Apr 25 2012
Where Have You Been – Upper Body Blast Workout
I missed you Team BPM! Have you missed me? I had some technical problems for a few days, but now all is fixed and I’m back! It’s been 4 days since my last video post and it feels like an eternity! I hope you have been trying some of the other workouts in the meantime!
Let’s get going with a great upper body workout, while also working the legs. Worried that you can’t hold a lunge for 2.5 minutes? There’s a modification for you. Can’t get on the floor to do a hip hinge? Use the same modification.
For all of the workouts, you can always find a way to do the full exercise, simply modify it so you can do it pain free. Find a way to make the movement work for your body and get to it!
This workout is just 15 minutes, but it will work you hard when you are performing each rep with proper form. All you need is a band and the will to work it.
You can even get a great workout without a band if you visualize the muscle and really squeeze it from within.
Remember to follow through with proper nutrition. You can’t balance out poor nutritional choices with exercise. You can’t “work off” a scone, a sugary frappuccino, or a cheeseburger. The human body simply doesn’t work that way. I know we like to imagine it does, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Somewhere deep inside you already know this is true. Haven’t you tried to work off those foods in the past? Did it work long-term?
You need to fuel your body properly through exercise and diet.
xoxo ~ Cori
Where Have You Been – Upper Body Blast Workout
Where Have You Been – Upper Body Blast Workout
SONG: Rihanna – Where Have You Been?
SONG: Rihanna – Where Have You Been?
Workout Breakdown
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Time: 15 Minutes. |
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Workout Type: Time challenge. |
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Workout Exercises: 3. |
Get your gear:
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BANDS Get your bands here |
Buy the same nutrition products as me:
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PROTEIN Get your protein here |
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SUPER GREENS Get your super greens here |
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Peanut Butter Get your PB2 here |
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EGG WHITES Get your egg whites here |
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Tea Get your tea here |
Where Have You Been – Upper Body Blast Workout
3 exercises. 5 whole minutes for each exercise. Try not to rest until you are done! Go from one exercise to the next. For beginners, going through the routine just one time a great start. If you want more burn, repeat it! Beginners, if you are concerned about being able to hold a lunge, or bend your knees in the hip hinge, simply do a modified version. You can sit on an ottoman or chair and bring one leg down and back to still get the same stretch in the hip flexors. Just remember to switch legs half way through!
Remember to post your scores! I want to know how you did! Posting your time or how many times you go through the workout right here on this page is a great way to keep track of your workouts so you know when you’re making progress!
Warm Up:
Always warm up with a dynamic warm up and rotator cuff exercises for any upper body work.
Lunge with Single Arm Band Lat Pull:
2.5 minute right
2.5 minute left
Hold a band above you, overhead. Hold a lunge position. When your right leg is back behind you, pull the band down with your right arm. If it gets tough, come up out of the lunge just a little, then drop it back down as soon as you feel like you can. Give yourself enough slack in the band so that you will be able to go for the full 2.5 minutes on each side. It doesn’t have to be extremely hard to pull because you are going for endurance, definition, and conditioning. It will start off easy, but by the end of the 2.5 minutes it will be hard. This is how you get cut.
Keep your chest up. Keep your shoulders stacked over your hips. Keep your front knee bent over your ankle. Pull the band down, driving your elbow in and towards your ribs. Squeeze your lat on that same side. Do it again. Over and over. For the full 2.5 minutes. Switch sides. Do not rest.
Don’t rest! If you absolutely have to drop the band and finish out with the arm motion, that’s fine. Just keep going and keep holding that lunge!
Hip Hinge and Single Arm Row with Band:
2.5 minutes right
2.5 minutes left
Get on your knees on the ground. It’s OK to use a pillow under your knees if it’s more comfortable. Hold the band with one hand. Row with the other, when your hips are at the top of the movement. Make sure your abs are tight and your pelvis is tucked at the top of the movement. Drop your butt back to your heels, let it hover right over you heels, bring your arms out in front of you. Squeeze your glutes tight and bring your pelvis back up to top. Row the band. Tuck your pelvis, squeeze your abs, squeeze your glutes, and repeat. Switch sides after 2.5 minutes. If it’s not burning you aren’t squeezing tight enough. Squeeze!
You may want to try rowing with your wrists and hands towards your ribs for the first minute, then for the second minute try rowing your wrists and hands down toward your hips for the second minute and a half. Rowing at different angles hits your back differently and builds a beautifully sculpted muscle.
Don’t rest! If you absolutely have to drop the band and finish out with just rowing your arms, that’s fine. Just keep going! You can get a great workout without the band, you just have to visualize and squeeze the muscle from within.
Single Arm Rear Delt Fly with Band from 3 Different Angles:
2.5 minutes right
2.5 minutes left
I’m going to push you with this one. 2.5 minutes will seem like a long time at the end of this workout. 2.5 minutes is really such a short period of time if you look at it that way. You are essentially a primate. You are made to swing from the trees and use your shoulders all day long. You can go for 2.5 minutes. Psyche yourself up. Let’s do this.
Stand up straight. Hold the band with one hand. Keep your posture erect the whole time. Keep your abs tight. Keep your core strong. With your other arm, pull the band out at a 45 degree angle so your wrists are up by the top of your head or at least your ears. Bring it back in. Pull it out at an angle parallel to your shoulder. Bring it back in. Pull it out at a 45 degree angle downward toward your hips. Bring it back in. Those are the 3 angles. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. Get the picture? Do it for 2.5 minutes. Switch.
We are working the rear delts, or the back of your shoulder. We all need to get stronger in this area. Computers, texting, driving, any movement when your arms are in front of you, has made this rear deltoid area weak. We need to make it stronger. Go. Now.
There it is. 15 minutes and a band is all you need. Want more? Repeat it.
It doesn’t come easy for me, or for anyone. You don’t get what you wish for. You get what you work for. I have to put in a lot of work to make it happen. Now it’s your turn. Start with your own personal best and try to improve each week.
Post your scores! Post how many rounds you were able to go through! Try to come up with a way to make the exercises even more challenging! Try to have better form than me!
My success comes from working very hard for it. I went through this workout just once today. Like I mentioned above, for upper body especially, I supplement my body weight workouts with additional gym workouts since I am preparing for upcoming competitions. So what was my gym workout today for back?
If you want some extra credit, try this weight workout in the gym too!
Follow Through
I like to post something about cardio and nutrition at the end of every post because it is important.
Cardio and nutrition are going to be two of the most important parts of achieving your results, no matter what what your goal is. You can not work off your nutritional decisions with exercise. What? You can’t eat a donut, then just do 2 hours of cardio and *poof* it will be like it never happened? That’s what I’m saying. Come on. No. You can’t.
Your body doesn’t work like a simple addition or subtraction problem. It is not calories in vs. calories out. What you eat has a chemical effect on your body. Even if you do cardio to ‘burn it off’ the chemical effect is still present. Different sugars have an affect. Different proteins have an effect. Different fats have an effect. When you take a vitamin, you understand that it has an effect in your body that cardio will not ‘work off,’ right? Food works the same way. Different foods have positive and negative chemical effects within our body. You can’t just work them off.
You have to unlock and unleash the body fat by working with your body in every aspect. Your body works in harmony like a symphony. When one instrument is off, the entire song doesn’t sound right. A good steady drumbeat can’t make up for a guitar that’s out of tune. 2 hours of cardio cannot make up for a donut. Or pizza. Or macaroni and cheese. Or wine and a baguette. Got it?
Cardio
I do a minimum of 45 minutes of stairs with intervals as cardio each and every day. When I’m trying to lose fat I usually do two separate 45 minute cardio sessions a day. Even while I have been recuperating from the car crash, I have still been able to do at least one session of my daily cardio. I love my cardio and I like to stay conditioned. I personally prefer to do a little more cardio than the average figure competitor, then also eat a little more. It takes more time and effort, but I feel the pay off is well worth it. The pay off is that I feel awesome. I feel energized by cardio. I love it.
Post Workout Nutrition
When I was trying to gain muscle I finished every workout with a protein shake, animal protein, and some complex and simple carbs. These are healthy choices for gaining or for performance. These are not the right choices for me for trying to lose fat, define and sculpt muscle. Trying to define and sculpt muscle is different from gaining muscle. This means I need to eat something different.
When I am trying to lose fat and sculpt muscle, I am much more strict with my diet. Only true food sources. No protein powder.
I finish up every workout with lean protein from true food sources (a little red meat, white chicken, white fish and egg whites are best) and some dark green veggies or Super Greens mixed with water only. Again, no protein powder. If you are a vegetarian you would most likely need to supplement with protein powder. If you are not, let me say again that true food sources work best for losing body fat.
Even when I am trying to lose fat, I still FEED my body.
Want more information about nutrition? Check out BPM.tv Nutrition 101.
You can also look at my current personal fat loss diet in order to get ideas on how to develop your own nutrition plan.
Cori Ann’s Prepping Fat Loss Diet:
You can click on the link to my fat loss diet to get details about what works for me, but here is the basic breakdown.
This is my meal plan while I am trying to lose fat and define muscle. My carbohydrates come from complex sources only and are kept to about 100 grams per day.
My sugar is kept at about 18 grams per day. That’s it. That is less than what is in one banana. That means fruit is not in my fat loss nutrition plan. My sugars come from minimal amounts that naturally occur in veggies and in the complex carbs I eat each day. No matter what your goal, I highly recommend you watch your sugar intake, even ‘healthy’ sugar like fruit, and moderate it to a minimum based on your own personal goals.
My protein is kept at about 250 grams per day and comes from high quality, organic, free range (or wild) lean animal sources. My fats are kept at about 40 grams per day and come from my protein and complex carbohydrate choices (not additional plant sources like olive oil, coconut, nuts, or avocado).
That equals about 1800 calories per day. I don’t drop it much lower than that.
I eat natural, organic, whole foods that I cook myself, or if possible I eat them raw. I drink 1 to 2 gallons of water and a couple cups of either coffee or tea. There is no mysterious, magical diet. If you want to lose bodyfat you need to eat a fair amount of lean protein and A LOT of green veggies at every meal. Period.
Did you like this post? Tell me in the comments!
Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments. Don’t be shy! Your comments may help to inspire another. Your questions may help someone else who has the exact same question, but is too shy to ask. I love hearing from you!
Try to come up with a way to make the exercises even more challenging! Try to have better form than me! Let’s inspire each other.
