise movements for 60 seconds. By the time you hit the last movement in the circuit, the muscle group you’re working is usually fatigued! If you don’t have access to a TRX, check out the suggested alternative movements I have listed.

TRX & Dumbbell Workout: 60 Seconds Effort, 15 Seconds Rest

Circuit #1:

TRX Squat Jumps (Alternative movement – Squats or Squat Jumps)

Squats with Dumbbells

Wall Sit

Circuit #2:

Push-ups

Dumbbell Chest Press While Holding a Bridge

Lying Chest Flys + Leg Lifts

**If you have lower back issues, don’t do the leg lift portion - just do the lying chest flys.

Circuit #3:

TRX Single-Leg Lunge (Left Leg) Alternative: Stationary Lunge with left leg in front.

TRX Single-Leg Lunge (Right Leg) Alternative: Stationary Lunge with right leg in front.

Walking Lunges with Dumbbells

Circuit #4:

TRX Row (Alternative: Standing Row using a Theraband)

Standing Dumbbell Row

Renegade Row

Circuit #5:

TRX Glute Bridge (Alternative: Bridge with mini band or weight.)

Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl

Circuit #6:

TRX Bicep Curl

TRX Triceps Extension

Dumbbell Bicep Curl

Triceps Dumbbell Extension

Want to know more about the equipment in this workout? Check out my Home Gym page for more information about this workout’s suggested pieces of equipment.