Circuit Training for Upper Body and Core

Hi friends!  Happy weekend to you all!

As promised, I am back to share with you a little workout I put together last week for one of my ‘in-person’ personal training clients.  She gets a lot of lower body work outside of our in-studio sessions, so we focus on upper body, cardio and core movements.

She enjoyed this one a lot so I thought I’d post it here as well.  Every once in a while I should show you FITNESS stuff in addition to just healthy FOOD stuff, right?

Be sure to warm up for a minimum of 5 minutes (and preferably 10 minutes) in order to get blood flowing to your muscles and raise your core body temperature.  Action pics are included after the list of circuits, to give you an idea of the movement involved.  Get your timer ready because you’ll perform each exercise for one minute!

A1: 1 Minute Punch Presses on the Ball

A2: 1 Minute Seated Rows with Exercise Tube

A3: 1 Minute Reverse Plank Posterior Lifts

A4: 1 Minute Cardio Interval (we ran on a treadmill)

A5: 1 Minute Rest 1 minute

Complete “A” Circuit twice through before moving on.

B1: 1 Minute Pushups (as many as you can full pushup style then drop to modified style on your knees if you need to)

B2: 1 Minute Squatting Punch Rows

B3: 1 Minute Upright Rows into Overhead Presses

B4: 1 Minute Cardio Interval

B5: 1 Minute Rest 1 minute

Complete “B” Circuit twice through before moving on.

C1: 1 Minute Dumbbell Flyes with a ‘Twist’

C2: 1 Minute Swimmers

c3: 1 Minute Bicycles

c4: 1 Minute Cardio Interval

c5: 1 Minute Rest

Complete “C” Circuit twice through before moving on to your cool-down (in the second set, C5: rest should be replaced with cool-down activity.)

Cool down with light cardio or walking for at least 5 minutes to bring your heart rate back down and allow your blood flow to normalize.

Action Shots to give you an idea on the movements:

Punch Presses on the Ball
Head and neck supported, abs and glutes tight, palms facing each other
Alternate arms pressing upward similar to punching

*NOTE* I prefer to keep my upper back, neck and shoulders on the ball and use my core muscles to stabilize my low back.  If you have any issues with your back, roll further onto the ball to ensure your back is being supported, or perform this movement on a weight bench instead.

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Seated Rows with Exercise Tube
Rowing movement, keeping torso steady

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Reverse Plank with Posterior Lifts
A Jackie Warner special You’ll feel the whole backside of your body
Notice that the arms stay straight – these are not tricep dips.  You are lifting your butt up and down (squeeze the glutes!)

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Pushups

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Squatting Punch Rows
Palms are facing up on this one, alternating quickly right to left arms

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Upright Rows into Overhead Press
Four step motion here.

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Dumbbell Flyes with a ‘Twist’
the ‘twist’ here is that you start with your palms facing toward your head and as you lower into the flye, slowly rotate the wrists so that the palms face each other at the bottom of the movement.  Twist again on the way up back to the start position.

*NOTE* I prefer to keep my upper back, neck and shoulders on the ball and use my core muscles to stabilize my low back.  If you have any issues with your back, roll further onto the ball to ensure your back is being supported, or perform this movement on a weight bench instead.

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Swimmers
Opposite arm/leg flutter to simulate swimming.

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Bicycles
Fingertips are lightly touching head, NOT pulling on it.  Take elbow across the body to the opposite knee, then switch to other side.

Before beginning any exercise program, it may be recommended that person first consult a physician or other qualified health care provider. A physician or other health care provider can determine what type of exercise, the frequency, and the intensity are appropriate for each individual. A physician or other health care provider may be able to recommend an exercise program that will cater to a person’s specific heath concerns and needs.

Let me know if you have any questions on the workout or what your thoughts were after completing it.  Was it hard for you?  Or too easy?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends!

– Shari B. =)