New Year, New Workout
It’s a new year and time to take charge. Here’s a workout I designed to help you elevate your heart rate quickly, because, let’s face it, your schedule is probably full of commitments for family, friends and work already.
It combines cardiovascular exercise from a stationary bike followed by full body exercises that only need dumbbells. From start to finish it takes 12 minutes. If you have more time, repeat for another 2-3 sets. When choosing the dumbbell weight, make sure you choose a weight that is challenging, but also allows you to keep proper form throughout every rep.
New Year Workout
| Exercise | Position & Resistance | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Warm up on bike | Seated, Hands 2, Medium resistance | 2 minutes |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise Jacks | 30 seconds/ 30 second rest | |
| Hill climb on bike | Standing, Hands 3, High resistance | 3 minutes |
| Lunge to Overhead Press | 30 seconds/ 30 second rest | |
| Squat Press | 30 seconds/ 30 second rest | |
| Hill climb on bike | Standing, Hands 3, High resistance | 1 minute |
| Sprint on bike | Seated, Hands 1, Medium resistance | 1 minute |
| Cool down on bike | Seated, Hands 2, Low resistance | 2 minutes |
Stationary Bike Positions & Resistance
When you ride a bike you can either be seated or standing up pedaling. There are a variety of ways to hold the handlebars. Hand Position 1 is your hands together in the middle of the handlebars. In Hand Position 2 your hands move to the bottom outer corners. In Hand Position 3 your hands move to the top outer corners. There is a knob on the bike that lets you add or remove resistance. Low resistance is the easiest setting and keep turning the knob to the right to increase the resistance. Since this is subjective, turn it to a setting that feels right to you.
Dumbbell Lateral Raise Jacks
Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Kick your legs open and raise your arms shoulder length with your palms facing the floor. Return to the original position and repeat. Note: This can get pretty intense, so go with a lighter weight where you can maintain form.
Lunge to Overhead Press
Hold a pair of dumbbells in front of your shoulders and lower your body into a 90-degree lunge. (Remember to keep your knee over your ankle.) Push your body up to standing as you press the dumbbells over your head. Repeat, making sure to alternate legs.
Squat Press
Hold a dumbbell with both hands next to your chest with your elbows at your sides. Squat down. Straighten your arms in front of you keeping your arms straight and at shoulder length. Stay in the squat and continue bringing your arms in and out at a slow pace until the allotted time is up, then return to standing.
Listen to your body and only use weights as heavy as you can maintain proper form. Keep hydrated and take rest as needed. Make this year the healthiest one yet!
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