Intense TOTAL BODY Workout // Strength Training

Wow! The title of this workout is no joke! It is intense! And it is an excellent and thorough total body strength workout. Intense Total Body Workout // Strength Training is a cardio + strength circuit based workout from Heather Robertson. This is the last dumbbell workout I will be doing for nearly 2 weeks. I am headed on vacation today and I chose a perfect workout to send myself off with, too. I love the structure of this workout. I am a big fan of cardio + strength workouts and this one is very well put together. The exercises are done to a slow enough pace so that you can lift heavy dumbbells but since just about every strength move is a compound exercise your heart rate remains elevated throughout the workout. I also love that the exercises are repeated. No repeat workouts are fun, but I feel the need for repetition in a workout to ensure the targeted muscles are well worked. And this workout worked me so well! Heather has so many winner workouts but this is definitely up there as one of her very best.

This workout is made up of 4 circuits consisting of 3 exercises: 2 strength exercises and one cardio exercise. Each circuit is done three times before you move on to the next circuit. The exercises are done interval style: 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest. There is a timer in the lower right hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery Heather previews the next exercise.

Intense Total Body Workout // Strength Training is 45:12 minutes; 3:15 minute warm up and 4 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells and a fitness mat. Heather is using 10, 15 and 25 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

Circuit 1:

1. Bent over underhand row (palms face forward) (30# DBs)
2. Chest press (lay on mat, knees bent and feet on ground, hips are raised in bridge the entire interval) (20# DBs)
3. Burpee jacks (no push up, one plank jack and when you stand, one regular jumping jack)
4. Repeat #1-3 two more times

30 second rest

Circuit 2:

1. Goblet squat (one 40# DB)
2. Deadlift (35# DBs)
3. Squat jump jacks (one squat jump + one jumping jack)
4. Repeat #1-3 two more times

30 second rest

Circuit 3:

1. Walking plank (alternate forearm plank with straight arm plank)
2. Kneeling French press (overhead tricep extension while kneeling on both knees, bottom resting on heels) (one 25# DB)
3. Front swing (kettlebell swing holding one DB in both hands, swing DB overhead before lowering) (one 25# DB)
4. Repeat #1-3 two more times

30 second rest

Circuit 4:

1. Alternating reverse lunges (20# DBs)
2. Squat, curl & press (squat + hammer curl into overhead press) (16.5# DBs)
3. Back and forth inchworm (start standing, hinge forward, walk hands out until you are in straight arm plank, jump feet to hands, stand and jump, hinge forward, place hands on mat, jump feet out to plank, walk hands back to feet, stand and jump)
4. Repeat #1-3 two more times

For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.