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Circuit 1: HEATHER ROBERTSON TOTAL BODY HIIT Workout // Strength + Cardio

Doing a 40 minute HIIT workout is daunting to say the least but when you actually finish it, it's the most rewarding and empowering thing ever. I rarely do a 40 minute HIIT because not gonna lie, they intimidate the heck out of me but today I took a chance (or risk, depending how you see it). I've been loving Heather Robertson's short and quick workouts lately and I wanted to challenge myself by doing one of her longer workouts. So glad I took a leap.

Let me just say it now: this is my most favorite workout in this quad. It killed me but I loved every second of it! First of all, I loved the combo of cardio/plyo and weight-training. The cardio/plyo exercises were a blend of ones I actually enjoy (ie. pop squats, jumping jacks, jump squats) and ones I hate (ie. burpees). The cardio/plyo exercises are there not to just add challenge to the workout but to also keep your body warm and your heart rate up through the whole routine.

The weight-training exercises are burn-tastic, especially if you're using heavy weights. I absolutely love the leg and arm exercises with weights because I really felt like that the exercises really made my muscles work bigtime. I felt it in my glutes, quads, hammies, shoulders, biceps, core- pretty much every muscle group in my body felt the burn. I think this workout is a really fantastic full body burner, making it a complete exercise. Trust me, you'll love it too.

Circuit 1: NICOLE PEARCE Stacked Pyramid Workout: Lower Body

Whoever (me) thought doing this a day after yesterday's workout is a complete idiot but at least an idiot with strong lower body.

Pyramid workouts fascinate me but I've never done one because I haven't seen a routine that's easy-ish, not to mention this type of format isn't a popular one. Pyramid workouts have different formats but this workout in particular involves a number of moves that you stack on top of each other every time you add a new move to the set. For example:

squats

squats + lunges

squats + lunges + crab walks

squats + lunges + crab walks + romanian deadlifts

squats + lunges + crab walks + romanian deadlifts + goblet squats

See how that makes a pyramid? You pretty much take it to the top every time you introduce a new move, making this kind of format feel less repetitive and more challenging. I've seen pyramid workouts with plyo and with weight-training, too.

This workout was surprisingly tiring but it felt so good on the lower body! I think my quads and glutes felt it the most, thanks to the addition of mini bands. I challenged myself by using a heavy band throughout the workout and while it was tempting to swap it for a medium band, the heavy band helped burn my legs more so in a way, it was more satisfying in the end. The star jacks was a nice finisher- a nice painful finisher. :P

Circuit 2: PSYCHETRUTH Sculpt the Glutes & Thighs with Banks!

Final leg burner for today is a nice chill pilates workout that managed to burn my legs more than the pyramid workout. I know! You think pilates isn't painful but it's tame and vicious at the same time. I think it's because of the isometric moves that burns muscles groups individually and the lack of rest breaks in between

This routine is a leg burner. I felt my glutes, calves, and quads, as well as my triceps. The routine is more of a leg toner and I also felt that it elongates my legs too. I like how low impact and chill this routine was even though it managed to make my legs sore.

Workout duration: around 35 minutes, with 1 minute rest in between circuits; warm up and cool down not included.

Circuit 1: POPSUGAR FITNESS 30-Minute Strength Training Workout With Dumbbells

This workout jolted me awake because it starts fast-paced and ends fast-paced. Seriously, make sure you're warm and wide awake when you start this workout! This is also a combo of cardio + weight-training and I gotta say, weights are nicely utilized in this workout. This routine mainly trains the upper body but it also adds in some core work and lower body exercises. The upper body exercises can easily be modified with just bodyweight as well. This workout routine isn't my favorite but it gets the job done.

Circuit 2: MRANDMRSMUSCLE Lower Abs & Oblique HIIT Workout

Giving my arms a break by doing an ab finisher. This is a quick 10 minute core workout, with moves that are easy to do and follow along, I appreciate the little modified window because it gives me an easier route without fully stopping the workout. This workout only has 4 moves done for 4 rounds. I don't like repetitive routines so that's my only complaint about this routine. The moves are great for targeting the core but it gets boring when done again and again for 4 rounds. At some point, I did a round with all modified versions just to keep myself from getting bored. But hey, at least I got a good core workout from it. I would've loved two different circuits, though.

Workout duration: around 45 minutes, with 1 minute break in between circuits; warm up and cool down included.

Circuit 1: FIGHTMASTER YOGA Yoga For Chakra Balancing (Full Body Energy Flow)

I did Day D on a busy morning so I had to cut my workout short. I opted to go for this 30 minute yoga practice to jumpstart my morning. I needed a good chill workout to give my muscles from head to toe a good stretch after those three days of intense workouts. With this routine, I didn't just get a good stretch, I also learned about chakras and a few tips on posture and good form on yoga stances. What a nice routine to do in the morning!

MY TOP WORKOUT IN THIS QUAD:

Definitely HEATHER ROBERTSON TOTAL BODY HIIT Workout // Strength + Cardio!! It was a killer but it was fun as heck. Special mention to NICOLE PEARCE Stacked Pyramid Workout: Lower Body as well. Both workouts were challenging, burning, and super fun.