Fit Tower: Legs, Glutes & Core

Legs, Glutes & Core is one of Cathe‘s advanced Fit Tower workouts. The only equipment you need for this workout is all of the Fit Tower equipment: the Fit Tower, a flat 6 foot resistance band, a resistance loop (firewalker) and a yoga mat. This workout also includes an 11:30 minute core bonus–this is in addition to the core work that is included in the main workout. The Ab Bonus is also included on the other two Advanced Fit Tower workouts: Total Body and Boot Camp. I only used the Ab Bonus in Total Body since this workout and Bootcamp contain ab work in the actual workouts.

This was a tough workout! You are not going to burn a ton of calories, but you are going to burn out whatever muscle group Cathe decides to torture. Just like any barre workout, this is high rep. You only use the bands on the lower body portion of the workout if you are doing the advanced versions of the exercises. There are 4 exercisers behind Cathe. Jen (at the very back right) shows the more advanced versions of a few of the exercises–so she is the only one using bands during the lower body portion of the workout. Cathe doesn’t even touch the bands until the core segment. In the core segment you only use the 6 foot band. The core segment was long and hard. I am not a fan of long grueling core work, so I didn’t love that part of the workout but it was definitely effective. I felt it throughout my entire core. I did really enjoy how she ended the workout with swimmers to work the back side of your core. My favorite part of course was the lower body barre work. In the future, I will probably only do the premix that does the lower body portion only. This also has an excellent, deep lower body stretch using the tower.

Leg, Glutes & Core is 46 minutes; 5:30 warm up and 6 minute stretch. The workout starts with the tower bar at a level 8 or hip level, and is at the same level after the warm up. This workout has an aggressive warm up–you will burn more calories during the warm up than any other part of this workout! The warm up starts working your legs in barre fashion immediately.

Lower Body (21 minutes):

1. Inner thigh lifts (leg straight, insole facing ceiling, pulse leg up); leg still in same position, bend knee while pushing flexed foot out as you raise leg higher 2 pushes then lower with each 2 pushes; return to pulsing with leg straight and insole facing ceiling (Jen has a loop around her ankles)
2. Face the tower, feet close together, raise onto toes and squat (keeping back straight) and pulse; changes to squatting down low (still on toes), raise halfway, squat down low again then raise all the way; changes to full single squats on toes; pulse at bottom of squat
3. Still facing tower, heels together and toes out, raise onto toes, lower into squat and pulse; changes to squatting down low (still on toes), raise halfway, squat down low again then raise all the way; changes to full single squats on toes; pulse at bottom of squat
4. Still facing the tower, raise and lower one straight leg out behind you/to the side; changes to pulses; leg still in same position, bend knee while pushing flexed foot out as you raise leg higher 2 pushes then lower with each 2 pushes; return to pulsing leg up
5. Raise one leg to the side/to the back w/ knee bent, foot and knee level (hydrant position) and pulse leg; continue pulsing while moving leg forward and back (still keeping knee/foot level); changes to circling leg while still in hydrant
6. Lower bar on tower to a level 2, lean forearm on bar while weight is on one knee the other (outside) leg is extended straight to side, raise and lower straight leg; changes to pulses at top of lift; changes to circling leg; bend and straighten leg, pressing heel away from you; add raising and lowering leg as you continue to press heel away
7. Lower bar to level 1, lay on back, scoot bottom closer to bar, place heels on bar and grip the tower base with your hands, raise and lower hips; raise one leg and pulse hips up (Jen holds band across hips, pinning it to floor on either side of hips to create more resistance)

Core (13:30 minutes):

1. Raise bar to a level 5 and drape resistance band over top of tower, sit on floor, legs extended under bar, grip one end of the band in each hand, do single leg sit ups–lower partially to floor and when you raise back up, raise one leg, alternating legs (you are also raising arms when you raise torso); changes to knee pull in–when you sit up, pull knee into chest while also pulling elbows down (you are still holding the band); combine the two versions, alternating between the two
2. Band is still draped over top of tower and you are still sitting with legs extended under bar, grip higher up on the band, lean torso back slightly and alternate pulling band down to side, bringing elbow to floor; add lifting one leg
3. Fold band in half and hold one end in each hand, raise arms/band overhead, lean side to side, bringing same side hand to floor
4. Lower bar to level 3, extend legs straight under bar and extend arms straight in front of you over bar, roll down to floor reaching arms overhead, roll back up to starting position and lift legs off floor scissoring straight legs 4x; ends by remaining at top of move while scissoring legs
5. Lay on floor, hands behind head, knees bent and feet off floor, do a full crunch, bringing elbows and knees close together then push feet out straight under bar, repeat full crunch but this time push legs out straight over bar, alternate between pushing feet under and over bar
6. Lower bar to level 1, lay on back w/ head/shoulders raised, one leg extended straight above bar, the other leg bent and pulled into chest, hold the calf of the bent knee while you pulse straight leg 2x then swap legs (pilates move)
7. Still on back, head/shoulders still raised, extended both legs straight just over bar and extended arms straight along sides, do pilates 100 (hold this position isometrically while pulsing straight arms)
8. Full boat pose with legs extended straight just above bar (you hold boat isometrically but she give you short breaks, resting heels on bar)
9. Swimmers/flutter kicks–lay on stomach with arms extended in front of you so palms are on top of bar, lift legs off floor and flutter kick; add reaching one arm back beside body while also looking toward hand while continuing to flutter kick
10. In same starting position as #9, raise legs and click heels together; changes to clicking heels together 2x then pointing toes and pulsing together 2x, alternate between these two versions

Bonus Abs is 11:30 minutes. I really enjoyed this ab add on. It was not advanced–more intermediate level.

1. Bar is at a level 3 and resistance band is draped over the top of the tower, sit under tower so knees are under bar, hold one end of band in each hand, lean back and when you sit back up, bring one knee into chest, alternate knees (you are lowering as if in full sit ups, arms extending straight at bottom of sit up then as you raise, bend elbows, pulling band back toward shoulders)
2. In same position (sitting up) as #1, still holding one end of band in each hand, extend arms straight out to sides of body (in a letter T), alternate pulling band down to floor
3. Still sitting in same position as #1, band is still draped over top of tower, but now you are holding both ends of the band together in both hands, do full sit ups while “rope climbing” the band as you raise and lower torso
4. (set band aside) Heel tap crunches–lay on back with one heel resting on bar and other leg extended straight below the bar, hands behind head, crunch up and hold, raise bottom leg so shin taps bottom of bar, lower leg back to ground then lower head; changes to singles (raising and lowering leg and head at same time); changes to raising both head and leg and holding isometrically at top of move for 3 counts
5. Low reverse crunches–lay on back with arms/hands on floor beside hips, raise legs straight to ceiling and raise and lower hips
6. Elbow to knee crunches–lay on back, one foot resting on bar, the other leg extended straight w/ calf on bar, one arm behind head (same side as foot on bar) and other arm extended straight out to side (same side as straight leg), raise straight leg while crunching up, bringing opposite elbow to knee; changes to both feet on bar, both hands behind head, raise head/shoulders and twist elbow toward one side, alternate sides
7. Lower bar to level 1, get into straight arm plank with hands on bar, alternate tapping feet in under body; ends holding plank isometrically

Premixes:

Legs & Glutes with Bonus Abs (replaces all Core exercises w/ Bonus Abs) (44:40 minutes)

Legs & Glutes Only (excludes all Core exercises) (35:15 minutes)

Legs & Core Express (eliminates some exercises) (28:24 minutes)

Core Only (Core section + stretch, no warm up) (18:41 minutes)

Double Legs & Core (Core is only done once) (67:28 minutes)

Glute Max (36:23 minutes)

Core First (45:52 minutes)

Double Trouble (main workout done 2x) (80:05 minutes)