Dumbbell Superset Workout

Sculpted Superset Workout

August 27, 2015 by Hillary 2 Comments

Since crossing the finish line of my 7th half-marathon, I think I’ve run a total of 5 miles — and I am probably overestimating. I know my craving to run will return – presumably in sync with the cooler fall temperatures – but for now, yoga sounds soothing, weights appealing, and a spin class – sure!

This dumbbell workout came about the other week when I was chatting with P as to what would compliment the reverse fly: regular fly or chest press? He picked the chest press, so I started with a superset of said exercises and progressed from there. Four supersets later, and I had a solid upper and lower body workout.

Per my explanation of supersets in this post, I feel it semi-inaccurate to call sets 2 through 4 “supersets”, as they don’t necessarily work the same or opposing muscle group; but you’ll excuse me, won’t you? It is an engaging workout, nonetheless, sculpting a few of my favorite muscles — the deltoids and derriere.

What You’ll Need

set(s) of dumbbells – adjust weight if needed
yoga mat – optional

Exercises

Notes

Reduce the reps to 10 if 15 seems too much

& more >>

Dumbbell Superset Workout – one of my favorites that I do regularly (and uses antagonistic supersets)
Arms & Abs Superset Workout

Pre-Half Marathon Training

May 18, 2015 by Hillary 5 Comments

I officially start training for my 7th half-marathon one week from today! I suppose you could call these past two weeks of workouts “pre-half marathon” training, albeit being unintentional; 90% of the time, I’m just training for life.

Here’s what pre-training has looked like: lots of gym time and not much outdoor running.

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Workouts | Week of May 4

Monday – 45 minute treadmill walk (very slow – didn’t feel well)

Tuesday – back to normal!

warm-up: (4x) 25 jumping jacks / 5 inch worm push-ups

burpee squat challenge @ 25lb. (1 round of burpees / 1 round of squat drops)

(2x)

25 high knees
10 snatches @ 25lb.

(2x)

25 high knees
10 high pulls @ 25lb.

(2x)

10 squats @ 10lb.
10 jump squats @ 10lb.
10 lunges @ 20lb.
10 jump lunges @ 20lb.

25 minute treadmill (15 run + 10 walk)

15 minute run intervals: 5 x 1 min. each 6.5 / 7.5 / 8.0mph

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday –

warm-up: jumping jacks/high knees
Dumbbell Superset Workout (3 rounds x 12 reps using 15/20/25lb.) + 5 x 10 no-push burpees
4-3-2-1 Treadmill Workout (7.0/7.5/8.0/9.0 mph) + 10 minute treadmill Walk

Friday – 60 minute yoga class/Rest

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – 30 minute hilly run with P + 45 minute walk

Workouts | Week of May 11

Monday –

25 minute treadmill (15 walk + 10 run)
20 minute Stair Master
(5x) 8 push-ups / 5 toes-to-bar
stability ball tucks + stability ball v-ups

Tuesday –

20-Minute Tabata Kettlebell Workout + 5 x 10 spinal roll-ups + Bikini Yoga Flow

Wednesday –

warm-up: (4x) 25 jumping jacks + 5 inchworm push-ups
(3x) 10 jumps squats @ 15-18lb. + 5 manmakers using 10lb. DB
(3x) 10 med. ball woodchoppers each side + 10 side dips @ 25lb. each side + 5 squats @ 50lb.
(3x) 5 toes-to-bar + 5 push-ups
(5x) 10 gate swings + 5 burpees

35 minute treadmill:

2 min. walk + 8 min. run hills (6.0)
2 min. walk + 8 min. run sprints (9.0mph)
2 min. walk + 8 min. run hills (12.0)
5 min. walk

Thursday –

30 minute treadmill walk (2 mi.) + 15 minute Stair Master

Friday – 50-60 minute Strong Pump class (terrible class, ugh!)

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – 40 minute treadmill (alternating 5 min run/5 min walk) + 60 minute Strong Pump class (10x better than Friday’s)

Blast from the past | Power Up Your Workouts with Positivity

Arms & Abs Superset Workout

December 10, 2014 by Hillary 2 Comments

Please “Like” my Holiday Super Oats™ Granola recipe on Facebook & Pinterest to enter the GIVEAWAY. Voting ends Friday, 12/12. Thanks for your support!

Good morning and happy Workout Wednesday! By the way, I found the above image on Instagram – ain’t it cute?

I am trying to get back into the swing of using my creativity (if you can call it that!) to construct more original Nutrition Nut workouts for you. Have you tried the plyometric workout from last week?

Today’s workout is short ‘n’ sweet, and would be a great compliment to cardio. Remember: weights then cardio.

If you’re unfamiliar with supersets, here’s a brief explanation.

What’s a superset?

A superset is a combination of one exercise performed right after the other with no rest in between them. There are two ways to implement a superset:

1. Using Two Exercises for the Same Muscle Group

The first way is to do two exercises for the same muscle group at once. For example, doing cable curls immediately followed by dumbbell curls is an example of a biceps superset. The drawback to this technique is that you will not be as strong as you usually are on the second exercise. However, this is a great technique to pre-exhaust a muscle and really isolate it.

2. Using Two Exercises for Antagonistic Muscle Groups or Different Muscles

The second and best way to superset is by pairing exercises of opposing muscle groups such as back and chest, thighs and hamstrings, biceps and triceps; or different muscle movements such as shoulders and calves, upper abs and lower abs. When pairing antagonistic exercises, there is no drop of strength whatsoever once your cardiovascular system is well conditioned; this is a great way to save time!

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