S

Circuit 1: FITNESS BLENDER Fat Burning Cardio Workout with Relaxing Cool Down + Low Impact Cardio Modifications

Full body workout to start off this quad! I'm starting to play with my workout formats again and this time, I'm playing with low impact workouts for the first day because these workouts are great starters and they just ease you in, you know? When you have 2 to 3 days off it's nice to get back to working out slowly and LI workouts are absolutely great to do. Plus they're kinder on the joints too.

This workout is great because even if it's mostly low impact, you definitely have the option to make each move more challenging and more heart pumping. For instance, you can make the fly jack steps to full on fly jacks, do full lunges instead of just steps, or add free weights. LI doesn't necessarily mean low intensity so even if you're not jumping around, you can still get a good sweat out of it just like I did with this workout. I really loved this workout because it was chill but still made my muscles work. Also loved the toning bit at the end of the 2nd part of the workout.

This is a 30 minute workout that includes a warm up and cool down routine but if you want to do more, you can repeat either the 1st or 2nd circuit or even both. I repeated the 2nd circuit because I felt that it was longer and because of the toning part. Overall a solid routine.

Circuit 1: REBECCA LOUISE Low Impact Cardio with POPSUGAR Fitness 

Again, we're back with an LI routine but this is really more of a warm up extension for the main workout for this day. This LI routine has 2 rounds consisting of 5 moves that work all your muscles from head to toe, especially your lower body, perfect for the next circuit! By the end of this workout you'll be all warmed up and sweaty but not overly exhausted. This routine can be done twice (so about 4 rounds) for a quick twenty minute full body workout.

Circuit 2: RACHEL AUST No Equipment Butt and Thigh Home Workout

 This is the main workout for this day but be ready because this is a lower body killer. If you really want to burn your legs and butt for leg day, this is the workout to do. I swear, my legs and glutes were on serious fire after this! 

This routine can be pretty repetitive (can be annoying for someone like me who hates repeating circuits) but man, just stick with it and feel your legs burn. I swear, the first third of this workout is the main killer because man, the lunges and squat holds combo is something else. The squat holds are the real MVPs here because my quads and glutes were numb after it. Do deep squat holds for 30 seconds straight and you pretty much won't feel your legs after. You're welcome.

The other two thirds of this workout is easier than the first so it was more enjoyable and much more chill. I mean, once you finish the first combo, everything's much easier at this point. There's still some cardio like the sumo jump squats and walking lunges but you need them to keep your heart rate up. Plus, jump squats are fun to do (okay, maybe not after squat holds and lunges haha!). Super loved this workout, felt soreness the next day, 10/10 would recommend. 

Workout duration: around 40 minutes, with 1 minute rest in between circuits; warm up and cool down not included.

Circuit 1: POPSUGAR FITNESS 20-Minute Cardio and Core Workout

Upper body day part 1 starts with a good core-tastic workout. I particularly enjoyed this ab routine because I know Rebecca Louise and her workouts that are simple to follow yet burns in all the right places. I love the combo of ab exercises and plyos because it keeps me on my toes and keeps my heart rate up. The ab exercises are pretty simple and straightforward, none of those complicated moves, and easier modifications are also present so you can keep going. Love that frog jumps and planks are included in this routine too. 

Circuit 2: FITNESS BLENDER At Home Upper Body Workout for Toned Arms, Shoulder & Upper Back

Upper body day part 2 is of course a good strength-training routine with free weights. This is a 10 minute workout that will workout your arms, shoulders, and back. What I loved about this routine is the blend of weights and bodyweight exercises. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love weighted exercises but it's nice to take a break and work on bodyweight only moves, like sort of in an active recovery way. Of course the intensity of this workout will depend on your weights. I played between 5-9 lbs (I know they're not the heaviest but I'm working on it, okay) and that made my arms really work.

Since this is only a 10 minute workout, I decided to go and do it twice through to make it a 20 minute upper body routine. Not bad!

Workout duration: around 41 minutes, with 1 minute rest in between circuits; warm up not included, short cool down included.

Circuit 1: POPSUGAR FITNESS  30-minute alignment workout

I wanted to do something different for this day so I went with a somewhat stretch but not entirely routine. It was quite chill but not too relaxing like yoga flows I normally do. This one made me work on my posture and it somehow reminded me on good form for more intense workouts. I sometimes forget and forego good form during a workout so this was a nice refresher. This is a nice routine to do if you're just starting out or if you want a nice calm workout to ease you back in or if you want to get your posture and form down. I really liked this routine and wouldn't mind doing this every now and again.

Circuit 2: SARAH BETH YOGA Zen in Ten

More stretches this way! Of course I'll still sneak in a quick yoga routine because Day D will always have a yoga routine one way or another. This is for further stretching as well as a cool down of sorts for the previous circuit. This was a good routine to do because I needed those deep lower body stretches, specially on the glutes and hamstrings. Overall chill routine.

Workout duration: around 40 minutes.

CONCLUSION:

Pretty chill on the plyo department but still good on the cardio department, thanks to the LI workouts. Majority of the routines were equipment-free so they can be done anytime anywhere. I gotta admit that upper body days still need some tweaking but at least lower body days are still solid.

MY TOP WORKOUT IN THIS QUAD:

Oh definitely RACHEL AUST's No Equipment Butt and Thigh Home Workout! This was a fun but brutal lower body workout. I felt it all over and got sore but I think it helped my legs and glutes. Go do this for leg day!