Warming Up with Cardio.
Avoiding cardio is not an option. There are some cases in which lots of cardio can be unwise. But unless you always have a hard time putting on some weight and remain skinny no matter how much you eat, too much cardio can be counterproductive. Nonetheless, working out while your muscles aren’t warmed up will lead sooner or later to injuring yourself. As a general rule, thirty minutes of warming up is perfect. You can either add or take fifteen minutes to your warm-up if you want to lose some fat or preserve your weight and focus on bulking up respectively. As I know cardio can be tedious, I recommend you find whichever you find most relaxing and entertaining. But no walking is allowed! Here we are looking to take it up a notch, so either running, biking or any other activity that demands a comparable amount of effort is great. Remember to take your girly workout playlist with you!
Donkey Kicks with Fire Hydrant
This is a complete exercise that combines the benefits of both exercises from which it is named after. To perform this exercise, you must first go down on the floor on your hands and knees. I suggest getting a yoga mat or any kind of blanket to avoid hurting your knees. Once in this position, keeping your leg flexed, we are going to raise our legs, one at a time of course. Keeping our butt muscles tight, we are going to perform this movement slowly and lower our legs, aligning our knees with our spine.
From there, trying to keep our knees at the same height, we are going to move our legs sideways towards our chest and opposing arm. This exercise does wonders for your butt muscles and your side abs, which can be a pain to train. As this is no beginner’s workout, we will do five sets of thirty raises with each leg. You can see how to perform this exercise in this video. As you can see you can add a band for better results!
Donkey Kicks Pulses
Just like we did in the first part of the previous exercise, we are going to perform the donkey kicks. But instead of performing a sideways movement with our leg, with our leg in the air and aligned with our spine, we are going to make slow and controlled thrusts upwards. Remember to keep your butt muscles tight while your leg is in the air and feel the push as it puts your muscles to work. To get the maximum efficiency out of it, we are going to work on one leg first and then the other one. After you finish the first set of the first exercise, change your leg to avoid excessive tiredness in your leg muscles. Five sets of thirty reps each will have your glutes on fire by the second set, and we are only getting started! Take a look at this instructive if you have any doubts!
Glute Bridges
Now that we are starting to feel our glutes are starting to burn a little, let’s get to something a bit easier. The reason why we are continuing with this exercise is that our glutes are well warmed up by now, so we will realize very easily if we are doing this correctly. Lay on the mat facing the ceiling and place your arms at the side of your body. Bend your knees and place your feet at shoulder width while placing the sole of your feet firmly on the floor.
Now we are going to raise our abdomen upwards while keeping our shoulders, feet, and arms on the floor. Push with your glute muscles as much as you can, to feel them working as you go up and down. Once you have your belly in the air, hold that position and the tension for five seconds and go back down, controlling the movement at all times. Five sets of twenty reps are what I recommend for this exercise. Here in this video, you can see how to perform a glute bridge!
Bicycle Crunches
After the cardio and the previous exercise, we are ready to start working out our abs. This is one of the easiest exercises that target the core region. But that is because you are probably aiding your core region with the rest of your body without realizing it. Also, it works most of the muscles in the region, which makes it more of a light exercise. To perform this exercise, lay on the mat or blanket facing upwards, your legs extended, and your hands behind your neck. From this position, raise one leg and direct the knee towards your chest while your opposite elbow moves towards your knee. Alternate the movement of your knees and elbows with each rep. I suggest doing twenty or thirty reps and five sets in total. This exercise is third in line because it prepares your core region for the following ones, while not being too tiring on them. Here’s how to perform bicycle crunch!
Side Leg Raises and Hold
Oblique abs are one of the hardest muscle groups to isolate to work out independently. But this exercise not only puts them to work alongside your side butt but also will get rid of the fatty tissue on the sides! Also, this will help you achieve a more defined waist if you are looking for a bikini body or an hourglass figure! Lay on your mat, but this time sideways. With your body in this position, lift one leg and hold it there for twenty seconds. Do this fifteen times with each leg, which makes up for one of five sets. A common mistake is trying to help lift your legs with your neck. This is an obvious don’t, as you are creating useless tension in your back muscles to no avail! Watch this video to avoid adding unnecessary tension to your back and neck!
Squats
If you thought you were getting out of this workout without some squats, sorry to disappoint! It is one of the hardest exercises to perform in this list and is a usual suspect for a reason: it works wonders! To perform a squat, stand and place your feet firmly on the ground at hip width. With your arms in front of your body and keeping your back straight, lower your glutes slowly. Make sure that your knees surpass the line that connects the tip of your feet. This can greatly harm your back and knees, so we are going to try to avoid that. Only because I’m in a good mood today, I’ll be good and suggest “only” four sets of fifteen reps each. If you feel like you can do one more set, then go ahead! Your glutes will both thank you and hate you afterward! Here you can see how to perform a perfect squat!
Reverse Crunch
One of my favorite exercises not only on this list but ever! Reverse crunches are very fun because not only puts to the test our lower core area like a few others, but it is also very different from any other exercise. And we have to keep our balance on top of it! To perform a reverse crunch we have to lay on the mat facing upwards, our legs extended, and arms to the side of our body. Raise your heels so they are resting slightly above the floor and from there, flex your legs and direct both of your knees towards your chest.
Slowly and as fluently as you can, once you reach position two, lift the lower part of your back from the floor and raise the sole of your feet towards the sky. Do this without lifting your shoulders from the mat. From there return to the starting position tracing back your movements. Five sets of thirty reps each should do the trick! In case you are wondering how to perform it exactly, watch this tutorial!
Abs, Abs, Abs
The muscles in our core region are very important in our everyday life. They hold most of the weight of the body and are in constant action. So it is not a bad idea to add some more exercises that work in this area in particular. I have recommended here as well as in my previous workout articles many exercises that target this area. If you have found any in particular that is difficult for you or feel your muscles working more than with others, add it to the end of your routine! Every exercise puts the abdominal region to work, so it is best to leave the abs for the end of your workout to prevent fatigue. I am very fond of five sets for a good workout and thirty reps. But I leave this to you if you pick a particularly hard exercise! Don’t push yourself too hard! In this workout, you can see a lot of exercises that work your abs. Choose the ones you love the most and get to it!
Plank
I don’t like to recommend a lot of exercises that work out the arms because biological males tend to develop the muscles in this area quickly. And we would be drifting away from the objective of a feminine-looking body. If it is the fatty tissue that you want to burn in this area, let me know in the comments below so I can create a routine for that end. To bulk up some muscle in the upper region of your body, the plank is a great exercise.
To perform a plank, lay on the floor facing downwards, place the palm of your hands on the floor, extend your arms, and hold the weight of your body. I like to end my workout by holding a plank as long as I can, reaching what is called fatigue. Continuing to work out after doing the plank can prove not only tiring but also ineffective. Here you can see how to perform a plank in case you were wondering!
And that’s all! This workout is not intended for you to do every day. Three, maybe even four days a week of this intense routine and you will see results sooner than you think! Remember to always stretch thoroughly when you finish exercising. Stretching will not only alleviate some of the post-workout pains but also help develop your muscles properly for max efficiency! Grab your sexiest workout outfit and matching sports bra, and let’s get to sweat! Let me know in the comments below if you want more articles like this with intense workouts! See you soon.