21 Days to Total-Body Fitness

21 Days to Total-Body Fitness

Day 1: Strength

To move more weight and improve muscle definition, this dumbbell workout focuses on the body's most fundamental motions: squatting, lunging, pushing, and pulling. You're done in 30 minutes.

WARM-UP

Perform two rounds of the following without resting.

Toy Soldiers

Stand holding arms straight in front of you, palms down. Step forward and kick right leg to touch left palm, knee locked. Repeat with left leg for one rep. Do 10 reps.

Body Weight Squats

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands behind head. Squat as low as you can, back straight and chest open; stand. Do 10 reps.

Bear Crawls

Start on all fours with hips raised. Quickly step hands and feet forward for five steps, then crawl backward for five. Repeat twice.

WORKOUT

Do 16 reps each of the following three exercises, with no rest between moves. Take a 60-second breather at the end, then repeat, for five total rounds. Use lighter dumbbells for the first two rounds, then scale up to do the remaining rounds with a weight that feels challenging but can still be handled with good form, and complete every rep.

Curl-Squat-Press

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight and palms facing body, knees soft. Curl bells to shoulders, keeping shoulder blades down and back. Immediately lower into a squat, pushing hips back, chest open — this is key — and weight in heels. Lower until hips are parallel with or even below knees, then drive through heels to stand and press dumbbells straight overhead, elbows locked. Repeat.

Trainer's Tip: Move with control and power: You shouldn't bounce out of the bottom of the squat to push the dumbbells overhead. Also, try mixing up the curls to hit more muscle angles in your biceps. Alternate palms facing in (a hammer curl) and palms facing forward (a traditional biceps curl).

Walking Lunges

Stand with arms extended, a dumbbell in each hand at sides. Lunge forward with right foot, keeping torso upright, until back knee grazes floor. Press through right heel to stand; repeat on opposite leg.

Trainer's Tip: As the upper back fatigues, it's common for the shoulders to slump and the back to round. Don't let them. Check posture at the top of each rep, pulling shoulder blades down and back.

Renegade Rows

Start in push-up position with a dumbbell in each hand on floor, back flat, abs engaged. Keeping hips level, pull right hand to right side, driving elbow back; lower weight to floor. Repeat on opposite side. That's one rep.

Trainer's Tip: It's OK if feet are positioned wide. Squeeze shoulder blades together at the top of each rep to get more time under tension, and above all, be sure hips stay level to protect your spine. If you have to twist your torso to raise the weight, it's too heavy.

Original article and pictures take assets.mensjournal.com site