40MIN Full Body Strength // Day 5: HR12WEEK 5.0

40 Min Full Body Strength is Day 5 in Heather Robertson‘s HR12Week 5.0 program. This workout was tough. I managed to stick with the same weights throughout the lower body circuit, though it was getting tough, but the upper body circuit I had to drop to lighter weights for some of the exercises. Heather looked like she was gassing out during the suitcase squats. Or maybe it was a grip strength issue. Either way she had to set her weights down before the interval was over. I almost dropped to a lighter weight for the bent over rows because the first set was HARD. But I assumed (correctly) that was because I had just finished 15 minutes of lower body work with the final exercise being sumo squats–which doesn’t just work your lower body but your upper body/back, too, from holding a heavy dumbbell in front of you. After going through the entire upper body circuit once and returning to the bent over rows, I felt much stronger because my back was able to rest for 4 minutes. So recovery plays a big part in the weight you can use! Heather works your entire body, though some upper body muscles are worked as assisting muscle groups rather than getting any isolation (triceps). The biceps however get fried–first being primed with the supine rows, then isolation work then straight into a compound bicep/shoulder exercise. This workout is pretty metabolic, too. According to my Apple Watch I burned 350 calories and spent a total of 2 minutes in Zone 4 (there are 5 heart rate zones).

This is a circuit based workout. There are 2 circuits and each circuit is done 3 times. The exercises are done interval style: 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of recovery. There is a timer in the lower right hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Heather previews the next exercise. At the bottom of the screen during the preview, there is a small graphic with a weight recommendation–light, medium or heavy.

40 Min Full Body Strength is 40:07 minutes; 30 second intro, 4:35 minute warm up and 3:45 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, a yoga block and a fitness mat. Heather recommends 10 to 40 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

Circuit 1:

1. Split lunge (static/stationary lunge, back foot is elevated on yoga block, hold one DB at same side shoulder of front leg) (one 30# DB)
2. Repeat #1
3. Alternating reverse lunges (rear step back lunges) (20# DBs)
4. Suitcase squat (standard squat holding one DB in each hand at sides) (30# DBs)
5. Sumo squat (stand with legs wide and toes turned out, hold one heavy DB in both hands) (one 70# DB)
6. Repeat #1-5 two more times

30 second rest

Circuit 2:

1. Underhand row (bent over double arm row, palms face forward and arms are kept close to sides) (30# DBs)
2. In & out curls (alternate one standard bicep curls with one wide curl–arms turned out to sides and elbows kept close to sides) (16.5# DBs first set, 15# DBs last 2 sets)
3. Kneeling curl & press (in kneeling lunge holding one DB in one hand, do a hammer curl into an overhead press) (one 20# DB first set, one 18# DB last 2 sets)
4. Repeat #3 on other arm
5. Lay down push up (alternate one push up with one superman)
6. Repeat #1-5 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