When it comes to developing a fitness routine, a common question that comes up is how to do I get everything in? How can I possibly get weight training, cardio and yoga into one week of exercising? Sometimes it seems like there aren’t enough days in a week to accomplish all of these movements. Luckily there is a simple and effective way to bring each of these styles into one amazing full body workout. Instead of splitting your days doing weight training one day, cardio on Wednesday and yoga whenever you get a chance, combine them all into one!
As a yoga and joga coach I inquired with trainer Robbie Holmes to get some advice on strength and cardio training. We both share the common thought that we don’t need to sit on a treadmill for an hour, or do yoga for an hour but rather combine all movements into one full body circuit. Circuit training allows you to gain strength and mobility while still getting your heart rate up achieving the aerobic aspect of a cardio workout. We can add in strength moves from joga and a simple recovery movement at the end to give your body some love after working hard. Robbie believes a well-balanced training program focuses on improved balance and posture, muscular strength and endurance, aerobic endurance, core strength and flexibility.
Robbie and I collaborated to make you a workout combining all three exercise types into one full body workout. Trust us when we say, your body will thank you after this.
How to perform:
Pick a kettlebell you can perform all 6 drills without setting it down. Start lying face up on the floor and perform 1 getup to a standing position. Proceed to execute the next 4 drills adding 1 rep with each drill. Once you get to exercise 5, perform 10 reps. Without rest, perform the same series on the opposite side. Rest for 1min and repeat for 6-10 sets.
- KB getup x1
- Standing Windmill x2
- Clean Squat x3
- Snatch x4
- Hovering Table to Crouching Down Dog x10
Finish with a recovery Quad Hip Stretch to 90/90
1. KB Getup: From a lying position face up on the floor bend your leg and position your foot flat on the floor from the side at which you choose to hold the KB. Position the KB vertically over top of the shoulder locking out both the wrist and elbow. While maintaining a rigid arm, drive the elbow of the free arm and the heel of the bent leg into the floor in order to lift the torso upward. As you rise, quickly slide and anchor your free hand posterior laterally behind your hip with the fingers facing away. Once upright and stable, drive the heel of the bent leg into the floor to extend the hips upward. As you rise, pull through the free leg and place your knee on the floor and don’t forget to square up your body so it is facing directly forward. Last step is to push yourself to a standing position using your legs as your stabilize the kettlebell.
To get back down, follow the same steps in reverse focusing on control and a smooth tempo. My biggest tip for this drill is to not take your eyes off the kettlebell. Always look up and focus on whatever tool you have in your hand the entire time, this will help with control, posture and stability.
2. Standing Windmill: Begin with your kettlebell in the overhead position directly above your shoulder. Position your feet slightly wider than hip width and the opposite foot from the working arm externally rotated. Start by slightly rotating away from the externally rotated foot. Simultaneously start hinging from the hip reaching downward along the externally rotated leg with the free hand. At this point be conscious of your own personal range of motion and begin to pull yourself back up using the same vertical path and rotating back to the starting position. Be sure to focus on looking at the kettlebell at all times in order to maintain stability and control.
3. Clean Squat: Begin by grabbing the kettlebell that is placed between your feet. With an internally rotated grip, drive through the legs upward while pulling the kettlebell in a vertical path toward your chest and shoulders. As you extend fully through the hips, quickly pull the elbow back under the kettlebell and catch in a racked position. Finish by dropping into a deep squat as soon as possible making your way back up into a standing position.
4. Snatch: Begin in a standing position, holding onto a kettlebell midline with your arm fully extended. Proceed into a dynamic hip hinge, pulling the kettlebell back through the upper thighs as the upper body hinges down toward the floor. Accelerate back up, pulling the kettlebell in a vertical path close to the body. As it passes around eye level, give a slight punch to reposition the kettlebell on the backside of the wrist and continue to an overhead position.
5. Hovering Table to Crouching Down Dog: Come down onto your hands and knees, heels lined up behind sit bones, knees hip width apart, wrists shoulder width apart, directly under shoulders. Push into toes and lift knees two inches off of the ground. Pull pubic bone towards your spine, pull front ribs towards back ribs, and lengthen chest forward, pushing into your hands. Once our full body is activated, take an inhale, as you exhale quickly behind to bring ribs back towards thighs, as you inhale move back into your knee hover. Move quickly with your breath through this movements 10 times.
Repeat circuit 6-10 times.
After completing your full circuit, perform a recovery stretch.
Quad Hip Stretch
- right knee is bent at 45 degrees and aligned with top right corner of mat
•left knee is bent at 45 degrees towards the left side of mat
•right sole of foot presses against left inner thigh, left foot is in plantar flexion and as
close to the left glute as possible
•take right thumb to right shoulder, extend elbow and reach hand towards ceiling,
externally rotate right shoulder and place hand on floor behind torso
•take left thumb to left shoulder, extend elbow and reach hand towards ceiling,
externally rotate left shoulder and place hand on floor behind torso (this ensures
proper distance between the hands without force, thus proper shoulder mobility)
•weight is in both hands *fingertips pointing away from the body
•inhale, press into hands into floor to open pec line and count 1,2,3
•exhale “F” sound, squeeze left glute, press left hip forward and press left knee into
floor as though squishing a grape. Simultaneously press right foot into inner thigh (the idea is to get into the lateral side of the left hip flexor) repeat x5
90/90
- open up both knee joints to 90 degrees, dorsiflex both feet
•lengthen spine to upright position and rotate on axis of spine until nose and sternum
are aligned with right knee.
•bring weight into right hand and manually push right knee down with left hand until the
whole femur bone and knee are on the floor
•walk hands forward, keeping head and chest up, shoulders away from ears
•spread fingers wide and press forward with hands, lifting chest and simultaneously anchoring right bum cheek into floor. Imagine you’re squeezing a grape between your front knee and the floor. - breathe
Switch legs and start back at quad/ hip stretch.
By Bree Guhle – Master Joga Coach, RYT and Robbie Holmes; Owner of Alligator Alley Personal Training
