Huckabee video free routines

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

Since I am starting another PowerFIT rotation this week - I was on 's blog for motivation - I found a bunch of routines she put together for video-free days. I may use some of her ideas as add-ons to the PowerFITs I'm going to do.

Here are some of them - they are also on her blog -

Back and Biceps Workout

Warm up 3-5 minutes walking in place, large motions with special attention to back like full form squats and spinal rolls…

Intermediate Resistance (purple band or 10- 12 lbs. for this first set on both moves…)

16 Double Bent rows – medium weight – starting bottom

16 Biceps curls (palm front, regular positioning) – medium weight

16 Double Bent rows

16 Biceps curls

Rest for one minute (or insert some core work for extra credit)

Advanced Resistance… (purple or green band or 15-20lb dumbbells)

12 Double bent rows – start top so you get more of a negative contraction

12 Hammer curls (palms in and this should be your heaviest biceps set)

12 Double bent rows

12 Hammer curls

Rest for one minute

This next set is actually in PowerFit on Back/Biceps day…

Use light resistance (pink band and 3 to 8 lb dumbbells)

12 Posterior Flyes

12 Alternating cross Biceps curls (and that’s 12 PER arm as this is a very light weight for you to use on a curl…you sit up, and bring the forearm across the body angling the dumbbell to the opposite shoulder)

12 Posterior Flyes

12 Alternating cross curls

And NO rest as you move to the next set….

HEAVIEST back weight should be here on single lat rows…(Green band or 15s, 20s, 25s) And either intermediate or light for angled curls.

(Think how many of those plastic grocery bags you’ll cram into one hand to save yourself another trip to the car….don’t be shy so lift heavy on lat rows!!)

12 Single arm Lat rows Right –

12 Angled curls – arms angled toward corners of the room – light to medium weight – I use 8’s

12 Single arm Lat rows Left

12 Angle curls

And that should quickly and effectively knock out two muscle groups…don’t forget to eat some lean protein to help those muscles grow back stronger and better!!

Push Workout

This is what I call a “push†workout as all of these muscle groups are worked with a pushing motion – chest, triceps glutes.. First of all, always prepare for your workout by warming up for a few minutes before you dive into strength moves. And if you need more of an explanation on any of the moves below, just let me know and I’ll be happy to help!

Push away!!

12 Push Ups (and at least try the first two on you toes!)

16 Triceps kick backs (either with the band or with light dumbbells)

12 Push Ups

16 Triceps kick backs

8 “challenge†pushups: These should be TOUGH!! The first two sets should have worn you out, so this set is where you really push yourself to do that little bit of extra work that makes all the difference.

12 Squats – wide stance focusing on glutes

12 Standing French Press

12 Squats

12 Standing French Press

12 Hover squats – keep the whole set low…never stand up all the way during the set

8 Triceps Dips

12 Hover squats

8 Triceps Dips

Move to floor:

12 Bench Press (Heavy resistance)

12 Lying French press (otherwise known as “skull crushers†– go with two light dumbbells)

16 Bridge lifts for glutes – feet wide (Heavy resistance)

12 Bench Press

12 Lying French press

16 Bridge lifts for glutes – feet wide

12 Pec Flyes

12 Triceps press (like a bench press but your elbows start from down by the waist and press straight up – palms in. Go heavy!!)

16 Bridge lifts – feet together

12 Pec Flyes

12 Triceps press (like a bench press but your elbows start from down by the waist and press straight up – palms in. Go heavy!!)

16 Bridge lifts – feet together

Roll over to table position and add ankle weights, the band around your foot or a dumbbell behind the working leg knee.

16 Right glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

16 Left glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

16 Right glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

16 Left glute presses – knee at 90 degree angle

And then take some time to stretch focusing on the chest, triceps and glutes… It shouldn’t take you long at all to go through this circuit and as always, if you want to mix things up a little bit you could easily intersect cardio intervals if you’d like.

Have a great workout and hope you have a wonderful week!

Steph

Plank Workout

This is one of many plank routines which I enjoy and I hope you will too! A couple of notes: this is not for beginners and always remember to breathe…. don’t hold your breath while you’re holding your plank

Elbow Planks in frontal position – hold for about 20 seconds then release down. Repeat 3 times.

Side planks on the Right side – elbow support, either on knees, one knee out, or both feet side – stretch top arm up to ceiling – hold steady for about 10 seconds then add movement moving down and up for 8 reps. (Don’t forget that you’re working the side closest to the ground primarily)

Change to the left side.

Do three sets of the Right/Left side planks

Push up plank position – move into push up position – make your body one long plank and hold steady for about 10 seconds. Add slow alternating leg lifts R/L for 8 reps total. Release bottom to rest then do this one again.

Wide V plank position – move into push up position but place your feet as wide as you can and hold steady for about 10 seconds. Add alternating arm lifts R/L for 8 reps total. Rlease bottom to rest and then do this one again. (“arm lifts†aren’t a great description – i alternate touching one arm to the same quad – R hand reaches to R quad, left hand to left quad..) Good gracious I’ll be glad when I have the website up with pictures!!! This one is hard to explain…

Move back into original plank position on elbows – hold steady for 20 seconds then release.

Rest – then add alternating leg lifts R/L for 8 total. If you do these on your knees, simply extend the leg behind you.

Move into table position – do some spinal stretches by rounding the back and then releasing and stand up slowly… then pat yourself on the back for a job well-done!!

16 minutes – 12 moves – DONE!

designed this express workout which should take you 16 minutes to complete from start to finish. All that I ask is that you give it your all as it’s not very long, but I think you’ll find that it’s extremely effective for making sure that you get a good workout in even if you’re short on time.

The plan is pretty simple. You’ll warm up for 2 minutes by walking in place, doing some step touches or full form squats… Then you’ll do each of the 12 exercises listed below for 45 seconds straight. Then you have 15 seconds to move to the next exercise. Keep your pace steady and maintain good form of course.

After you’ve moved through the workout, do some full form squats, some spinal rolls, gentle stretching for the legs and some large upper body motions like a body wave and then you’re DONE! This is a great travel workout to do in hotel gyms if you want to use dumbbells or just stay in your room and use bands!

steph

1. Push Ups2. Squats with Overhead Press3. Plyometric Jumps4. Alternating Dips with Hammer Curls (palms in and that’s a total of 6 per leg)5. Plies with Upright Row6. Plie Jumps (feet wide in plie position and jump trying to get high enough to point toes – since we’re going for an entire minute I’d do one and then take a couple of second to recover rather than firing them off right after one another…unless you want to of course!)7. Biceps Curls8. Alternating Leg Press or Dips – Start on top of box if you’re using one9. Double Bent Row10. Alternating Leg Press or Lunges – Start on floor11. Triceps Dips12. Ab crunches – start out with upper and after 20 seconds add in lower body for a full form crunch

Back and Chest Workout – and it’s fast!!

This is one of my favorite quick workouts to do to work the back and chest. You can use dumbbells or resistance bands as long as whatever you use challenges you. I’ve been using yellow (light resistance), red (medium resistance ) and blue (heavy resistance) bands that I bought from Target. You can see how I have them rigged up on my workout bench in the picture of my home gym. I’ve discovered that bands are a great way to change up my workouts and they throw a bit of variety into my routine.

Warm up by doing 2 or 3 minutes of rhythmic movement, focusing on sweeping motions to stretch the back and chest. You can also walk in place or on treadmill for a few minutes to warm up.

(and I’m going to literally write out every set and the weights I use as I’ve had some feedback that my upper body workout was a little confusing!)

Circuit One

12 Pushups on the knees (You can place the band over your upper back, place the ends under the palms and add some serious resistance here!!! You kind of wrap yourself with it across the upper back area so that you have to push up against it from the floor…)

12 Double Lat Rows – 10 pound DBs or the Red Band

12 Pushups on the toes

12 Double Lat Rows – 12 pound DBs or the Red Band

12 Pushups on the toes to begin, but I often end up dropping down to the knees

12 Double Lat Rows – 15 pound DBs or the Blue band but sometimes I end up back at the blue

Do a set of side planks for each side for about a minute to give the back and chest a little break…

Circuit Two

12 Single Arm Lat Row R – 20 pound DB or you can loop a band around a heavy object or step on it and pull it with one arm – very hard to do with good control and a great challenge. I’ll use the red band here.

12 Bench press L – (I hold 15 pound DBs in both hands or go for the red band, but only move the Left side up and down. I hold the R side in a steady contraction with the elbow at 90 degrees to balance <and this also works the R side with the static hold>)

12 Single Arm Lat Row L – 20 pound DB

12 Bench press R – (I hold 15 pound DBs in both hands, but only move the Right side up and down. I hold the L side in a steady contraction to balance <and this also works the L side with the static hold>)

12 Single Arm Lat Row R – 20 pound DB

12 Bench press L

12 Single Arm Lat Row L – 20 pound DB

12 Bench press R

Here’s a great opportunity to do 50 crunches on a body ball for your ‘rest†break.

Circuit Three

12 Pec flyes – 10 pound DBs or I’ll lie down on my bench and use the yellow band.

12 Posterior delt flyes – 5 pound DBs or place the yellow band under the feet and lift it to the side.

12 Pec flyes – 10 pound DBs (I sometimes do these with my hands positioned so that the palms are turned toward my feet rather than facing one another as this engages the shoulders a little more and I like to develop that little “cap†on the delts)

12 Posterior delt flyes – 5 pound DBs (to add variation to this I’ll also sometimes turn the palms to the rear rather than to the floor)

12 Pec flyes – 10 pound DBs but sometimes have to lighten up a little to 8s

12 Posterior delt flyes – 5 pound DBs or sometimes have to lighten up to 3s

And to finish it up, do some slow stretches to expand the chest and then also to stretch the back.

By the end of this workout, your chest and back muscles should truly be exhausted!

Spring Workout

Warm up by marching in place for about a minute

16 squats while sweeping the arms forward

8 side squats or plyometrics

Plant the Right Foot and dip the left leg back for 16

Drop down and do 16 pushups

Stand up and Plant the Left Foot and dip the right leg back for 16

Drop down and do 16 pushups

Move into plie position – 16 plies with chest flyes – elbows bent 90 degrees at shoulder level

Hold plie position as low as you can go – arm circles at shoulder level quickly – 30 circles front

Standing Obliques Right for 16

Plie position – 16 with chest flies again

Hold plie position as low as you can go – arm circles at shoulder level quickly – 30 circles toward back of the room

Standing Obliques Left for 16

Triceps Dips for 16 – can do these on the floor or up on a chair

Side planks 16 Right

Lower down to the floor all the way for abs – 30 center crunches

Side planks 16 Left

and then do it all over again!!!

The last time through, finish up with a stretch….

Happy Spring!!

Steph

Drop Set Workout

The purpose of drop sets is to exhaust muscle groups in as little time as possible. Therefore you start each set with the heaviest weight you can use with good form, and then you pyramid down in weights as you move through the workout as needed. That means that even if you can just do the first 5 reps with the heavier weight and then you have to pyramid down before you are done with the set, that’s just fine and that means you’re working hard.

How many reps and sets?? I’ve found the best way to do this is by using a clock with a second hand so you don’t actually have a set number of reps. You do as many reps as you can in a controlled manner for 45 seconds and then you have 15 seconds to move to the next exercise. You’ll do each mini-circuit three times in a row. That means cycling through each circuit takes 9 minutes so if you do this workout straight through you’re done in 27 minutes. Sometimes to change things up I’ll do one complete 9 minute circuit cycling through all three of them at one time (doing either upper body OR lower body) and then add in 5-6 minutes of cardio such as plyometrics or lunges off of a step between each circuit. This will take you

to about a 45 minute workout as after the last circuit I’ll throw in some ab/core work and then stretching. If you don’t want to do drop sets but just want to hit your muscle groups quickly and effectively, you can also just move through each exercise one time for a short 9 minute upper body workout or a short 9 minute lower body workout. Looking for a quick express workout? If you manage to do each exercise I’ve listed here for 45 seconds before taking 15 seconds to move to the next one, you can get your ENTIRE body in less than 20 minutes. (as you can see there are TONS of options so do what you want to make this YOURS!)

Warm Up

2- 3 minutes light cardio with big motions. (and if you’ve been doing some heavy housework, playing with the kids..etc… I count that as warm-up!)

Upper Body Circuit

Circuit 1

Overhead Press

Hammer Curls

French Press

Circuit 2

Incline Biceps Curls

Lying French Press (sometimes called skull crushers…)

Upright Row

Circuit 3

Triceps dips

Medial/Anterior Flyes

Angled Curls

Lower Body Circuit

Circuit 1

Regular Stance Squats

Alternating dips R/L

Plies (as wide as you can go – toes turned out to side)

Circuit 2

Dead lifts wide stance (feet a little wider than hip distance, toes turned in slightly, knees slightly bent)

Closed squats (feet almost touching)

Alternating lunges R/L (You can also lunge onto a step or if you love doing leg presses off of a tall box- insert them here and I’d start on top so that you’re just alternating which foot will slowly move toward the floor – NOT crash to the floor!!)

Circuit 3

Alternating side lunges R/L

Dead lifts regular stance (feet almost touching, toes forward)

Wide stance squats (feet wider than hip distance and toes forward)

Etc:

· Don’t forget to stretch!!

· If you’re not comfortable with using the clock interval training method, just go with a traditional approach with a set number of reps per set. I recommend 14-16 reps per exercise if you’re not going to use the clock.

Mini Circuit 1

Mini Circuit 2

Mini Circuit 3

Upper Body

Overhead Press

Hammer Curls

French Press

Incline Biceps Curls

Lying French Press

Upright Row

Triceps dips

Medial/Anterior Flyes

Angled Biceps Curls

LowerBody

Regular Squats

Alternating dips R/L

Plies (as wide as you can go – toes turned out to side)

Dead lifts wide stance (feet a little wider than hip distance, toes turned in slightly, knees slightly bent)

Closed squats (feet almost touching)

Alternating lunges R/L (or lunge to step or do leg press here starting on top)

Alternating side lunges R/L

Dead lifts regular stance (feet almost touching, toes forward)

Wide stance squats (feet wider than hip distance and toes forward)