BeWOW: The 6 Best Exercise Moves You’ll Do All Week


Fact: You don’t need a lot of fancy gym equipment to get a great workout. Nor do you need a roster of 25 exercise moves to work your entire body. This week, I’m keeping things simple: six great exercises for a totally kick-butt workout.

Here’s what you’re going to do: Check out the six exercises below. You’ll work your way down the list, top to bottom, five times, completing a one-minute sprint between rounds. It’s as simple as that. Move as fast as you can through the rounds, take breaks when you need them, and, most important, work hard. Good luck!

BeWOW: The 6 Best Exercise Moves You’ll Do All Week

Complete five rounds of the following circuit:

30 squat jumps
25 rocking planks
20 dead lifts
15 reverse fly
10 burpees
5 pull-ups (or, try a modified alternative)

Sprint: one minute

Explanation of exercises
*Click the links below for video how-tos.

Squat jumps: Stand with feet hip-width apart and perform a squat, dropping your rear until your knees are just behind your toes and your hamstrings are parallel to the floor. As you stand, propel yourself upwards and jump. Return to standing and squat again.

Rocking plank: Get into a plank on your elbows and toes. Pressing from your toes, shift your body straight forward, pause, then pull your body back. Forward and back is one rep.

Dead lifts with dumbbells: Hold dumbbells with arms extended down so they’re resting on your thighs, feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping shoulders back and abs tight (and without locking your knees), bend at the hips and let the weights lower towards the floor, going as far as you can without bending your knees too much. Drive your heels in to the floor and stand to return to the starting position.

Reverse fly: Stand with one foot in front of the other and bend at the waist. Holding a weight in each hand, keep your arms slightly bent and using your back, squeeze your shoulder blades together, lifting your hands to the side.

Burpee: Just like an up-down in football. Put your hands on the ground, jump your feet out behind you so you’re in push-up position, lower to the ground, bring your feet back in, and stand up.

Pull-ups: Suspend yourself on the pull-up bar with your hands a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself up, keeping your body as straight as possible, until your chest reaches the bar. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Too difficult? Try one of these pull-up alternatives.

> Did you complete this week’s BeWOW? Tell us how you did in the comments! Or, feel free to tweet at us about it using the hashtag #BeWOW. Check out all the BeWOW workouts here.

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Audrey McKenna Hasse is the owner of A.M.Fit, a personal training and healthy consultation business on the Main Line. You’ll find her workouts every Monday right here on Be Well Philly.