Bob Harper’s Totally Ripped Core

Another tough workout from Bob Harper; however Totally Ripped Core is not as tough as most of Bob’s other workouts that I possess (and I possess most of his non-Biggest Loser workouts). It is challenging tho, make no mistake. And I really like it. This workout is not a strength workout exactly and not a cardio workout… exactly. It is metabolic strength training with a core focus. I was out of breath and sweating through most of it.  It hits your entire core and some lower body, too. You will need a set of dumbbells for this workout. I used 8 pound dumbbells.

There are two workouts on this DVD. The main 48 minute core workout and a shorter (11 minute) core workout.

For this workout Bob is back in the bright, white studio he used for Total Body Transformation and Ultimate Cardio Body. His crew is three women and a man named Angel (I remember his name because Bob addressed him the most; also, Angel had poor form during a lot of the exercises). The timer is back at the bottom right of the screen. It counts down the length of the workout and also tells you what exercise you are doing. Plus it alerts you when you are 25% through the workout, 50% and 75%.  The workout starts out relatively easy, but then really ramps it up.

**2/13/14 update: Today is the day after doing this workout and I am sore! My entire core, from front to back, from ribs to hips (including low back). He hits everything and hits it hard! I am now really impressed with this workout and will make an effort to use it more frequently.

Totally Ripped Core is 48 minutes long; 2 minute warm up, 43 minute training period and 3 minute cool down/stretch. Here is a list of the moves in the order in which they appear. I am using the names that Bob gives them on the timer in the right hand corner of the screen. I will elaborate on what it means if it doesn’t seem clear.

Deadlifts
Deadlift combos (deadlift, raise dumbbells to shoulders and twist to side, keep alternating)
Weighted side crunch (one dumbbell behind head, the other held along the side of the body, standing side crunch)
Windmills (with dumbbells)
Weighted side crunch
Windmills
Weighted Squats
Plyo Squats (still weighted)
Deadlifts
Deadlift combos
Windmills
Weighted side crunch
Windmills
Weighted side crunch
Single leg deadlift (balance move)

Single leg side raise
Weighted Squats
Plyo squats
Rollback series (lower to sitting, roll back feet over head, then roll up to standing, never using your hands–good luck!)
Hold squat
Side burpees
Side plank series (raise and lower hips, then reach arm overhead and under body)
Back extension
Straight arm planks
Side burpees
Side plank series
Tabletop (one arm held out staight in front of you and opposite leg held out straight–for a long time)
Child pose stretch
Killer plank twists (very challenging, bend knee under body pointing toward the opposite side, bend arms in a partial push up and straighten leg)
Planks
Child pose stretch
Tabletop challenge (awkward airplane pose)
Fast feet series (fast feet alternated with 180 jumps)
Russian squat kicks
Rollback series
Crunch series
Scissors
Straight leg reaches
Straight leg twists
Roll and extend
Bicycle legs

Quick Core Blast is 11 minutes. You will use one dumbbell for this workout

Windmills
Single leg extension combo (holding dumbbell in both hands reach it out in front you as you extend your leg out behind you then, without touching foot to ground, bring leg up to knee raise in front to crunch abs)
Reverse lunge (twisting the dumbbell to the side at the bottom of the lunge)
Windmills
Single leg extension combo
Standing twists
Single leg X-formation
Static sumo squat
Single leg X-formation
Static sumo squat