Active Recap: Quad VII

by - Monday, September 30, 2019


7.


Welcome to Active Recap, where I talk/share/review the workout vids I did for the last four days. Please refer to this post to know a bit more about Active Recap and my workout format and sched.

Love,
S






DAY A


If you're looking for a good total body workout that involves cardio AND weights, then this workout is the one you need to do. Honestly, I was a bit scared/intimidated to do this because of two reasons: 1). it's cardio-packed; and 2). it's a Daniel-led workout. I usually prefer Kelli's workouts because they're more doable than Daniel's but when I saw the workout structure in this routine, I knew I had to least try it. 

When I saw that the lower body HIIT is in a Tabata format, I just KNEW that I'd enjoy the hell out of it. Tabata is my fave cardio format because for some reason, doing my 100% in 20 seconds is just thrilling. I really prefer 20 seconds of work than, say, 30 seconds because I sometimes slack halfway. 20 seconds of work just goes by so quickly and before you know it, you're done.

This workout is a great one to do because it has cardio and weight-training that trains your upper and lower body in one go. Really loved the lower body HIIT in this workout. 10/10 would recommend.


(No 2nd circuit for DAY A. This routine's tiring as it is but feel free to do it all over again or at do a second round weight training.)

Workout duration: around 38 minutes; warm up + cool down included.



DAY B


I gotta admit, Sydney Cumming's mini band workouts really does a number on my legs and glutes and I FREAKING LOVE IT!! Honestly, if you like to set your legs and glutes on fire, do a mini band workout, preferably Sydney's because they're so good! I already featured a similar mini band workout of hers in Quad IV and this one burns just as good. It doesn't involve a lot of cardio (we already did that on DAY A) but I definitely consider this as more of an active recovery/toning workout. This focuses more on resistance training, giving you a rest from the weight training for Day A's workout. 

It wasn't surprising that this workout made my glutes sore but for some reason, I felt soreness the most in my calves! Like, what?? Nonetheless, really great workout and made me sweat too!


Day B's finisher is an upper body workout because I couldn't resist making this day a full body day as well. I mean, upper body needs some love too, even if it's just a short routine! I did this routine with some light weights (2 lbs on each hand) and my arms burned quite well. It's nice to work and stretch upper body muscles at the same time and that's exactly what this workout did. Really good finisher!


Workout duration: around 45 minutes, including 1 minute rest in between circuits; warm up included. additional cool down stretch needed.



DAY C


DAY C is the official upper body day so let's start it off with an ab routine! This one is more on the pilates side, or more specifically, a weighted ab pilates routine. I like that this routine didn't involve complicated moves but rather it has simple moves that easily target the ab area. There were moves here that were all new to me and I specially loved the dynamic moves. The addition of weights added more challenge to the moves and kind of conditioned my arms to the main event: circuit 2 that's arm-centered. 15 minutes really burned my core and at one point I really thought I was having cramps but nope, it's just sore. Haha!


So the main event: arm routine! I've always wanted to do this routine and I finally got to do it now! In this routine, you do each exercise for a number of reps (ranging between 10-12, with the exception of tricep dips that's 16 reps) for about 2-3 sets. There's a 10 second rest in between reps and a 1 minute rest after each set. Now it seems like there's a lot of rest involved in this routine but trust me, you'll be thanking the heavens for those rest periods in no time. This routine made my arms burn, especially my biceps and shoulders! Fave move would have to be the reverse grip push up because this move is a new one for me and damn, it works the biceps just right. 

In this routine, Rachel works with a towel and 2 bottles of water as her equipment. Those are actually perfect substitutes if you don't have actual weights or bands at home or wherever you are. I personally used free weights and a medium pilates band because I already have them on hand but feel free to substitute if needed. 


Workout duration: around 37 minutes, with 1 minute rest in between circuits; warm up + cool down not included.



DAY D


Okay, last work hurrah for this quad is a yoga flow that targets the core. I was expecting it to be as challenging as Boho Beautiful's ab flows (those are always a challenge!) but this was surprisingly more laid back and more doable, I guess. It still made me work but it didn't make me feel too strained or contorted. Great flow with a bit of work.


I opted for a deep stretch routine just because I feel like my body needs it after all the weight and resistance training I did in the previous days. This routine focuses on lower body deep stretches and also includes a some stretches for the side body and arms. Sydney uses a resistance band/yoga strap here but as stated, you can also use a towel. I used my medium pilates band for it and also got a good stretch. This one's good to do to stretch out sore muscles, especially the legs and glutes.


Workout duration: around 35 minutes



CONCLUSION:
Weight training, resistance training, pilates, and HIIT, all in one quad. Whaaat? I absolutely love how involved weights were in this quad. I mean, even in toning exercises they were there and I love it! Overall, I great quad and I felt like I really bonded with my free weights here haha!


MY TOP WORKOUT IN THIS QUAD:
It's a tie between Fitness Blender's Lower Body HIIT Cardio and Upper Body Strength Workout and Upper Body Strength Workout and Sydney Cummings' 30 Minute Butt and Thighs Workout with Mini Bands! I absolutely love the burn these workouts gave me and I wouldn't mind doing these routines again in future quads. Yay!

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