at-home circuit workout
Posted: November 5, 2010 at 11:11 amIs it morning already??? was the first thought that popped in my head when my alarm went off today. Apparently, my body has something against me attending Power class this week. I didn’t sleep well at all Tuesday night before I planned to go Wed morning. And last night I couldn’t fall asleep until almost one am, leaving me exhausted this morning. I may not have felt up to a full hour of Power, but I knew a short workout would give me energy and still wanted to do something. Enter the resistance bands.
I opted for some circuits today. I completed 20 reps of each move back to back without breaks. I used either dumbbells (DBs), the band, or my own bodyweight (BW). Then, I rested for a couple of minutes before going through the circuit again. I ended up doing the circuit 3 times through total.
- hip width stance squats with a 2 second hold at the bottom (DBs)
- pushups on knees (BW)
- backward lunges, alternating legs (DBs)
- back low row (band)
- wide stance plie squats w/ 30 sec pulse at end of set (DBs)
- overhead shoulder press (band)
- knee pulls (BW)
- overhead triceps extension (band)
- wall squat with stability ball for 45-60 seconds (BW)
- bicep curls (band)
Very basic, but it works to get the blood flowing and some sweat dripping.
Plus, you could always make it more intense and get some cardio in there by adding in plyometric moves, such as burpees, mountain climbers, jump lunges/squats, high knees, speedskaters, etc. You could also mix it up and do less reps with more weight (relative to your body’s capabilities). I did 20 reps because I have to keep my weights light during pregnancy.
Can you tell I miss planning my own workouts? 😉 I love putting things like this together and sharing them. Expect to see a lot more once I’m designing my own again post-baby. Just always keep in mind I am not a certified trainer (yet?) and only share ideas, which you can use at your own discretion.
That’s my disclaimer sign. Trying to be a responsible blogger. 😉
I have to say that I’m actually pretty proud of myself for completing the workout. Not because it was too tough for me, but because I sometimes still struggle with the all-or-nothing mentality. I almost decided to do nothing because I didn’t feel up to an hour of Power and didn’t want to go to the gym. I knew I would feel better and more energized, so I told myself to try doing something at home for a short time because something still counts. It went better than expected. Success!
Now, I have quite a few to-dos I want to work on. It’s going to be a busy day and weekend knocking out some writing tasks (a query to a pregnancy/baby’s-first-year website and magazine) and some of that organization I need to get done. But first, a fun (and short) Friday Q + A! ASK ME ANYTHING if you have a question you would like answered for this series.
If money were absolutely not an issue, what indulgent thing would you buy for yourself? Two words – personal chef! 😀
- What would you buy yourself if money were not an issue?
- Do you enjoy reading workouts other bloggers post? I’m trying to gauge interest for sharing workouts I plan and do post-baby.
- What areas do you face the all-or-nothing mentality? I don’t ever really feel it with food anymore, but still sometimes with workouts. And, when I have a lot on my plate, I sometimes freeze up thinking I won’t be able to do it all and then don’t want to do any of it.
thanks for sharing this with me today on my post about strength training! I am def marking this post in my favorites and adding it to my plan for this week to give it a try!
[…] I still try to fit in some weight training. It’s more difficult than earlier in the pregnancy, when I would still regularly attend BodyPump classes, but I can choose from a variety of moves that remain comfortable. As long as I keep the weights light, things like lunges, squats, bicep curls, and triceps extensions work just fine. See one of my favorites I shared before here. […]