With three “chunks” of movement patterns, based around (1) wood chops, (2) lunges, and (3) side planks and squats, you’ll have a total body burn in only 8-minutes time. The single piece of equipment required is one medium-heavy dumbbell.
It’s hard to believe it all comes down to this. Over the past month, we have set our intention on embracing 10 manageable healthy lifestyle steps. I’ll speak for myself and say that some days have gone well. And other days, I’ve lit the resolution on fire, burned it to the ground, and used the insurance money to buy margaritas. That’s why and where commitment number 10 comes in: Give Yourself Grace. Every day will not be good, but there is good in every day. We should give ourselves credit for good intentions, even when our actions fall short. Life is long. If today was a mess, use it as a message for tomorrow to do better. Then… do better.
Let’s embrace the fitness commitment of 8+ minutes of exercise a day. I give you this 8-Minute Total (upper-lower-middle) Body Strength and Mobility workout. It only requires one weight, and- in a pinch- you could use a water bottle. What’s exceptional about this strength program is that every single move is compound, which means it works multiple muscle groups at one time. If coordination is not your strong suit, I would recommend watching the video first to familiarize yourself with the moves.
I wish I could go back to the lyric where I meant to say “We don’t run away from challenge, we run headfirst toward it,” but accidentally said “We don’t run away from trouble, but run headfirst toward it.” I really, re-he-heally kicked myself for that verbal mistake. But it was a done deal. The set was taken down and I was not reshooting for one goofed line– nor wasting half a day trying to “fix it” with the generic Band-Aid of a bad voice over.
Clarification: Don’t run headfirst toward trouble. Do run unabashedly toward challenge. It leads to change. What challenges you can change you. What gets you into trouble may land you in the deepest doo doo of your life. Do not run headfirst into trouble. PSA.
Listen for that line, but more importantly, listen to all of the GOOD stuff in this video. Because there is a lot of good. Help me get out of my own head with the 1-second goof by lauding the (otherwise) great stuff in this 8-minute workout. Humbly, here goes…
There are 12 40-second segments in this video. They break down to 6 moves, performed on both sides. Here’s what you can expect.
COMBO 1 (The Wood Chop Combo)
Exercise 1: Hammer Curl to Press to Wood Chop
Perform one hammer biceps curl (curl the dumbbell up vertically), then press it overhead. Grip your free hand over your hand holding the dumbbell. Exhale, rotate at your trunk, and chop the dumbbell outside your opposite knee.
Exercise 2: Halo to Wood Chop
A halo lassos the dumbbell around your head- you may also have heard it called a ribbon. The intention is shoulder mobility. After the halo, chop the dumbbell outside of your knee while performing a lateral lunge. Next, halo to the opposite side and chop outside the other knee as you lunge laterally. If you don’t overthink it, the movement pattern will naturally flow side-to-side… see video.
Combo 2 (The Lunge Combo)
Exercise 1: Triceps Kickbacks to Curtsy Lunge
Perform one triceps kickback, then take the leg on the loaded side and weave it through to a curtsy lunge. Try to point your toes and touch your shoelaces to the ground on the curtsy lunge. If that isn’t available to you, grip the floor with your toes.
Exercise 2: Rainbow Lunges (with or without high impact transitions)
Lunge to one side and hold the dumbbell in front of your knee. Lift the arms long overhead, like a rainbow, and swivel to the other side. Be sure to lift the heels and pivot on the toes. To intensify, jump, instead of pivot, to the other side.
Combo 3 (The Side Planks & Squats Combo)
Exercise 1: Squat, Long Jump, 180-degree turn
Hold a dumbbell at the heads on each side. Sink down through a squat, the explosively leap forward. As you leap (long jump), reach the arms out away from you. Land lightly, toe-to-heel. Jump or step around 180-degrees to turn to the other side. Repeat.
Exercise 2: Upright Row to Side Plank with a Lift
Perform one upright row, then squat and plant the weight on the ground. Step out to staggered-stance in a side plank. Hold. Lift the dumbbell up, lining up wrist over shoulder over shoulder over wrist. Reverse the process and repeat.
Enjoy the muscular endurance, mobility, total body challenge. And… give grace to the “run forth into trouble” slip. Stay out of trouble. But run headfirst into challenge. Nothing cool ever happened in your comfort zone. Get challenged and uncomfortable; it’s where breakthroughs happen.
Create a Login at BrookBenten.com to be sure that you don’t miss news on this site. You’ll be notified every new blog post.
You may connect with me on my favorite social media platform, ,Instagram. You can also find me dodging politics on Facebook, running on Strava, poorly understanding Twitter, and applauding boss babe career achievements on LinkedIn.