18: Arms & Abs Pyramid Stack | 25 Minutes | Upper Body & Core Workout!

Hey, everybody, I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is your arms and abs pyramid stack workout. In this workout, we're going to use weights. I'll be using my dumbbells today. 10, 15 and 20 pound dumbbells is what I'm using. You use what you have available to you. And we're going to work the entire upper body, so arms, back, shoulders, chest, and a whole lot of core. We'll be working Pyramid style stacking, 30 second intervals up and down. And I'll give you lots of different options to work to your fitness level. Are you ready? Let's do it. Let's start just by getting our body warm. You can do a march, a jog, whatever feels good for you. Let's pump those arms so we're going to get the blood flowing, get our bodies warm, get the energy up, and then we'll do some mobility prep work as we get ready for this workout. We're going to keep the warm up pretty short because we're going to keep this workout short. Let's roll those shoulders. You can keep the march going so we get that blood flowing. Big circles to the back and then take it to the front. So this is a fun style pyramid stack. Maybe you've done it with me before, maybe you did it with me last week. Let's take one at a time to the back, trying to keep your torso in alignment and then to the front. So essentially we're going 30 seconds at a time. Staffing, stacking, four different exercises, other side and then coming back down. I'm going to talk you through that in just a minute. Let's take it right here, eyes wise and T's straight up for an I, down, out with the Y, down and then out with a T. So really thinking about that shoulder mobility, watching me from the side, not arching the back, but trying to bring those arms behind. And then to get our full spine and back involved, we'll add a little hinge. So as you go down, drive those hips to the back out here and here. Yes. So working through the back. So here's how it works. We start with one exercise for 30 seconds, then we get a 30 second break. Then we're gonna take it to exercise number two for 30 seconds, followed directly by exercise number three for 30 seconds and then 30 second break. One more right here and then let's roll it down flat, back down and then round it up. Then we have exercise three, followed by exercise two, followed by exercise one, then break all 30 second intervals and then we Go all the way up to 4, 4, 3, 2, 1. And then we start taking them away. So then we go 4, 3, and then 4. So you can see how it works. Go ahead and reach it up right here. You can just do a hinge down the front of your legs. Or if you can, we're going to inchworm it out just to warm up through the back and then get that core involved because we are going to be working the core as well. So entire upper body. We'll stick to some traditional back to basics exercises. Some of them will get core and arms. Some of them will be more upper or core focused. All of it. I will give you options. Let's hold this plank out here. If you can join me. Your knees or on your toes, little forward and back. Little drop of the hips, little rotation all the way through. And then go ahead and walk yourself back up. Slowly roll it up. Little tap and reach so we can stretch through those arms. All right, so here's how it works again. We start with one exercise, and then we keep stacking up and then stack back down. So essentially up and down the pyramid. I think you're going to like this format. People say it feels long in the middle of it, but then it goes by quickly. All right, so we're gonna be in, we're gonna be out. All right, so we're going to start with a reverse fly. So watch me here. Medium dumbbells. Palms are in. I'm going to be in that hinge position and I'm going to take it out for a fly. Your goal is just to be level with your torso. You don't have to go much higher. If you can only get lower, that's okay. If you need to bend the elbows, that's okay too. So grab something medium to lighter. I'm gonna go with my tens. Let's hinge it here. Core engaged. Here we go. So just like this. Now, as we go through these, because everything has essentially four rounds, quick rounds, right? I will give you some options. So maybe I'll give you an option to switch up your grip. You always have the option to just go one at a time if that's a better option for you. Especially if you're starting to feel a little heavy on these, they get a little tough because we're further away from the midline of our body. Last one. And relax. All right, so you can set your weights down in that 30 second interval. If you have a place, just make sure you're doing it safely. Watch me. Our next move is going to be a bicep curl to a rotating press. Now, with the rotating, you're turning your knees and your hips, and you're pressing at that diagonal. If that feels like too much, just do a curl and a press. All right, Grab those weights. Curl and rotating press, followed by the reverse fly. Here we go. Curl, turn, and press. Back, center, back down. So you're keeping that racked. So this way we get more core engagement, right? Keeping those weights right at your torso. Right here. Yes, you can. And breathe. Up, up. Here we go. One more and then let's take it down into that hinge and we take it here. Now, listen, in between these 30 seconds, if you need to switch weights, let's say you want a little lighter on one, you need to switch to a little heavier. We'll have that probably coming up maybe more in our second stack. Feel free. If you need to set them down, take that time. Don't worry that you're losing the time of those 30 seconds. I know it's not often that we go right into the next round, but that's what we're doing today. So take the time you need to transition safely. Last one. And relax. All right, team, so again, you can set them down if you need to. Right here. This is a tricep kickback. Now, it's tricky. I don't do this move super often because I prefer where we get more range of motion. But we're going to do it today. We're going to kick it back and here, elbows stay up. Push to the ceiling. This may be one where you want to alternate if you can. Then curl and press, then that fly. All right, in that hinge position. Elbows up. Here we go. Push those weights to the ceiling. Right here. What we don't want this to look like is a bicep curl, right? We're not swinging it right, and we're not curling it here. Our elbows stay up and we're pushing back. So again, I know this gets hard, so if you need to alternate, that's what I might do. You can alternate or keep them together back of those arms while we also keep the back working. Right here. Curl and press. Here we go. Take it up, up, in and down. Up. Right here. Take your time. There's no need to rush these, even though we're going quickly. Between 30 seconds. 30 seconds, and we're almost at the end of this long stack, as in when we start taking them away. One more strong arms. Here we go. Reverse fly. Now, if you want, turn those palms forward. You're still getting your fly motion, as in, we're still going to here, right? And you're still squeezing in your back, but you can have the palms forward, thumbs out. That's just going to get a little different angle, which is important. You don't have to do it if you want to keep it regular. And again, you can always alternate here. Yes. Squeeze. Keeping that chest low so you're pulling with your back. Last one. Boom. Oh, man. You guys. All right, this last one is only going to be one weight, so start with that. Then we'll grab the second one to go to kickback, then curl and press, then reverse fly for the last time. All right, so we're gonna do a chop turn, your chop, pull the knee in for core, then switch your sides. Chop, pull the knee in. So grab one weight, have the second one close by. We're starting with this for core and arms. Here we go. Full stack. Chop. Pull it in. And you can make this chop big like that, or keep it close to your body and pull it in for core. If it feels better on your back or shoulders, keep it close. It's alternating right and left, so. And it's a little tricky. You have to allow yourself time to switch in between, but that's okay. One more. Then we're gonna grab that second weight for triceps. Here we go. Bend your knees to grab it. Don't worry about that clock hinge. Kick back. Now, this is our full stack. So we have all four exercises, and then we start taking them away. As I get tired, I want to really pay attention to form, right? So I'm not swinging again. Elbows up. Push. Keeping the contraction in my back. And if I need to alternate, we're gonna go to that curl in that press. In 3, 2, 1. Right here. Here we go. Up and down, curl, rotate, and press. It's going to be our last time with that reverse fly. I'm going to give you one more angle. We're going to have those palms facing to the back. And breathe. And guess what, guys? Our second stack is all on the mat. I know that's going to make it feel like it's going to be easy, but we're going to get that heart rate up, and we're going to get a lot working, but upper body and core. Are you ready? Last time. Reverse fly. If you want, turn those palms to the back. It's going to feel little different. If you need to bend them to make it a little more of a wide row. That works, too. Or again, alternate. I know they're getting tired. I feel it too. That's too much. Just go back to that regular reverse fly. 10 seconds. This is the longest that we will go. Then we take it back down. 3, 2, 1. Catch your breath, team. All right, that full stack is over. Now we go three, then two, then one. We're gonna start with that chop and knee. Remember, you're switching sides, so coming back center, then rotate. Then we get our kickback. Then we get our curl and our press for the last time. Then we get the last two, then the last one. Let's get it done. One weight, other one close by. In 3, 2. Chop and knee twist. Strong chop. Pull the knee in. Back to center. Twist, chop. Remember, you can make it big. Do what's best for your body. Be where you are today. Something I always say, this is your workout. You do you breathe right here? Yes. Sometimes I have to think about which one's next. All right, grab that other one. We got our tricep kickback hinge position. Elbows up, back tight. Here we go. I know these get tough after a while, but really think elbows up. Push the weight towards the sky. Doesn't have to be perfect, but we do want your triceps. This part creating the movement again, not biceps. Back is tight, but it's stabilizing while we move through the tries. Last one, here we go. Curl and press. Last one, rotate. So feel as you press and you turn your body. You feel those abs kicking in? I hope so. You can keep those palms turned in if you want to take it. Hammer press right here. So close, team, to the end of this stack. And we have one more. And again. It's all in the mat, but we'll go heavier. Last one and breathe. All right, team, set those down. Catch your breath. Little shake out if you need it. We got one more chop and knee and one more kickback, and then we finish with our chopping knee. All right, when we finish with our chopping knee, we're probably going to shorten it and maybe just do the knees. All right, team, here we go. Chopping knee regular this time, followed by your kickback in three, two, one. Here we go. Chop knee center. And you can be at your own pace. You can go slower than me, faster than me, as long as you have good form right here. Yes. Boom. Yes, team. One more last time with those triceps. Grab those weights. Elbows up. Here we go. Push them back. Now, this is a great option for triceps. If going over your head or down on your back is not right for you for Whatever reason. But again, control it, especially on the way down, up. Slow and controlled Sometimes, maybe you have a shoulder injury, you can't go over your head, or you just don't feel comfortable with it. Kickback is a great option. Last three, two, one. Whoo. All right, team, last round of this stack. Then we get a longer breather. I know feeling that. All right, this time, let's take that chop out and just twist with our knees. So all core arms as well. Let's get it done. Last 30 seconds, then we're gonna catch our breath. Then we're going down to the mat for our second stack. 3, 2, 1. Just your knees twist. And you can keep it here or push them up if you want a little more of that press motion. I just don't want you to lose the core. So really think core. Core, core. Yes, you can. 10 seconds to go. Make it count, because you got a breather coming. Four, three, two, and breathe. All right, team, so I did that first one with my lighters, but I'll tell you what, we're gonna go heavier on this second round. Let's grab some water because we're going to be focusing more on those bigger muscles, usually. Cheers. Y' all, grab some water. Usually we start with our bigger compound moves first. Our rows, our presses, things like that, because we want those muscles to be working first before we isolate. But because I wanted your second round to be on the mat and I wanted us not to have to switch a lot of weights, we started this way. Join me on the mat here. All right, team, so I want you to have heavies close by if you've got them. So I'm gonna have my 20s close by and my 15s. All right, team, so here's what we've got. We're going to start with a good old fashioned plank row. If you're not comfortable in the plank, you can, of course, be on your knees here or knees here. But if you can, we're just right and left, so we get a whole lot of core and a whole lot of back. Then we're gonna flip over. We're gonna get a rotating press, so we're going to turn our palms in, turn our palms out flat on our back. Then we're going bicycle with a little spiciness to it. And then what's our last one? Oh, we're gonna get a little Superman with some triceps. All right, so four moves. We're gonna get through them quick. We're starting with that plank row again. Keep those close by. Although two of them, your last two are going to be body weight. Let's do it in three. Plank row. Two, one. Here we go. Pull it up to your hip and down. Now with this, I want you to pull strong with your back. We got a lot of back work with that reverse fly, but now we're really focused on those big muscles in our lats, right, right along our spine, but also staying, lifting the core so everything is tight through the center. As you pull, tighten the legs. 3, 2, 1, relax. Keep that close by. Team, if you can, join me down. All right, we've got that rotating press. Because I'm rotating, I'm going slightly, slightly lighter with my 15s. So I'm here. As I press, I'm turning them in, then I'm turning them back down. So we get shoulders, we get triceps, and we get a lot of chest. Let's get it done here. 30 seconds, then we turn right over into that plank row. Remember, we're at that 45 degrees. Here we go. Turn them in, take them out wide. Now, on that this, I want you to rest that core, but stay contracted, right? You're breathing through the motion. You're not holding your breath, but you're not letting that core go, right? You've got a strong foundation through the center. It's really going to help ground you as you do this rotating press. 10 seconds, then we go right over into that plank row. So that's going to be the biggest transition. The rest will kind of be flat on the mat, except for that superman. Good. Take it here. Take your time. Grab your weight and into that row again. I don't want you to stress that you have to go super fast. If you get 20 strong seconds of this row, that is a okay with me. All right. You can use part of your 32nd interval for a transition, because that's work, too, right? Anytime we move from position to position, from our back to our front, from standing to the mat, relax. Anytime we're moving positions, guess what that is mobility. That is our core at work. That is our mobility work happening. All right, team, so this time we're going with a little bicycle plank, bicycle plank, bicycle crunch. But here's what we got. We're gonna do a little triple pulse. So we got three, two, one, switch. You can touch the inside and outside of the knee if you want. Otherwise, just take it in. Here we go. 3, 2, 1. Switch your legs. 3, 2, 1. So I'm keeping my shoulders lifted to keep that contraction, but certainly if you need to come down you can. And if that's not right for you, you can just do a march or keep your shoulders down. Up to you. 10 seconds. Last one, right here. Grab those weights into that rotating press again right here, so you can see why this works. Even though we're all down on the mat, you're gonna feel that heart rate get up. You're gonna feel your body working. Because we're stacking these, we're getting a lot of reps in not a lot of time. Right, 10 seconds before we go to that plank row, and then we're at that full stack. Four exercises. Three, two, one. Into your plank row. Here we go, team. Take it up. And I know some of you tell me with the plank row, you like to be high in the plank and then drop a knee when you need to for the row. That's a great option where you still get the core, but maybe you need a little extra stability as you row. 3, 2, 1. Here we go, team. We are at the top of the stack, and here's what we've got. So it's going to be front to back, back to front. We have got a tricep push from a Superman. So these weights are here. You're gonna do that Superman on the mat. If you can't go all the way down, you're gonna do bird dog. Bird dog, tricep push if you can. We're gonna lift, and then from your knees, push it up. You can do from your toes, too, but I really want those elbows in. Here we go, Superman, Bring them in. Push up from the tries. Slowly down. Lift for your back. Squeeze. Push up and here and up again. If that's not right for you, you can just do the bird dog. Opposite arm, opposite leg, and a little half tricep push up. Yes, team. Three, two, take it over into that bicycle. Give yourself that good transition time. Here we go. 3, 2, 1, switch. Trust me, this is better than maybe you did, that lower body stack where we went up and down again. Mobility, but that takes a little more time. Right, three, two, one. Last one, rotating press. Here we go. Right here. Up and in, down and out. You'd rather take it to a regular chest press? You can, but take your time. We've got one more plank row, and then that's the last of that plank row and we take it back down the pyramid. Right here. Here we go. To get up. Yes. Last one. Nice and strong. Yes. Bring it in, team. Here we go. And here. Pull that elbow up. Whatever you need to do to get strong form. Not just in your row, but also in that core, staying lifted. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Set those weights aside because we are done with that. All right, team Superman. Tricep push again. The reason I'm giving you that option to stay on your knees. I'm staying on my knees is because I really want that push up to come from here. So we really get here. We just got that press here. Let's focus on these guys. Strong squeeze in your back, then bring them in. Push up from here. All right, if you want to make it a little more of a cobra, you can do that too. Let's finish strong. Here we go. Three, two, one, lift. Squeeze in the back. Bring them in. Push up. Strong lift. Use your core also, as you're coming up. Use your abs to help lift in the center, right? It's not just your arms. Squeeze in the back. 10 seconds, then we're into our bicycle. Breathe and relax on your back. Bicycle. Last, last time. Shoulders up. Pulse, pulse, pulse. And switch again. You can stay lifted like I'm doing, or come down in between. We got one more time rotating press, then we're gonna finish it out right here and grab those weights. Last time with that press. Whatever press you want it to be. Up and in, down and out. Core stays engaged. Last time for this one. Here we go. Yes, you can. I know. Team breathe. Getting close to that time limit, but we can do it. Last one. Here we go. All right, team, let's take it into that Superman tricep push. So squeeze in the back. You can hold that back as long as you need to. Then a bicycle, then our Superman. All right, let's get it done quickly. Maybe we'll even cut our rest period just a bit. We'll see how that goes. Ready? In three, two, one. Here we go. Superman, squeeze. Bring it in. Push it up slowly. Down. When you lift in that superman, remember, you're not just bringing your arms up, you're also lifting those legs. I know. I'm pretty tight in there too, so I get it. Squeeze. Bring it up. Yes. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. On your back. Finish it out, team. Here we go. 3, 2, 1. And if you want, because this is our last bicycle, if you want to just take it a regular bicycle, feel free. It's your last time through, so let's finish it strong, either with those pulses, using your core for the motion. We've got 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Hug them in, team. This is it. All you got left is that Superman tricep push or bird dog Tricep push. Up to you. Let's finish it out strong. In three, two, one. Here we go. I know that was not your full 30 seconds, but I'm trying to get you out of here. I know we're a little bit over our 25 minute mark, but hang with me if you can. Keep those elbows in. I know it's tempting to want to go out to there because you're stronger there, but keep them in to get those tries we're gonna find. Feel those arms tomorrow in the best way. Also lifting with that core. 3, 2, 1. Yes. Team Child's pose. Sit back. I know. Stretch it back right here. And if you want, you can do a little reach under, hold for a couple counts and then switch that here. Take it here to here. Totally up to you. If you just want to hold the child's pose, you can do that as well. We're going to do a quick upper body stretch, all right? But because I promise to get you in and out, we're going to keep it short. Bring it up right here. And those wrists, you can kind of just flip them over if you want. You can even turn them and get a stretch this way if that feels okay or this way. But if you want to just move through them, little cat cow through your back. So we're going to keep this pretty short because I know that you're going to get some stretching on your own maybe after this workout, but certainly get mobility and flexibility throughout your day, throughout your week. Right here. Come to a seated position. Little stretch right here. Take it over through your side, through those arms. So make sure you get some stretching. Remember, I have tons of videos including 5 and 10 minute stretches, extended cool down, 10 minute mobility. And of course, leave me a comment. Let me know how you feel. Let me know if you want to turn your body here. Let me know how you like this workout. How you're feeling after my arms. Arms are fatigued. I don't know about yours. And if you like Pyramid Stack, let me know in the comments. I love hearing from you. Roll those wrists. Thank you so much for being here. Don't forget to subscribe and join us in the Body Fit Athletic Club. One big deep breath in and out. You did it. That was your arms and abs. Pyramid Stack workout. Great job, everybod.