WORKOUT

This work­out serves as Day 7 of our 10-day Chal­lenge, Func­tion­al­ly Fit with Nicole, but can also serve as a stand­alone workout.

Focus & Ben­e­fits: Get ready to dive into some HIIT car­dio and core inter­vals, no jump­ing need­ed! While this work­out can be com­plet­ed body­weight only, I’ll be using light weights for many of the exer­cis­es. In each 3‑exercise cir­cuit you’ll com­plete car­dio exer­cis­es, each with an empha­sis on core! To wrap things up, we’ll tack­le a 4‑minute abs fin­ish­er. Grab some light dumb­bells and let’s get our sweat on.

Equip­ment: Light dumb­bells (I use 3 and 5 lb) and an option­al mat.

Tips & Help­ful Infor­ma­tion: We’re tak­ing on this work­out taba­ta-style! This means short bursts of activ­i­ty, paired with short­er peri­ods of rest. Each of our four cir­cuits has 3 exer­cis­es, which we’ll com­plete for 2 rounds, 20 sec­onds on / 10 sec­onds off. Press pause any­time you need more rest!

There’s no doubt, taba­ta-style work­outs can be tough because they chal­lenge your anaer­o­bic sys­tem, fol­lowed by lit­tle rest. But, the good news today is that our move­ments are all low-impact with the abil­i­ty to be mod­i­fied and move at your speed. So, feel free to make it a burn­er OR more of a mod­er­ate rou­tine. Either way, it will be effective!

While our main cir­cuits have a fair amount of abdom­i­nal and core sta­bil­i­ty work mixed into the car­dio, I’ve added a short, 4‑minute core fin­ish­er onto the end to fill in any gaps.

To make this more wrist-friend­ly, you may choose to opt out of the spi­der plank, inch­worms, and bear hov­er. Feel free to swap anoth­er exer­cise from this work­out or choose some­thing com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent that feels good. You’ll see me make fists from time to time in plank-type exer­cis­es to help neu­tral­ize the wrist joint and relieve pressure.

Dif­fi­cul­ty & Mod­i­fi­ca­tions Explained: This is rat­ed a 3 out of 5 due to the low-impact nature and scal­a­bil­i­ty of the exer­cis­es. Your per­ceived exer­tion lev­el could be great or less, depend­ing on weights used, mod­i­fi­ca­tions tak­en, and/​or speed at which you move.

Clos­ing Note: Remem­ber, when­ev­er you come to a work­out you’re choos­ing to show up for your­self. No one else. Give your­self what you need today whether that’s an intense sweat-sesh, low key move­ment, or any­thing in between. High five!

-WORK­OUT OUTLINE-

Warmup (4:00) — 30 sec­onds each
Tor­so Rota­tions – switch halfway
OH Cross Reach, alt
Leg Curls
Side Lunge Shifts
Ski­er + Calf Raise
March and Rotate
Inchworm
Thread the Nee­dle, alt.

Work­out (16:00) — 20 sec on / 10 sec off for 2 rounds; rest for 45 sec­onds before mov­ing on to the next group.

Side to Side Ankle Tap Squat with Cen­ter Reach, alt.
Front Knee Dri­ve + Kick – R/L
Spi­der Plank to Runner’s Lunge – R/L

Lunge with Up/​Down Jab – R/L
Ski­er Swing
Stand­ing Oblique Crunch – switch halfway

WATER BREAK

Pulse Squat with Sin­gle Arm Press, alt
Curt­sy Skiers
Inchworm

Reverse Step with Row, alt.
Stand­ing Rotation
Bear Hov­er with Knee Tap

Ab Fin­ish­er (4:00) — 30 sec on / 10 sec off; 1 round
Bird Dog Crunch – R
Bird Dog Crunch – L
Plank Knee Taps, alt.
Mod Side Plank with Knee Dri­ve – R
Reverse Crunch + Toe Reach
Mod Side Plank with Knee Dri­ve – L

Cooldown (4:00) — 30 sec each
Long Body Stretch
SL Ham­string Stretch – R
Pir­i­formis – R
SL Ham­string Stretch – L
Pir­i­formis – L
Cat Cow
Kneel­ing Shoul­der Stretch – R
Kneel­ing Shoul­der Stretch – L