36 Minute Upper & ABS Circuit Workout - ACTIVATE DAY 23

Hey, everybody. I'm Amy from Body Fit by Amy. And this is your upper and abs circuit workout. So in this workout, we are going to be using dumbbells to work your entire upper body and your core. So we'll get arms, we'll get shoulders, we'll get back, we'll get abs, obliques, and of course, we're going to sneak in some mobility and keep your heart rate up in the process. I'm going to be giving you lots of different options, so work to your level and be where you are today. If you have a couple sets of weight, keep them close by. Otherwise, just use what you've got. Are you ready? Let's do it. All right, let's go ahead and start moving our bodies. You can get a little marge roll those shoulders. Our goal with this warm up is to get our body's temperature up to get our muscles warm, get the blood flowing, get that energy going. But we're gonna keep it pretty short. What's nice about this workout is we're gonna have circuits that we repeat three times, five moves only. But your first move is a mobility. So every circuit has its own little warm up right, right there at the beginning. So we keep this pretty short, mostly just thinking about our upper body and our core. All right, team, so let's go one at a time. We're also going to go descending in time. I love to do circuits like this where our intervals get shorter, but also our rest breaks get shorter. So. So we'll start with 40 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest where you learn the next move. Second time through, we have only 30 seconds of work, but only 15 seconds of rest. Last time, we have 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, and a couple of those where we go right side, left side. We'll go back to back. All right, take it side to side. Open up those hips, reach behind right through here, all the way, shifting those hips, and then walk your feet in. Let's do a little flat back down and round it up. So working with dumbbells today, back to basics. So no crazy combos, just a few spins on our basics. And again, I'll give you options, maybe even the second time through. Roll those shoulders second or third time through. If you want a little variation. Slight variation, you can add that, but otherwise, I want you to try to go heavy and push yourself. Walk those feet in. Let's just do our eyes, Y's and T's. Y and T. You can have those thumbs out. You can do a little hinge with it if you want. I and Y and T taking it here. I why? And T right here. One more up, up and up. Let's go ahead and tap and reach across. Then we're going to take it down to the mat. Little core warm up, and then we will jump right in. So take those hands over your head. All right, team, so again, 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds rest, where I show you your next move. Right through here. And we're gonna get it done quickly. Let's go ahead and bring those arms down. Little heart rate up here. So first move, mobility. Then we grab those weights. Last move is also body weight. And we'll get some core, we'll get some upper, but we will also keep that heart rate up. All right, so remember that we got core and upper, but your last move is gonna be cardio. First move is gonna be mobility. So let's take it down right here. We're going to go one. I just want you to get a little cat cow mobility right through here. And then if you can, I want you to walk it out to that high plank and then walk it in. Knees can be hovered up the. This again is still just a warm up. Up to you. And then bring it here. We're just going to do a little forward and back, core warm up and little drop of the hips. Forward and back. Drop the hips. If that's not right for you, you just take it down to the knees. Get the same motion forward and back and drop the hips. All right, team, so watch me here. This is our very first mobility. We're going to take those arms out wide. We're going to go side to side. Walk those hands in. Sit back, child's pose. So join me here. You can take it as slow or as fast as you need to. Arms wide, side to side. Child's pose. Here we go. So side to side, hands forward, sit back in the child's pose. We have 40 seconds. Take them out wide side. Roll that shoulder in. Don't worry too much about what this looks like. Just get that little stretch. Again, mobility. Shoulders. Sit back right here. Yes, you can. Taking it here to here and here. You got about 10 more seconds, then we're gonna take it up. One more side decide. All right, team, so up onto your feet. I want you to grab a heavy set of dumbbells. What we've got is your regular bent over row, but we're gonna add a hold. So watch me here. We're gonna go three reps. 3, 2, 1, and hold at the top, then back Down. If you need to come up in between, you can. Otherwise, Here we go. 40 seconds. 3, 2, 1, and hold. Big squeeze at the top. Let it drop. Elbows in regular rope. Nice flat back, soft knees. Hold at the top again. If you start to feel too much in your back in that hinge position, you can come up out of it in between. Otherwise, just keep it here. You can also stagger if that's better. Hold. Squeeze those elbows in. Squeeze those shoulder blades. Three, two, hold. We got time for one more. Five seconds. And hold. Yes. Team. Keep one of those heavy weights if you can, or drop it down. Watch me. We got right side, left side. We're gonna cross two hands, cross, shoulder press. If you want, you can hand it off to one arm. Try that little cross. I'm going to give you some options. Two hands. Here we go. Hip, shoulder press. Yes. You can add a little twist. For more of a chop, you can add a little push. For a push, press. And again. If you want to switch it to one hand, two hands, cross, chop and press. Try it, because we're gonna get that other side in a minute. I would love for you to try to go heavy with this and then take it one hand. You're probably stronger than you think with that press. Two hands are one cross. So we're getting core and upper body, upper push, rotational and stabilizing movement. Relax for that core. So across your body, you can keep it stable, or you can add a little twist with it. If you want to twist knees and hips. Oh, I feel that heart rate a little when you switch to here. Two hands or one? So have that hand that's going up on the inside. Other hand over top. Here we go. Cross and press right here. You can keep it super steady just like this. And up. Yes. Or a little twist to give yourself some power. Two hands or one right here. Still controlled right here. Try that one hand. If that's not right for you because you got that heavy, that's okay. After this, we're down to our cardio, and we're doing it all again. Breathe. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. All right, last move of this circuit. It is just a regular mountain climber. If you want to take it standing, you can be here. If you want to walk it in, just tap it in. Or you can run it. That's all we got, team. It's core, it's cardio. I want you to think about the core. More about the core than the cardio. Here we go. So tap it in. Here's your lower impact or run it in. But either way, I want you to focus on driving the knees to the chest. As I always say, it's not about speed. So I don't want to see this and have you try to be back here. I want to see a little slower, more controlled. You're gonna get the cardio either way. I want you to think about the core. Tuck everything in. Tilt that pelvis. Wrap that core. Everything is in and lifted. Knees coming in to your chest. Yes, you can. You got 10 seconds to go. We'll get some crosses on that second and third round if you want. Three, two. Stretch it back. Stay right here. We're gonna do it all again, starting with that same side to side and child's pose. All right? Roll those wrists. Catch your breath. We're going again. This time, 30 seconds of work. Only 15 seconds of rest. Everything's gonna go a little quicker. Let's start with some mobility. Arms wide. Here we go. Side. Roll the shoulders in. Stretch it back. Child's pose. Side. It's only 30 seconds. Yes, you can. And back. I know. Rotate those shoulders, and then big stretch through the back, through the fingertips. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. 15 seconds to get up onto your feet. You're gonna do that row. If you want, you can switch your grip. I'm gonna take my palms to the back, then turn them in. It is totally up to you. We got 30 seconds. Three, two, one, hold. Here we go. Three, two, one, and hold. Yes. Remember, if you need to come out of that hinge, you can bring it up. Just means you'll get a few less. But remember, this is just 30 seconds, and we're halfway there. Squeeze in your back, especially in that hold. Three, two. Can you get one more? You got five seconds. Stay low. Three, two, and hold. Yes. Team one goes down. We got that. Cross press or cross chop. Remember, two hands. If that's just too weird for you, take your hands on the outside and just press up to the center. But if you can, this grip hand that's pressing underneath. Here we go. Cross, chop, press. What we're gonna do on this to make it fun is no break in between. So go right into that next 30 seconds. Cross, chop, press, cross chop. 10 to go again. You can get a little rotation with it. Up to you. Switch your sides. Here we go. Cross chop. I think you're gonna find that this workout is a burner for your upper body. But because we're getting a lot of variation, because we're switching. This is what we love about circuits. One thing gets a rest while Something else works, but we're kind of all working together. Right? And up, up. 3, 2. 15 seconds to breathe. We're gonna go to that mountain climber, so we're getting some cardio. You can keep it standing, you can take it on the mat. You can go straight in, or you can cross it. Totally up to you. 30 seconds. Here we go. So again, thinking about control, Thinking about driving the knees to the chest or cross to the elbows. Little tuck of the pelvis. Not up here. Shoulders and elbows stay right above the wrist. Keeping it going. Halfway there. Everything's pulled in, everything's zipped up. The movement is important, but the stability is even more important. You got 5, 4, 3, 2, and stretch. Guess what, team? One more round. Let me give you a little bit of a breather. If you need a quick sip of water, because we're doing it. One more time. Stay down. Side to side, then take it back. All right, Side to side. Child's pose. Enjoy this last mobility on this last round. 3, 2, 1. It's only 20. Side, side, stretch it back. So our transitions are going to be quick. So you gotta get up on those feet and back. Yes. Halfway there. 10 seconds, right here. 3, 2. 10 seconds to get up onto your feet. Think of that as mobility. Every time we're getting up off that mat and onto the mat, it's mobility. Here we go. 3, 2. If you want to rotate those wrists and hold, you can. I'm going all the way. 3, 2, and hold. Can you get two more in these last 10 seconds? Now it's five, three, two. Burn. One down. 20 seconds. Right with that cross press. 20 seconds left. Keeping that heart rate up. Go heavy. If you can cross press. Here we go. Up. Two hands to one or two hands the whole time. Core is going to work either way. Shoulder, upper body, push. Gonna work either way. Switch it. Here we go. Cross and up. Yes, team. Controlled. I know we're moving quickly, but I want you to keep that good. Core control. Chest open. Breathe. Yes. Hup. 3, 2, 1. Yes. Team, 10 seconds to get down onto that mat. We got our climber standing, tapping in or running it. Here we go. You can go into the front or you can cross it or you can switch. That's what I'm gonna do. 4 and 4. We're getting a longer breather, so really go for the cardio, but keep the core in mind. Yes, you can. We got three, two, one. Stretch it back. Catch your breath. Yes, team. Ah, right. Faster than you thought. Not the same burn as those ISO workouts Or those unilaterals, because we're going in a circuit fashion, but we're working hard. All right, I want you to catch your breath. All right, team. So you can keep moving if you want. Swing those arms or take those arms up so you get some mobility. Watch me here. We're going to start with a down dog plank rotation. If that is not right for you, you stay on your knees, and you can either do down dog or cat, cow. But if you can, we're going down dog back to that plank. Rotate right. Rotate left. All right, it's going to be nice and slow. Slow. I really want you to think about the stretch. Obviously, core is working, too, but I want you to think about the mobility. Then we're up on our feet. We're gonna do bicep curls. We're gonna do reverse flies, flies on our back, and a little plank press. All right, you know what to expect. Let's get it done. Starting with that down dog. Three, two, one. Here we go. Down dog. Get that stretch back to plank rotate. Open it up so we get that core rotation, that spinal rotation, and then we're going back to that big stretch in the shoulders. If you need to move your hands and your feet, that's okay. If you need to drop the knee on that rotation also. Okay. Remember, you can also do cat to cow, and then rotation on the knees. Either way, you do you. All right, down dong. If you got it. Really working that low back. I know that's what I need to work on. Reach. We got five seconds. Three, two, and one. Up onto your feet. Grab something heavy. But keep in mind it's a bicep curl. So I'm gonna go to my tent. Here is what we got, team. We're gonna do exactly what we did. Our row. One, two, three. Hold. All right, so holding at the halfway point about 90 degrees with those elbows, find that good stance. Here we go. 3, 2, 1. Hold. Halfway back down. 3, 2, hold. Halfway. Yes. 3, 2. All the way up. Halfway. Yes. Core is engaged. If you feel like you're getting into your back, stagger just like this. I know. 3. If you can go all the way up and then halfway. Hold. One more. Three, two, one. Yes, team. All right, I'm gonna try to stay with these tens, but I might need to drop it down three way fly. All right, it is here. Palms to the back. Reverse fly. Palms facing each other. Reverse fly. Palms forward. Reverse fly. Slight bend in the elbows if you can. Medium to heavy. Here we go. Out. Oh, that's gonna get Hard for me. Out, palms in. I'm gonna go as long as I can with these tens. Need something just slightly lighter. And again, just like we did with our rows. If you need to come out of that hinge in between, you can. Let's take it here. When I get back to that 20 seconds, I'm gonna go back to it. So here we go. Palms to the back, turn it in. Palms to the front. Squeeze back, reverse fly. Nice flat back, staying down. So feel the difference in your shoulders and in your back when you rotate those wrists. Yes, team. All right, now we're down on our back, medium to heavy. We're gonna alternate a chest fly, and I'm gonna give you an option to take one leg down if you want. So you can just go one at a time here. If you want to go opposite leg, you can. Here we go. So start alternating fly. Feel how your core has to to work hard either way, even if your feet are down. And if you're in my pregnancy period, you can come up on those knees or in that bridge if you want. Opposite leg is going to lower, either full leg or litter toe or heel tap. Feel that core working hard. Right? So we're getting core and we're getting chest and shoulders opposite side. So like how we went to reverse fly to fly, that was intentional. Slow and controlled. Three, two, one. All right, team, last thing here. We're getting core, we're getting upper, and we're getting cardio. We're tying it all together. We are doing that plank press. You know it. You love it. Down, down, up, up, jack. Down, down, up, up, jack. If you want to stay in your knees, knees, take it there. Here we go. Another option is you can just do a standing jumping jack. Down, down. Hips are square. You're gonna have a little rotation as the movement, but I really want you to be thinking about not being super twisting really tight in your core. Really lift it down, down, up, up, jack again. If you need to, you can be knees here and then pop it up, walk it out, walk it in, or knees here and just get bird dog. That works too. Down, down, up, up. Three, two, one. Breathe, team. Look at this mess of weights I've got. You can stay right here because we're gonna take it down. Dog to plank rotation. We got that mobility this time. It's only 30 seconds. Then we're gonna go hammer curl, three way, hold, reverse fly, alternating fly, plank press in three, two, one. 30 seconds. We've got down dog. Back to plank, little rotation. Yes. We're getting A lot of core, but I really want you to think about the mobility through your shoulders, through your back, through those hamstrings. Even though we're not working hamstring motions today, right? Halfway there again. If you need to, you can take it cat to cow. And rotate with one knee down. Five, four, three, two, and one up onto your feet. Roll those wrists. You got 15 seconds to breathe. Hammer, curl. Three, two, one, and hold. So find that good core engagement Stagger if you need to. Here we go. Three, two. Bring it up. Halfway down. Hold. Yes. Three, two, up. Halfway down. Hold. Hammer curl. Three, two, up. And hold. I know. Three, two, up. Can you get one more in these last five seconds? Controlled? Yes, team. All right, I'm gonna go to my fives again. I promise myself I'm gonna go back when I can. Here we go. We got palms to the back. Palms turned in. Palms here. Lighter to medium. 30 seconds. Here we go. Palms back. I really need to get some eights in these hex dumbbells. Squeeze in your back. So either way, team, if you got lighter weights like me, I want you to try to really go out wide from your body. If you all you have is heavier, feel free to bend your elbows a little bit. But I still want you to get wide, right? Here we go. Squeeze, squeeze, and out. And relax. All right, team, so now you're down on your back. Alternate that fly. Lower the leg or tap the toe if you want. Or just keep it just in the upper. Here we go. So you can start with just this. We got 30 seconds only. Again, if you've got something where you can really get away from your body, you don't have to lock the elbows. Think of it as hugging a tree holding a beach ball. A really big ball, right? But it's not a press unless you need it to be. And if you need to bend those elbows, you can. We're almost there. 5, 4, 3, 2, and breathe. All right, team, this is it. Plank press. With or without that plank Jack, you got 30 seconds. Down, down, up, up. You can go knees, toes, whatever you got. Here we go. Down, down, up, up. You can also switch it if you want to do your jack at the bottom. I kind of like that jack from the bottom. So it's up to you. You can do down, down, jack, and then up or down, down, up, up, jack. Don't get confused. Here we go. As long as you're getting that plank press in. Right, left, right, left, left, right, left, right. One more. Yes. And breathe. Stretch it back. All right, team, this Is it last round? 20 seconds only. So it's gonna go fast. All right, Keep those weights close by. We got Down Dog. It's a plank rotation. Then we got our curls. We're gonna mix it up a bit. Let's get it in. 3, 2. 20 seconds is all we need right here. So down. Dog to plank, rotate. You're not going to get very many. We just. We don't want it to be rushed down. Dog to plank. Yes. Can you get maybe one more full all the way through reach. There's your time. Yes. Team, up onto your feet. Grab those weights. You got bicep curls. Let's just alternate. Here we go. Three, four, two, and hold. Halfway. Turn them in, hammer. Three, two, hold. Halfway. Here we go. Three, two, hold. Can you get just three more hammers? Three, two, hold. Burn. All right, team, I promise myself. Catch your breath. I'm gonna do this fly with these tens of. I need to bend my elbows a little bit more. I will. Otherwise, here we go. Reverse Fly palms out, palms in, palms forward, palms to the back. Squeeze in the back. And here. Yes, you can. I know. If I need to bend a little, I will squeeze. Squeeze. Last one. Boom. Down onto your back. Alternate that fly. It is only 20 seconds, so go ahead, get set. I'm gonna give you a couple extra seconds to get set, alternate, or take them together if you want. Here we go. If you want. Here's your last option. Together, everything in, everything down or alternate. One and then the other. Down and up. Yes. Team, if you want that fly in that leg. Lower. Go for it. Strong arms. You got that plank press coming, you know? 3, 2, 1. Take it over here, guys. All right. Plank press and jack. How about. Let's just go all plank press. Forget about the jack. Let's just get it done. 20 seconds. Seconds. Plank press. Strong core, strong arms, strong cardio. Here we go. Down, down, up, up, down, down. If you need to be on your knees at an angle or a quadruped, all fours. Go for it strong. You don't have to rush it. Keep those legs and glutes tight. Your core tight. Hips are going to move a little bit. Three, two, one. Stretch it back. Oh, man. Team, catch your breath. Quick sip of water. All right, Guess what? We got one last circuit, but it's a short one. We'll just call it a bonus circuit. No cardio mobility. That's okay. We're gonna get some triceps on our back. We're gonna get a hollow hold bicycle. You're gonna like it. And then we're gonna get a second Superman push up plank as our cardio and to finish it out, all right? So let's go ahead and take it. And guess what? We only got two rounds. All right? So three tricep hold. Join me on your back. Watch me here. Three, two. Hold it here, and then all the way up, all right? If you need to take it one dumbbell between two hands, you can. While you're there, watch me me here. We're gonna hold here. We're going half our time here, half our time here. Then we'll cross it on our next round, all right? Then we got that, Superman, Push it all the way up. Knees or toes or bird dog, whatever is best for you. All right, team, this is it. Short bonus circuit. Two times through 40 seconds and 30. Let's get it done in three. In two triceps, here we go down. Let's just get a good little tricep burn, because why not? We love triceps. Hold it at 90 degrees, then all the way up. 3. I'm gonna keep it right here. If you're feeling ambitious and you want to be in the bridge, you can or you want to be in tabletop. Here we go. Three, two. Remember, you can always do this with one dumbbell. Yes. Three, two, Boom. Ten seconds. Yes. Notice why we're only getting two rounds of this one. Breathe and relax. All right, team, let's go ahead. Let's get into it. So you're gonna hold elbow to knee. You're just gonna go out and in for 20 seconds. If you want, you could be elbow to knee, or you can be straight legs. Then we will switch. If you can lift those shoulders. Otherwise, rest them down. If you can't get the elbow to the knee, just push against each other. One side. Here we go. 20 seconds. Here, here. This is really important. So hold this in, push against each other, and then lower. Tuck that chin again. If that's bothering your neck, just take. Take it here. Push, push. If you can be here, take it here. Other side. Lengthen. Feel how we're getting those triceps burning, too. That's intentional. Again. If you need to, you can do that. Push again. Leg is pushing against the hand, hand is pushing against the leg. Opposing forces, little resistance. Fight. Here we go. 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1. Flip it over, team. Superman, lift. Here we go. Here. Push it all the way up, all the way down. I want you to squeeze in those back muscles. Strong push, and then strong core. This is it, team. Here we go. Lift it up. Lift up and hold elbows in. Push it up slowly down so you can go arms out in front. Bring those elbows in tight. If you need to use your knees on the way down and up, you can. Or take it out more. Push up. Hold each one. You can also do bird dog and push up right here. Bird dog, if that's a better option for you. But I want you to get that pull with your back, that push with your upper, and then strong core at the top. Here we go. Try to get through. One more squeeze. Bring them in. Push and hold. Relax it down. One more time through, team. 30 seconds each is all that we need. Triceps. Three, two, one, hold. We're gonna hold 15 seconds each side, but we're gonna cross and we're gonna get a bicycle. Then we'll finish with that. That is it. I promise. 30 seconds. In three, two, one. Three. Triceps. So you either have two dumbbells bending here, hold 90 degrees, then all the way up. Here we go. Three, two. Try to go heavy if you can. I know. I'm feeling it too. Three, two, hold. Boom up. Elbows in. I know it's tempting to want to use your shoulders, but we're gonna hold them right here. Take them in. Three, two, hold. Yes. All right, team, get set up here. Watch me here. So you can either cross or just hold. This might make more sense to think that you can do a bicycle. So cross it here in three, two. 15 seconds each side. Push and push and cross. Push and push and cross. If that is not right for you, you just do the push. Keep one foot on the ground. Yes, you can. 5, 4, 3, 2. Cross other side. Here we go. You can just do the push. Maybe that's all you've got right now. That's okay. Just finish strong with me right here. Five seconds. Three, two, one. Ah. Arms. This is it, team. So strong in your back. Push up strong here. And then we are cooling it down. You can do bird dog to push up if that's better for you. If we can lift it up. Here we go. Let's go out wide. Squeeze. Bring them in tight. Push it up strong core at the top. Slowly down. Squeeze and hold in your back. Bring it in. Push it up. Strong core. Yes. Halfway there. Finish it out tight and strong. Use that core as you come up and as you go down. Right, squeeze slowly down. Let's get one more. 3, 2, and 1. Stretch it back, team. So whatever stretch you need in this moment, I'm gonna go child's pose. Reach forward. Sit back into that. Press those shoulders One and then the other. From here, let's take one arm under if that feels good for you. You can also take all this standing if that's where you need to be. Right now we're going to keep this stretch short, but please get some more stretches on your own. Remember, you can stand in a door frame. Put your hand or your elbow on. Stretch that shoulder. Hang on a railing or something. Something sturdy. Put your hands on top of the countertop. Press back. So many ways to get this mobility work in these stretches. Let's take it here. Roll through. Cat. Cow. I'm gonna go on my wrist or my fist. My wrists are really feeling that. I totally get it if that is you. And breathe. And here. Yes, team. Slowly roll it back. Be sure to leave me a comment. Let me know. How did you feel with this workout? I know it's kind of fast and furious, especially for a back to basics. Slowly roll it up. But I hope that you are feeling good. Reach out right here. I hope you're feeling strong and I hope you could feel how these circuits really keep your heart rate up but allow you to really just focus on one move at a time. Even though we're moving quickly between them getting it done. So leave me a comment. Leave me a like don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. That really helps me out, helps me keep making these workouts. Take this one arm across, roll through that wrist. And of course, if you haven't already, join us in the Body Fit Athletic club. If you want to get these workouts ad free. If you want to get our community, our private community, you get access to me and to our Body Fit registered dietitian, our nutrition plan, live streams, Q1 Q&As and so much more. That is where you want to be. So check that out. All the information is in your description below. And of course, follow me everywhere at Bodyfit by Amy. Thank you so much for being here. Again. Get some more stretching on your own. Let's get one big deep breath in and out. That was your upper and abs circuit workout. Great job, everybody.