Hi Everyone!

Welcome to today’s workout. Grab some dumbbells for this one. If you don’t have dumbbells you can grab something from around the house (a can or water bottle will work) to add some resistance to your routine. If you aren’t ready to add resistance you can complete the exercises with bodyweight, focusing on activating the muscles throughout the full range of motion.

In addition to the workout I posted a quick 5-Minute Warm-up video below. You can do your own warm-up, but if you are prone to skipping the warm-up and jumping into the workout (okay, I’m totally guilty of this at times!) I encourage you to do the warm-up first.

Warming up will help prepare your body for the workout and get you ready to maximize your exercises. You will be able to work at a higher level of intensity and your muscles will be ready to move through a full range of motion. Warm muscles have more stretch and flexibility.

I also posted a cool-down video to finish with. Why are cool downs important? Cooling down after a workout allows your heart rate and blood pressure to gradually return to normal. Once your heart rate has returned to normal (or close to it) it’s also a great time to stretch. Remember, flexibility is mobility. You want your body to have both strength and mobility, ideally without sacrificing one to achieve the other.

How Long Should I Workout?

A common question I get, is how much timer per day should be spent working out. This is a good question and there are a few variables to consider.

1. How much time can you realistically fit in your day? Generally speaking, 30-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day is a great number to aim for. However, a shorter 10 to 15-minute workout done consistently is going to reap better benefits than one long workout per week. Especially, if that shorter workout is done at a higher level of intensity.
2. Speaking of intensity, more intense workouts can be shorter. For most people doing a high intensity 60-minute workout would be very difficult. If you are working at a higher intensity you can keep your workouts shorter. When I do a challenging and intense HIIT I aim for 10-30 minutes of hard work. Most often I keep it toward the lower 15-20 minute end of that range.
3. Finally, you should consider how your body recovers from your workouts. Every human being has a different body and recovery time. Some people can do HIIT 5-6 days per week and never get sore. Other people do one intense HIIT workout and are sore for a week. Shorter workouts typically have a shorter recovery time. You want to challenge yourself without working to the point where you can’t move for several days at a time. One of the most important things you can do for your health is learning how to check in with your body and recognize what it needs. Once you do that it becomes much easier to customize a program that works best for your body, schedule and lifestyle.

I would love to hear about your workout schedule. Leave me a comment here or on social media and let me know what a typical workout week looks like for you.

Melissa

You can find me on Social Media: @BenderFitness and on Facebook: @MelissaBenderFitness Pinterest: Pinterest.com/BenderFitness

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Warm-Up

The Workout:

Interval Timer set for 10 Rounds of 10/50

Or Complete for Reps: 10-20 Reps Per Exercise (Right + Left = 1 Rep)

1. Weighted Burpee
2. Isometric Dumbbell Row
3. Pendulum: Right
4. Pendulum: Left
5. Rotating Chair
6. Plank to Down Dog Drag
7. Side Plank Hip Tap: Right
8. Side Plank Hip Tap: Left
9. Temple Tap Abs
10. Superman

Repeat up to 5X.

Cool-Down