Shapin’ Up

Constantly on the lookout for new workouts, I was psyched when the Fitnessista posted her new summer shape up routine. It’s a great combination of weight lifting and cardio workouts sprinkled in between. Overall, I thought it was pretty challenging. I’m pretty sure the hubs did too based on how many breaks he took :). Here’s the routine:

We went through this twice, maybe next time we’ll shoot for 3 times.

• Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl– 15 times
• SB (swiss ball) overhead pass– 12 times. These are tough!! Not only do you start to feel it in your abs, but also your hip flexors and your inner thighs (squeezin’ that swiss ball!).
• SB back extensions– 15 times

Cardio: Burpees for 1 minute. HARD!

• SB Pushups– 12-15 times. These are pretty tough. You rest your feet on the swiss ball and get into pushup position, then do a pushup. The lack of stability and the angle makes it much harder than standard pushups.
• Split Squat– 10-12 times. We attempted these with our back foot on a swiss ball. This makes it a lot harder! Just trying to balance is hard enough let alone squatting down on one leg! But once you find your balance, you’re usually good to go.
• Triceps Dip on Bench– 15 times.

Cardio: Mountain Climbers for 1 minute

• Pull-ups– as many as possible! There isn’t an assisted pull up machine at our gym (seriously?!) so I have my husband help me up. Pull-ups are so hard even with his help! They engage so many different muscles it’s a pretty great exercise (even though I hate it!).
• Lateral Raises– 15 using 8lb. weights. These get really hard after a few reps.
• Bicep Curl with Plie Squat– 15 times using 10lb. weights.

Cardio: Squat jumps for 1 minute. Killer!

So, we went through that entire thing twice then onto abs. We only did the abs portion 1 time through.

• 50 sit-ups
• 50 crunches
• 25 reverse crunches
• 25 bicycle crunches

I ended up doing 25 situps then 25 crunches just to split it up a little. Then did 25 more sit-ups and crunches. I hate doing abs so it’s nice to have a workout buddy who calls you out when you want to quit! For me, those overhead SB passes are a serious ab workout. Those alone will make you sore, so if you need a new ab exercise, try those out!

This was a great workout! Again, I love incorporating cardio in between weight lifting, I think it’s a really smart way to train. Today, I’m going to try a classic Body for Life lifting session-that means heavier weights! I’ll update you later on how that goes!

Hope you’re all staying cool in this crazy warm weather!