Complete Upper Body and Core Shred

Equipment: Weighted Objects (water bottles, dumbbells, household objects), Elevated Surface
Format: Perform each movement for the prescribed time and repetitions and repeat each superset for 3 rounds.

Superset 1

Move 1: Upright Row (8-12)

• Begin standing with your core engaged, chest up, shoulders rolled back, and weights in hand.
• Keeping your weights close to your body, drive your elbows up and back evenly for an upright row. Notice the muscles working between your shoulder blades.
• Return to center with control and repeat.

Move 2: Mountain Climber to Pike (0:30)

• Begin in a tall plank position with your shoulders stacked over your hands, core engaged, and back flat.
• Keeping your hips down, run your knees into your chest and back out by pulling each knee in as far as you can and then back out, one at a time.
• Return to your tall plank and then using your core muscles, power through the balls of your feet to jump your hips toward the sky.
• Return to your tall plank and repeat.
• MOD: Do this move on an elevated surface by placing your hands on the edge of a couch or table.

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Superset 2

Move 1: Sit Up Chest Press Combo (8-12)

• Start lying on the ground with legs bent and heels planted firmly, with your lower back making contact with the mat.
• Hold your weights straight over your chest with the weights pressed together and with your arms extended, brace your core and engage your glutes.
• Bend your elbows and lower the weights until your arms reach 90 degrees and close to your chest.
• From this position, use your abdominals to sit yourself up.
• Once upright, press your arms straight out in front of you, keeping the weights pressed together and your back muscles engaged.
• Bring the weights back in toward your chest and lower yourself back down with control until you are back in your starting position and repeat.

Move 2: Jump Squats (0:30)

• Begin in a squat position with your feet hip distance apart, core engaged, chest up, and keeping your weight in your heels.
• Shoot your hips back behind you for a squat, keeping your chest up tall, weight back in your heels, and knees tracking your toes.
• Powerfully drive through your heels and posterior chain to explosively jump up and land softly on the balls of your feet to return to standing and repeat.
• MOD: Make this a low impact move by removing the jump or squatting down to a chair.

Superset 3

Move 1: Curl to Press (8-12)

• Begin standing with your core engaged, chest up, shoulders rolled back, and weights in hand (palms facing each other).
• Holding your weighted objects with your palms facing you, pull your shoulder blades back and down with your core engaged.
• Keep your upper arms stationary and perform a bicep curl with both arms by curling the weights up to your shoulder while contracting your biceps and then press straight up over head to end with your palms facing each other.
• Slowly lower the weights back down to your chest, reverse the curl with control and repeat.

Move 2: Bicycle Crunches (0:30)

• Begin lying on your back with your legs bent, feet on the ground pressed firmly against the floor and your core engaged.
• Bring your hands behind your head without pulling your head forward.
• Contract your abdominals by bringing your chest forward and rotating at the torso to bring your right elbow to your left knee.
• Slowly and gently lower yourself back toward the ground and repeat with your left elbow to right knee.
• Be sure your lower back stays in contact with the mat throughout this movement.
• MOD: Keep your knees bent and feet on the floor and just crunch your upper body.

  

Superset 4

Move 1: Triceps Dips (8-12)

• Begin sitting on the edge of an elevated surface (box, chair or step) with your hands right next to your sides and facing forward.
• Keeping your hands on the box, shift yourself forward so you’re not sitting on the elevated surface but rather hovering right in front.
• Bend your knees and pull your shoulder blades down and back to engage between your shoulders. This will help keep your chest open and keep pressure off of your shoulders. The more you bend your knees, the easier this will be.
• Keeping your body close to the elevated surface, bend your elbows and slowly lower yourself down until your arms are close to 90 degrees, and then press back up to your starting position.
• MOD: Perform overhead triceps extensions by holding one weight overhead with both hands so your arms are straight overhead and slowly lower the weight behind your head by bending your elbows, being careful not to flare your elbows out too much.

Move 2: Fast Knee Drivers (0:30)

• Start with your left foot behind you and your arms overhead.
• Pretend you are crushing a watermelon between your knee and your hands by powerfully driving your knee up toward your chest as you drive your arms down to meet your knee.
• Return to your starting position and repeat on the other side.
• Alternate back and forth for the allotted time.

Move 3: Row to Fly (8-12)

• Begin standing with your core engaged, chest up, shoulders rolled back, and weights in hand.
• Hinge forward at the waist to be at 45 degrees, and engage between your shoulders, so they’re not rounding forward, allowing your dumbbells to hang beneath your chest and keeping your gaze neutral.
• Perform a row by pulling the weights up to your sides while keeping your elbows close to the body and squeezing your back muscles. Slowly lower your weights to center.
• Lift both arms out to the side, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
• Return to center and repeat your row to fly combo.