Upper Body Circuit
Looking for your next at home workout? Try this upper body circuit with me! All you need is a set of medium weights. The weights I used here were eight-pound dumbbells — a staple in my home gym for my workouts.
If you don’t have dumbbells, get creative! Grab soup cans, filled water bottles or something else to give you a little resistance.
Ready? Here we go:
10 Full Range Bicep Curls. Start with your feet hip-width apart for stability. Keep your core engaged and your elbows locked against your waist. Keep your movements slow and controlled.
10 Strict Shoulder Press. Again, your feet should be hip-width apart and your core engaged. Goal post your arms, weights in hand. Raise your weights overhead and then back to your starting position using slow and controlled movements.
Now we’re going to drop to the floor for our last two movements:
10 Tricep Skull Crushers. (Disclaimer: please don’t actually crush your skull.) Grab your weights first and lie on the floor with your back as flat as possible, bring your feet flat on the floor with your heels in toward your butt (this will help with stability!). Bring your weights up, directly over your chest so your arms are perpendicular to the floor. Engage your core and move your weights down together above your forehead or split on either side of your head, near your temples. Your triceps should be doing all the work, and you’ll definitely be able to feel it.
10 Single Arm Rows in Plank. Get into a tall plank position, with weights near your hands. The closer your feet are together, the harder this will be. If you need to modify, step your legs out wider OR drop to your knees with your feet raised. Engage your core and alternate single arm rows straight up toward your rib cage.
Nice job! You finished….. the first round. Now, rest for 60 seconds and repeat this 3-4 more times for a final total of 30-40 reps of EACH movement.
TIPS:
Don’t forget to warm up! Try out some dynamic stretches to get your body loose and ready to crush the circuit (high knees, butt kicks, jumping jacks, air squats, soldier kicks, etc.).
Remember to breathe during your reps! Exhale for the explosive movement, inhale on your way back.
Listen to your body, but I encourage you to try your best to rest as little as possible between movements. Aim to take only 5-10 seconds to transition to your next starting position. When you’ve completed all four movements, take a 45-60 second break. Shake out your arms and hands, roll your shoulders, grab a drink of water and gear up for the next round!
Having trouble controlling your movements consistently? Try counting! Do a two second contract and a two second release. Keep track of your reps by using this counting pattern: “Up 1, Down 1” “Up 2, Down 2” …. “Up 10, Down 10” (Using this tactic, each rep should take around 4-5 seconds, if done properly.)
Roll out your yoga mat for better grip and more comfort for ground movements. (My workout space seen here has interlocking rubber floor mats. It’s nothing fancy, just a small corner of the basement that my kids haven’t completely overtaken….yet.)
Did you do this one for yourself? Drop a comment below and let me know how it went for you! Want more workouts like this? Let’s connect and get you started!
