Upper Body & Core Strength for Menopause & Perimenopause | with Dumbbells (No Repeat!)

Hey everybody, I'm Amy from BodyFit by Amy, and this is your upper and core strength for menopause workout. In this workout, we're going to be working the entire upper body— arms, back, core, abs— and while it is great for anybody who wants to get strength in those areas, it's specifically designed for those of us in perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause. I'm going to be giving you lots of different options to work to your level during this workout. We're going to be working with dumbbells and an optional Bench. Are you ready? Let's do it! Go ahead and start just by getting your body moving. Let's get the blood flowing, get our body's core temperature up, and then let's get ready to move. We're going to keep this to a short warm-up and then we are going to jump right in. But go ahead, shake everything out, and let's roll through those shoulders. Here's what we've got today. This is essentially a no-repeat workout We have a few different circuits where we're going to get some back to basic strength where I really want you to aim to go heavy. That will be our big muscles, right, our big movers. We're gonna get some upper body pull, upper body push, and then the next move in the circuit will be more of those accessory muscles, right? So smaller muscles in your back and your shoulders, biceps, triceps. And then we are going to add a little core to whatever we are working with the upper body, and then we're gonna add some power, and that power move usually with your strength. It's going to be something with a strength. That power move is also going to be— let's take it right here. We're gonna go I's, Y's, and T's. I, Y, and T. Just like that big opener for the shoulder mobility. So that power move is also going to be a HIIT interval, high-intensity interval training. We're adding that at the end of everything so we get a little longer recovery. Remembering that that HIIT— getting those HIIT and SIT, as in sprint interval training— you can add a little hinge into our menopause workouts is super important, but not for long periods of time. We want high-intensity short periods of time, and then we want to go heavy but also make sure we recover, right? So that is what we're working with today. Let's take it right here, roll through those hips and those elbows and shoulders, and then we're going to inchworm it out. Now, if going all the way down to the mat is not right for you, you can hinge and then bring it up. If you're able, we're gonna walk because this will also stretch through our back, through our spine. Take it out and then walk it back. Remember, you can also walk it out but drop to your knees. Maybe this is a better option for you. Get that nice good stretch, feel that core. Bring it back and up. 2 more just like that because we want to get into our work now. I have several sets of dumbbells today. 10s, 15s, 20s. I'm going to try to go heavy as much as I can, but again, on some of those accessory movements, we may want to take it a little more medium. So hold it here if you can, knees or toes. Let's get a little rotate through the spine. You can also drop that knee if that's a better option for you, just to get the core working, get that rotational movement, and again, shoulder mobility. Then we're going to jump in One more right here, and then slowly walk it back. Then let's just round it up. All right team, when you come back up to the center, tap it out and reach. All right, so we are starting with big upper body pull, and that is that bent over row. So I'm going to encourage you to go heavy, and we're going to take it right side and left side. So if you only have a set of medium dumbbells or something that doesn't feel that heavy to you, I want you to either combine them— I'll show you what that looks like— or I want you to just do 2 sets of 2 dumbbells. All right, so here is what that looks like. And if you have the option of a bench, it is not required, but it is going to give you a few more ways to do things. So if you have the option of the bench, we're going to put our knee on it here, dumbbell here. Pull it up to here. If you don't have the option of the bench, you can just take it here. And if you need to grab onto the wall, you can. Now again, if you have these lighter or medium dumbbells and you want to try to take two to go heavier, I encourage you to try to do that. Otherwise, if you got that 20 like I do, go ahead and bring it out. Let's get set, here we go. I'm gonna set up way back here to get you started, and then I'll move that bench. Didn't quite give myself enough time. Now this foot can be a little bit back, but I want you to pull towards your hip. Back is flat. But if you're right here, you're standing, I like to often take that hand out to keep that back flat. Let it stretch all the way down, and then as you're pulling towards the ceiling, squeeze in those back muscles right here. Pull it up and down. Yes, 5 seconds. 3, 2, 1, set that down. We're gonna get the same thing other side. Now again, if you only have light dumbbells and you want to do 2 dumbbells, just get another set. But you can tell when we isolate that one, we usually can go heavier maybe than we normally do. Let's take it here. 3, 2, 1. Right here. Now I like to have this foot back just a little bit, but not so far back, just here where again I can pull towards my hip. Can have this for balance. I can keep that back flat. Let it stretch. This is our Back to Basics, right? So we are going a little slower. We got some power coming at the end. We're about halfway there. Again, if you're here Right here. Use the wall if you need to for balance. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. All right team, so going to something a little more medium accessory muscles, still working the lats. This is called a lat sweep. We're in that hinge position, we're going to sweep and let it come down. Sweep. So straight arms or Barbie arms. I'm gonna cut that weight in half because I've got two, and I want you to try it with me here. Here we go. Hinge, sweep, and up. Watch what's happening. It's not a tricep kickback, and it's not a hinge, right? Don't do that. Sweep, squeezing the back muscles, bring them in the front, in here. You can keep them right down by your side. You should feel the difference in the back of the shoulders. If that starts to feel like too much, just take it right back into that row. And you can feel— I know that back is tired. If you need a little stretch break, come out of it. But that's working that low back as we strengthen the upper back, right? Here we go, breathe. Yes, team! All right, I'm gonna grab one more set of weights, my 15s, and here's what we got now. We're gonna take it, we're gonna add a little core. So it is our plank row. If you need to, you can be on your knees, or on your knees and alternate the bird dog, one leg coming up. If you can, we're all the way up in that plank, and we have 40 seconds at— no, 30 seconds only, adding some core. All right, so 30 seconds of core then we add some power. So here we go, bring it up right here. So a lot of focus on those lats, those big muscles along our spine, a lot of focus on the back of the shoulders. And then here we add some core to support that. Now I know this is a lot because it's going to be a lot of the same muscle group in each circuit, but then you're done with it, right? Remember, if you need to be on the knees, you can alternate a leg. 3, 2, 1, and relax. All right team, so now we're getting a little power and a little HIIT. So give yourself some space. We're doing our snatch. If you've never done a snatch before, here's what it looks like. You pull from the ground, so it's a little hinge. You pull close to the front of your body, you get some power, you bring it straight up. Like that. Now if that's not right for you, you can do a little curl and press here, or just a little high pull. All right, either works. Pull from the ground if you can. 30 seconds. We're going to generate some power as we do it to get the heart rate up to close out this circuit. In 3, 2, 1, snatch up! Bring it down. I like to take this opposite hand out again, pulling close to the front of your body if you need to. Again, curl, press, curl, press. That's harder on the strength, right? But if power is not right for you, get your power in your own way. Find your power. 3, 2, 1, and relax. Catch your breath, team. Set those weights down, shake it out. You can do a little cross. Let's grab some water. Here we go. Yes you can! So I know, again, that was a lot on that upper body push. Now we're taking it down to the bench or the floor and then to the floor. Switching gears to that upper— sorry, that was upper body pull. Now we got upper push. Let me preview for you while you're stretching out. All right, watch me. If you're on the bench, if you have an option for a bench, we can get a little lower. We're starting with our basic press, then we're going to take it to a chest fly. Again, you can get a little more range of motion. All of this can be done totally flat on the mat too. Then we're going to take it down for a push-up to add some core. And then a little standing push press. So get some heavy weights if you can. I'm going back to these 20s. Join me on the floor— ooh— or the mat. Here we go. Oh man. Now the thing is, I do— if I get the chance to work out on my own, I do try to go heavy at least once or twice a week, but I sometimes go a little lighter when I'm making workout videos for you guys, because sometimes I do multiple in a day. Did the lower body version right before this, but I'm trying to push myself to go heavier in these videos because I'm telling you to, right? So it's been a while since I've done this one with a bench. 3, and my 20s. 2, 1. Now very carefully let those come down. All right guys, so more of those accessory muscles. We're taking it to a fly. Same set of muscles, but you may want to go a little lighter. I'm actually going to switch gears to my tens. And again, you can be on the mat if you don't have a bench, that's okay. Otherwise, let's open it up in 3, 2, 1. Now remember this, you're opening wide, coming in, slight bend in the elbows, but the movement is from the shoulders. I want you to think about that core being engaged. So even though we're working the arms, we're making sure that we're stable, we're bracing our spine right here. There we go. Ah, yes team! 10 seconds. I know we're really going to feel this upper body work throughout this set. And relax. Woo! All right team, so if you're not already on the mat, meet me down there. Otherwise, just turn over into that push-up position. Now I know, not really fair, we just did all of that push, but I want you to use your core on this push-up. Obviously I want you to go heavy. A push-up is one of the best exercises, even though we hate hate it and we love to hate it, right? 45-degree angle, not straight out, not straight in. You can be on your knees, I probably will be too, but as you come up, I want you to think about using your core, all right? You're not just trying to push through your upper body, you're trying to pull with your core. If you need to be knees here, knees here, or on a bench, on a wall, that works too, or on your toes. But let's go for it, here we go. Now what I'm going to do is I'm going to try to go down and then come up with my knees. I'm going to try to go down from my toes, up with my knees, using my core, because that's where my shoulder starts to bother me, right about here. So I'm splitting the difference. It's another thing I have a goal of. I know, burn! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, stretch. Right, don't worry team, your HIIT is not going to be— it is not going to be a burpee or anything of the like, cuz I know we just did that. Now we're going to switch gears to an overhead press. Let me grab that other weight. And let's do a little rotational press, so a little push press. We're here alternating or together, little rotation for our core. 30 seconds, let's get the heart rate up on this one. If your arms are just spent, just take it body weight. In 3, 2, 1. Of course, this is not a lower body workout. But if you want, you can get some power from your legs. I know, I'm feeling it, everything too. You're like, I don't know about that squat, Amy. Or together, as I'm rotating, I'm getting that core working. 5 seconds, 4, 3, 2, 1. 1. Arms, I know, shake it out. And there's that heart rate again, that's what we're going for. Last thing of each circuit, getting that heart rate up. Quick sip of water, meet me on the mat. Totally on the mat, we got a quick core-focused circuit. First 2 on our back so that way we can rest those arms. All right team, so if you have your bench or a chair or something like that, you can always use this if you need to, or take it standing. We're going to take it here to start opening up the chest and the shoulders. We're going to start with our little dead bug. I want it super controlled, we're not just going through the motions. Then we're going to take it leg lower opening up the arms. So we want that mobility to stretch out those arms. Then we'll get a little, a little pike jump from a plank to get that power. Go ahead and bring it here. Tuck that pelvis. Here we go. Opposite arm, opposite leg. Slow it down. Now I want shoulder mobility, so if you can really reach as you extend that leg. If you feel like your back is arching take it a little higher, or you can even just do a toe tap. Core and pelvic floor are super important in these perimenopause, menopause, post years because we do experience some atrophy. Even if you've never been through pregnancy or delivery, even if you feel like you've always had a pretty strong pelvic floor, we see some of that again because of those declines in hormones, right? Right through here. Last one. Relax, stretch that out. All right team, now we're going to open up in that fly again to get that stretch as we do a leg lower. You can do a crunch with it or you can keep it all the way down, totally up to you. Stretch. 3, 2, 1, lower. We're here, whatever makes more sense. Your feet can be high or your feet can be low if you want a little more of that challenge. Try not to lead with that chin. I can feel my head and neck getting super tight, so I'm going to relax my upper body and I'm going to keep it in the lower. Open, right? So building in mobility for you, even though I hope that you're feeling your core. You can also just do a little stretch here, maybe that's a better option for you. You don't have to go that low, just do what's right for you. 3, 2, 1. Ah, how is that? Nice and relaxed on your back. How about we flip it over into a plank pike? This can look like a lot of different things. It's only 30 seconds if you want to go for it. Here, you're using your core to lift. We're a little light jump to get that power. You can also do the same thing on the bench or on the wall, or you can just take it in a plank from your knees and you can just do a little pike here to here, just like that. You don't have to do the power. You can walk it in, you can jump it in, whatever is best for you. Let's go ahead, zip up that core, bring it up. 30 seconds. Power and HIIT, and of course abs. I know my abs are feeling it too, so really try not to use your back, right? If even if you need to walk it in, jump it back, walk it in, or walk it back, use your core. Power, power lift. Not really fair because I know those arms are tired too, but hang with me, stay lifted. Yes you can! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, stretch. That is it for that. I know, team, I know. Quick sip of water if you need it. Standing position, how about some biceps and triceps? Woo! All right team, we're going to keep it short and sweet. For these from a standing position, and you may be done with your heaviest weights. Here's what we got while you're shaking it out. Feel that core. Regular bicep curl accessory, we're gonna go server press. You can either go 2 or 1 at a time. All right, then we got that clean. Yes! Then we're going triceps kickback, and then we'll add on from there. All right team, so something medium. We're gonna start with your regular bicep curl. Bring it in, bring it out. In 3, 2, 1, and down. So these are kind of all accessory muscles, so I know, and I know everything's tired, so I want you to really just take your time. Think about that good core engagement, stable core. We got a lot of burn for that upper body pull, upper body push. Now we get those smaller muscles. You can always alternate and you can always stagger if you're feeling your back, right? Right here, up and down. Yes! 3, 2, 1, and relax. All right team, so this one's a little tricky. We're gonna go out. Let's just go out and in. I want you to think about squeezing in your back muscles as well. If you need to, you can alternate. I might need to do that, I'm not gonna lie, you guys. So go ahead, bring them in tight. 3, 2, 1, out, squeeze in. Oh man, right? So looks like this. I'm going to show you if you need to go lighter or alternate. Mate, that's okay. Squeeze those shoulder blades in, press out and up. So think of it as biceps are staying working, and then you get a little power press. I know that's upper push, but you can do it, right? Up, squeeze. Or one, pull it in. Two, pull it in. I know this is feeling so hard for me. 2. Yes, last one. Relax. Ha! All right team, before we get that power, let's take it to a little overhead triceps. So we're gonna save the clean, we're gonna give our biceps a little break, and we're going up to here. So we're here, over your head. If you need to take it with one dumbbell, you can. Otherwise, we're going back to basics, 40 seconds with triceps. In 3, 2, 1, here we go. Elbows stay in and we're bringing those weights down behind your head. You can be standing up nice and tall, but if you feel like you're arching your back or you're getting that rib flare, stagger right through here. Starts to feel like too much you can always switch it to one dumbbell right here. Elbows in. I know we're going to have a nice good burn with those tries too, cuz we got big upper push accessories, and then we'll put that at clean as our power for both of them. In 3, 2, 1, relax. Set them down if you need to. All right team, So a little bit trickier in the sense that we're taking it to one dumbbell. This is a tricky move, I don't put it in too often, but we're just going to do a little lift and down, lift and down. You're going to feel your back, you're going to feel your tris. If you want, you can even push it back, but some people find that really challenging, so just a little lift and down. You're going to feel your tris, It's pretty isolated. You can stagger if you need to or keep it here. Core is engaged, elbows come up, shoulders back. 3, 2, 1. Tricep lift, I call this, cuz I don't know what else to call it, but you feel those tris. And of course, if you have something lighter, you can still do here, but then it becomes a little more of a row. So it's really beneficial to go with a heavy or medium weight. I could probably have my 15 on this and hold it between two hands because then you have to stay close, right? It's not a row, you're pulling those elbows up using your triceps. You feel that, right? Burn. It's tricky, it's a little hard to get, which is why I don't put it in a lot, but I do love it. 3, 2 1. All right team, we got biceps, triceps. Let's take it to a little clean and down. We're just going to get the power from our legs, little hinge, and then bring it up. If that's not right for you, just hammer curl. We got it, let's get it done. In 3, it's 30 seconds only. Little power, little heart rate. And down right here. Of course, if you're feeling spicy and you want to go up and up, up to you. Or here, I know we already did a little push press, or up. Yes team, 5 seconds. 3, 2, 1. Yes! Shake it out. Oh man. All right, so we got those buys and tries. What we didn't really get was adding a little core to that. So meet me on the mat, and then we're gonna finish with some power, a little heart rate on that. Here's what we got, team. This is buys and tries. But before we get that, let's stretch out those arms. Double leg stretch from Pilates. So you're pulling it in, big circle around. So I want you to stretch out those arms, and if that is not right for you, then you can just do the arm circle and the knee. If you can, let's get some core. Here we go, in and out. Sweep. Big arms because I want the stretch, and we want the core. So slow and controlled. Yes you can, right here. Boom! Yes! 5 seconds, 4, 3, 2, and relax. Hug your knees in. All right team, so here is what we've got. This is called a reverse press. So we're going to get the biceps working, we're going to get the triceps working, we're going to get push and pull. Watch me here. The way we're gonna add a little core is just in tabletop tap. Everything up, everything down, everything up. Try to go heavy with this. You can also keep it hammer press, but you're going to feel the difference here. Reverse press, elbows in nice and tight as you push up. Close that core, everything goes down. If you want to leave the core out of it, totally fine. Last thing from here, let's get core. Let's Upper and here. Yes you can! Boom! Ah, I know, breathe. I forget, was this 30 seconds? I think so, right? Our core work, I Adding upper to core is 30. 3, 2, 1, and relax. I don't know about you guys, but my arms are spent. Yes! All right, bring it up, bring it up. Shake out those arms and shoulders. Little taps right here. All right, you know what, I think we gotta at least put one quick bonus move. And here's what we've got, team. We're gonna take it with that pull and that push and add in that core. So I'm gonna grab my medium to lighter weights. Here's what I got: reverse fly. I'm gonna drop it down, I'm gonna take it here, and on the outside of those weights— probably I should be here— outside of those weights, I'm gonna go down, down, up, up, bring it here. Hinge, reverse fly, drop it down. Now if you feel like going on the outside is too wide, just take a step back. If that's not right for you, reverse fly, bring it up, curl and press. All right, you'll still get that push if you can take it down, because in that plank press we also get that core. 60 seconds, team, this is it! Go for it, here we go! Strong arms and back. Take it here, down on the side, bring it up, pop it in, get set. Take your time. I know it's a lot to pick the weights up and then do the plank plus around them and then get set again, so really take your time into it and out of it. You do not have to rush. I promise your heart rate's going to get up either way. Halfway there. And here, down, down, up, up, right? Squeeze. Yes, team, this is it! I know I just said those HIIT intervals should be short, but this is like a classic bonus move, so why not? Here down, down, up. I totally cheated that one, but that's okay. Squeeze, and you're done. Had to watch that shoe coming untied. Oh my goodness, you guys, I don't know about you, but I am feeling everything in my upper body. And I'm going to tell you guys a little secret, Right before I filmed this workout, I filmed the lower body version of this, so I am feeling it all over. It was a good combo back to back, right? Rather than doing two, two full bodies or two uppers. But my arms and legs feel like jelly, and I like it. I hope you do too. Let's take those arms up, gently pull over to one side. Please get some more stretching on your own. Again, your back your shoulders. That first upper body pull, I know we did a lot in that hinge position, that was strengthening that low back. But make sure you get a little cat-cow on your own, child's pose, some stretches right here. Reach those arms to the back, and if you can, grab here, open up that chest, let your head drop to one side. I know, team. Breathe. I am feeling it too. So this is what we're looking at— going heavy, pushing ourselves, but we're not hanging out for 45, 60 minutes, right? We're going to go hard, but we're getting it done. In some ways, we're going to go hard, we're going to go heavy with those weights, we're going to incorporate some power so we really generate that explosive power, a little bit of plyo, which we all need for bone density. We're gonna work in all different directions, and of course we're gonna get those HIIT intervals where we get our heart rate up, but we make sure we get some recovery from that. All things that are important in your menopause years, and by that I mean peri and post. Let's take it for our back right here. First standing cat-cow, roll through your back. Leave me a comment, let me know Did you like this? Leave me a like, of course, but let me know how you're feeling, how those arms are feeling, and your back. Do you like this format where we kind of keep it one set of muscles or one area, but we get some strength, we get some accessory, we get— so basically some heavy, some medium, and then some power and some core? Tell me, I love to hear from you, so let me know below. Take it out to the side. Thank you so much for being here, for working hard. I'm feeling it, I hope you are too. But let's take that energy throughout the rest of our day with us. Let's get one big deep breath in and out. You did it! That was your upper and core strength for menopause workout. Great job, everybody!