Welcome to Day 2 of Fitness Blender’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