A Better Bag of Groceries

The 25 Workout

Friday, March 2, 2012 at 07:03 AM

Fitness Friday seems to be becoming a regular feature here at A Better Bag of Groceries.  Let me know if you like the workout posts, ‘K?  My workout friends and I are always doing something new – and I’m always just dying to share it with all of you!  Take last Friday.  Hazel came up with this new workout for us.  I named it The 25 Workout - because you pretty much do 25 of everything – with a little bit of cardio in between.

We did this workout at our gym’s indoor basketball court because it has a staircase that lead up to a second level.

We used the stairs as our method of cardio.  This workout would fit nicely in Springtime at your local high school track.  Warm up by taking a lap around the track.  Run up and down the bleachers for the “stairs” portion.  Do your sit-ups on the grass.

This workout adapts just fine to home also.  For cardio, you could do jumping jacks, jump rope, use a step, a treadmill, elliptical, or whatever else you’ve got.

All you need for this workout is a set of light weights (I like 5 lbs), heavy weights (I like 8 lbs or 10 lbs, depending on how my neck is feeling), and a mat.

So, here’s the workout

Warm-up

• 5 minutes of cardio (we ran laps around the basketball courts)

The Workout (Part 1)

• 4 sets of Stairs (run up and down the stairs 4 times)
• Walking Lunges Across the Court Holding Weights
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Dead Lifts
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Bent Over Rows
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Push-Ups
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Dumb-Bell Swings
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Shoulder Presses
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Bicep Curls
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Tricep Kickbacks
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 25 Sit-Ups with Weights
• 4 sets of Stairs
• 1 Plank (hold for one minute)

The Workout (Part 2) – Run through all of the strength exercises without the cardio

• Walking Lunges Across the Court Holding Weights
• 25 Dead Lifts
• 25 Bent Over Rows
• 25 Push-Ups
• 25 Dumb-Bell Swings
• 25 Shoulder Presses
• 25 Bicep Curls
• 25 Tricep Kickbacks
• 25 Sit-Ups with Weights
• 1 Plank (hold for one minute)

Cool Down

• Cool Down and Stretch for 5 minutes

This workout took us about 50 minutes to complete.  We loved the cardio mixed into the weights sets.  Our heart rates were up the whole time.  And I definitely felt it the next day.  The key with this workout is perfect form.  We aim for the best form possible on all of our exercises using the heaviest weights we can.  And that varies from person to person.  Find what works for you.

In case you need some instructions on how to get that perfect form for any of the strength training, here are some videos for each of the exercises:

Walking Lunges

Dead Lifts

Bent Over Rows

Push-Ups

Dumb-Bell Swings

Shoulder Presses

Bicep Curls

Tricep Kickbacks

Sit-Ups with Weights

Plank

I hope you have some time to exercise this weekend!  Our forecast is for buckets of rain Saturday, so I may be doing the home version of the 25 workout.  Happy Weekend everybody!

Posted by: Melissa 5 comments

Posted in: Fitness Friday, Workouts

Tags: Fitness Friday, Interval Workouts, Workouts