Workouts Library

Welcome to Day 12 of Fitness Health Track’s Free 2 Week Challenge! Join me for this core circuit workout with no repeat exercises and brief, feel-good stretch intervals. We’ll work through 3 main core strength circuits, each with a different focus — abdominals, obliques, and low back/glutes. This routine is a great way to overload your core muscles and get a stronger, stabler mid-section. A lengthy mobility cooldown is a great way to treat your body and release muscular tension in the whole body. Utilize this as an active recovery workout or add it on after any other cardio or strength session. No equipment needed! Workout Snapshot • Activation Warm-up Included — 4 Minutes • 3 Core Circuits — 5 Minutes each • Extended Mobility Cooldown — Approximately 8 minutes ;• Equipment Needed: None/Mat I wanted to keep this routine simple and engaging because core work can feel monotonous (at least for me). Therefore, no equipment is needed and we won’t be repeating any exercises. Each circuit will have a muscle group focus in order to overload similar muscles and work them in many different facets. Our first circuit will focus on the abdominals — the rectus abdominis (our “6-pack” muscles) and transverse abdominis (our deep core stabilizers). Our second circuit will focus on our internal and external obliques with unilateral twists and side plank variations. And finally, the third circuit will hone in on the muscles of our lower back and glutes to even things out on the posterior side. Each core circuit consists of 5 exercises completed for one round of 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest. At the end of the workout, enjoy a nice long 8-minute mobility cooldown, consisting of stretches and exercises to release tension in all muscles and joints of the body. Tips for the workout ;• Try to exhale on the exertion (hardest part) of the exercise; this help your core muscles fire and brace for the movement. ; ;• Move slowly and intentionally, thinking about the muscles being utilized; moving too quickly just to “feel the burn” is not as effective at creating strength and functional movement patterns This workout may be used as an active recovery day, or positioned into your routine following a run, HIIT session, or strength workout. The options are endless! Enjoy! Workout Warmup/Activation (4:00) — 40 sec each Pelvic Tilt Dead Bug Glute Bridge Bird Dog Down Dog + Knee Drive, alternating Bear Crawl Hovers Core Workout (15:00) — 15 exercises; 1 round; 50 sec on / 10 sec off Circuit 1: Abdominals Dead Bug Tabletop Crunch + Heel Drop Single Leg V-up, alternating Boat Hold Forearm Plank WATER BREAK  Circuit 2: Obliques ;Side Plank Knee Drive – R Side Plank Hip Dip – R Side Plank Knee Drive – L Side Plank Hip Dip – L Russian Twist with Straight Arms Circuit 3: Glutes/Low Back High Plank Knee Drive to Leg Raise – R Alt. Superman High Plank Knee Drive to Leg Raise – L Single Leg Hip Thrust, alternate every 5 reps Alt. Glute Lift + Pulldown (prone position) WATER BREAK  Mobility Cooldown (~8:00) — 45 sec each, back to back Cobra to Scorpion Puppy Pose with Lateral Leg Extended – switch sides halfway Down Dog w/ Foot Pedal Runner’s Lunge – R Pigeon – R Runner’s Lunge – L Pigeon – L 90/90 90/90 sit + Oblique Stretch – R 90/90 sit + Oblique Stretch – L

Welcome to Day 2 of Fitness Health Track’s Free 2 Week Challenge! We zero in on the upper body and core in this highly modifiable strictly strength routine. Although rated as a level 3 workout, the straightforwardness of the exercises gives you the ability to determine your own overall workout intensity to reflect your current training goals and fitness capabilities while keeping the routine accessible to a wide range of participants. If you’re new to strength training/structured movement or returning from an exercise hiatus, consider the following lifting guidelines for maintaining a moderate intensity level throughout the workout: • Opt for the exercise modifications (exercise alternatives are offered for most moves) • Decrease your weight selections • Omit the weights altogether (flow through the movement pattern(s) bodyweight-only while still engaging the target muscle groups) • Alter your stance (staggered stance, kneeling, or seated positions can be helpful in lessening the difficulty of an exercise) • Decrease your range of motion (limit limb movement of an exercise within a range that helps you maintain proper/safe form without pain) Alternatively, if strength training has been a consistent part of your fitness regimen for at least two to three months, increasing your weight loads and opting for the movement progressions can elevate the intensity of this routine for a more challenging (but attainable and manageable) workout experience. Approach the core segments of this workout with a similar lens to either decrease or increase the difficulty of the included exercises. Although the core exercises are all unweighted, the lifting guidelines are just as applicable. Your limb positioning creates the “added weight” and is therefore a means by which to adjust your “weight selections” for each core exercise. The routine toggles between two upper body strength and two core circuits. We kick things off in the first lifting circuit with variations of two popular upper body push/pull exercises, overhead presses and rows. The second lifting circuit expands on the first and is comprised of supplemental push/pull exercises that target similar muscle groups. For the core circuits, we split your focus between the posterior chain of core muscles (back of the body) and anterior musculature (front of the body) with a primary emphasis on deep core muscle engagement to strengthen your foundation of all movement and improve postural alignment. This is a great routine to use for benchmarking your progress with upper body and core strength! Feel free to make note of your weight choices, modification/progression preferences, range of motion, and how your perceived intensity as well as enjoyment and confidence levels change with each subsequent completion of the routine. And remember that a simply structured routine doesn’t always denote an easy workout nor does it have to be boring! Improvements in any area of fitness come from repeating the same basic elements over and over to master, remaster, and improve foundational movement patterns so that you can safely and efficiently progress to more advanced training techniques. Enjoy the process and you’ll start enjoying the improvements! Workout Warm-Up : 30 sec per exercise, no rest (4:00) – Bodyweight -Arm Circles (forward and back) -Squat with Overhead Press -Hinge: Reverse Fly + Y-Raise -Inchworm + Down-Dog -Thread the Needle – R -Thread the Needle – L -(transition to standing) Jump Rope + Quick Arm Turns -Jumping Jacks ***30 sec off** My Weights (not a recommendation, just a reference): -Medium/Moderately Heavy-Circuit #1: 20 lbs. (9.1 kg) -Medium/Moderately Heavy-Circuit #2: 15 lbs. (6.8 kg) Circuit #1: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds – Weighted (7:00) -Neutral Grip Overhead Press -Low Row -Military Grip Overhead Press -High Wide Row ***Water Break #1*** Core Circuit #1 : 20 sec on / 10 sec off / 2 rounds – Bodyweight (3:00) -Upper Body Lift: Back Extension -Lower Body Lift: Back Extension -Superhuman Raise ***30 sec off*** Circuit #2: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds – Weighted (7:00) -Kneeling: Reverse Fly -Push-Ups -(supine) Lat Pull -(supine) Chest Fly ***Water Break #2*** Core Circuit #2: 20 sec on / 10 sec off / 2 rounds – Bodyweight (3:00) -Bent-Knee Boat Pose -Bent-Knee Hollow Hold – R -Bent-Knee Hollow Hold – L Cool-Down: approx. 4:00 (approx. 30 sec per stretch) -Full Body Stretch -Cat/Cow -Kneeling Quads/Hip Flexors Stretch + (optional) Overhead Reach-Side Bend – R -Kneeling Quads/Hip Flexors Stretch + (optional) Overhead Reach-Side Bend – L -Down-Dog Hams Stretch + Rollup to Standing -Crossbody Shoulder Stretch + Wrist Rotations – R -Crossbody Shoulder Stretch + Wrist Rotations – L -Chest Opener + Tree Hug

Fitness Health Track’s Beginner Workout is meant for advancing cardiovascular endurance, toning up the muscles in the body, and burning off a few extra calories. This is a low impact cardio workout that is relatively easy on the joints. Because it’s so low impact, it also makes a good recovery cardio workout for those days in between more intense strength training or high intensity intervals training (HIIT) days. If you are brand new to exercise, Fitness Health Track has many beginner workout videos that you can choose from; all that really matters is that you start! Move at the pace that you need to; you don’t have to follow along with us in the video, just do the best that you can and take breaks whenever you need to. It’s important to listen to your body, but aim to push yourself a little bit further with each workout. While this workout is meant for beginners, it does move very quickly from one exercise interval to another. Watch the upper left hand corner for a preview of the upcoming exercise at the end of each 50 second interval. Workout Structure 9 Different Intervals 50 Seconds Each No Rest No Equipment; you will need an open wall Exercises in this routine: Slow High Knee Pulls – Raise arms above your head, then lift one knee up at a time, while bringing your hands down toward that knee with each step upward. Wall Push Ups – If this is too easy, switch to a plyometric push up by pressing away from the wall more forcefully, or, do a full push up on the ground. Make it easier by standing closer to the wall. Ski Squats + Curls – Keep feet close together and hinge at the hips to lower into a squat, while doing a bicep curl (with or without weights). Go as shallow or as deep as you like with the squats; remember to challenge yourself. Toe Touch Crunches – Keep your legs straight to make it harder; bend at the knees to make it easier. Lateral Step Toe Touches – Step from side to side, reaching for the leading toe with the opposite hand. Go as fast or as slow as you like, and reach as shallow or as far down as you can do comfortably. 5 Torso Twists + a Punch – Great for the obliques, you can also engage the butt and thighs by sinking into a deeper squat while completing this motion. Remember, move as slow or fast as you like, but always use smooth and controlled motions. Forward Bends + Overhead Raises – Just like it sounds, this one is more of a nice stretch than anything else. Bird Dogs – These are excellent exercises for back health and a strong core. From all fours, raise opposite hands and legs, keeping a flat back (not over extending). If this is too hard on your balance, do one limb at a time. Captain Morgan’s – Building up your balance is an important part of fitness. We show multiple variations if you want to follow along and challenge yourself. You can do this workout, along with other Fitness Health Track beginner workouts, several times through, most days of the week – as long as those same muscle groups are not still sore from a previous workout. We estimate that this routine burns 45-75 calories, depending on a wide variety of variables. Remember that a clean, healthy diet is an integral part of advancing your health and fitness.

Starting a new workout regimen is never easy but starting a workout regimen when you have never worked out before or have taken years off can be downright scary. It takes a delicate balance of keeping your motivation up due to teetering between not making enough headway and working out too hard too soon. So what is the right way to start up an exercise program? “Slow and steady wins the race”. The key is to start easy and try to challenge yourself a little bit more with every workout. As you get closer to your own limits you will start getting sore on the day or two after a routine. If you get uncomfortably sore then you know you have pushed just a little too far. When you hit that mark you need to slow down the pace at which you are increasing the difficulty of your workouts and start looking at other variables to add in such as flexibility, muscle building, and diet modification to help you continue on your path to the body and fitness level that you want. With that approach in mind, this beginner cardio routine was built for those brand new to exercise and those coming back after a long break. Built to be easy enough for even the most out of shape person, this workout is also designed to be easily modified to become harder as you progress in strength and endurance through your first month or two before having to switch to a more challenging routine. This will help you get through those crucial first weeks of habit building without having to worry about looking for new exercises. The following is a more detailed look at each low impact cardio exercise and the different ways to modify each motion from its easiest form to it’s most difficult. 1. Jog in Place Jacks: In its easiest form this is a very slow and light walking in place with a slow jumping jack like motion with your arms. But as you need to progress, change your walking motion to marching, jogging, high knees or full blown jumping jacks, increasing your arm movement speed as you increase the difficulty of the leg movement. 2. Windmill Steps: The beginning level of this exercise is just a simple side step, letting your trailing leg come behind you with a slight tap, as well as adding the large circular arm swing. As you want this to be harder you can drop your hips lower to the ground, adding a squatting position. Increase the step width and speed until you substitute the motion with a lateral jump rather than a step. 3. Static Squat + Punches: Starting with a very shallow squat and a punching motion without any extra weight, only hold your squat for a few seconds before coming up continuing your punches. As you progress stay down longer (until the maximum time), squat lower, and start using dumbbells with your punching motion. Do not, however, speed up your punches, especially if using extra weight. 4. Static Lunge + Curls: Start with a shallow lunge with your feet relatively close together and either very light dumbbells or possibly only arm weight for your bicep curls. As you progress, lunge deeper and with your feet further apart and increase the amount of weight you use with your curl. Do not increase the speed of your curl. 5. Static Lunge + Tricep Extension: With this lunge position only the front leg is bent and the rear leg is extended straight. Start with a shallow lunge and little to no weight in your hands. When you want more of a challenge, increase the depth of the lunge and the distance between your feet as well as the amount of weight you are using for your tricep extension. Do not increase the speed of your tricep extensions. 6. Fingertip to Toe Jacks: Start with a slow leg lift reaching to your toes each time then increase the height of the leg lift as well as the speed of the leg until you are actually hopping back and forth from leg to leg with only one foot on the ground at a time and moments when both feet are off the ground. At this pace you will need to alternate one hand going up while the other is coming down. 7. Stutter Step: The easiest version of this exercise is still hard but start with all of your weight in one leg with only a slight bend (or even keep it straight), placing the opposite leg back only a few inches behind you and driving the knee up in front of you slowly as you bring your hands down. Increase the depth of your squat on the supporting leg while extending the moving leg further and further behind you. At the same time, start increasing the speed of which you move your arms and leg. This low impact cardio workout is an ideal starting point for beginners. This is also a great workout for obese people, or for those who are otherwise overweight. It has been specifically designed to have an emphasis on low impact exercises that raise the heart rate while causing minimal stress to the joints.

Overview Test your heart, muscles, and brain in this remix of Brian’s first workout video, the ever-popular and efficient Quick Dumbbell and Cardio Circuits!

Overview This total body workout combines lower and upper body exercises with focused core work, using dumbbells to build both cardio and strength.

Overview Mobilize your hip and glute region while simultaneously utilizing muscle engagement to gain strength!

Overview Target your glutes and thighs while improving the alignment of your back, hips, and knees with this low impact Pilates workout.

Overview Test your total body coordination, engage with your glute strength, and improve core stability all while staying on the mat. Use this as an express workout or repeat it a second time for an extra burn!

Overview Have fun strengthening your lower body, upper body, and core throughout each circuit of this total body routine (which also comes with a bonus plank finisher).

Overview This workout will target all of your major muscle groups and, by focusing on one side of the body at a time, you’ll engage your core and stabilize muscles, helping to improve strength symmetry and coordination!

Overview Challenge yourself today with a quick and effective leg and booty burner! This structure is designed to keep you moving and target your legs from all angles, with short rests between rounds to keep up the intensity.