B Strong, Build Stability: Low Impact [At-Home] Total Body Circuit

If you've ever trained with me or taken B Strong Body Fix, you know I lead you through an extended warm-up that looks a lot like this! These low impact, mat exercises quickly & gently warm your body & activate the muscles that support your joints. This helps you build joint stability to avoid injury & get more muscle fibers involved in your workout, which increases calorie & fat burn! So use this to get yourself warm, then attack a few videos from my Greatest HIITs series for a super effective, total body workout!

Here's the series:
A. 3 Single-Leg Glute Bridge + 1 Standard, Alternating side for Single-Leg each rep
B. Upside-down Cross-Over Crunches, Alternating sides each rep
C. Plank: 3-Leg Downward Dog, NOT alternating sides
***Perform each exercise, in order, for 10-20 total reps/exercise, cycling through the circuit 2-4 rounds.***

Notes on form:
[Single-Leg Glute Bridge]
- Drive through the heel of the foot that's on the floor & keep your lifted leg straight up, perpendicular to the floor
- Keep your core pulled super tight & your lats engaged by pulling your shoulders away from your ears
- Squeeze the glute of your working leg as you lift your hips & consciously keep your hips square to the floor - avoid letting the hip of your lifted leg sink lower than the hip of your working leg
- All of the notes about your working apply to the standard glute bridge!
[Upside-down X Over Crunches]
- Laying on belly, looking straight ahead at your mat, finger tips placed lightly behind ears, pulling shoulders far away from neck, & squeezing shoulder blades tight to pull elbows nice & wide
- Slowly lift 1 elbow & shoulder up & twist back so that you're looking directly to that side
- Lift & twist as far as you can without either hip bone lifting off the mat - if the lifting arm pulls the same hip bone off the floor, you twisted too far!
- Alternate sides with every rep
- NOTE: this move is super awkward! If you feel like a fish out of water, you're likely doing it right ;-)
[Plank: Knee Crunch to 3-Leg Downdog]
- Suck your "gut" in to pull it "out of the way" as you pull your knee straight forward to the space between your elbows
- As you extend your leg straight back, lock out your knee & lift your hips & press your chest back toward your grounded foot just like you're doing a downward dog
- Squeeze the glute of your straight, lifted leg & keep your hips square, avoiding letting the hip of your lifted leg reach farther back than the other hip
- As you lower you hips back to a plank position, be sure you re-stack your shoulders directly over your wrists & pull that knee right back to a crunch

This circuit is considered low impact, but it's still pretty challenging! Find me on FB/IG/TW @cassiebstrong to tell me how challenging you found it on a scale of 1-5!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

B Strong Greatest HIITs: At-Home Hip & Thigh Burner

Burn, baby BURN! I absolutely love this series because it gets your hips & core better connected in their partnership to stabilize your pelvis & lower back. I'll be honest, it kinda sucks in the moment, but you'll feel amazing when you're finished!!

Here's the series:
A. Bouncing Sumo Squats
B. Sumo Squat Hold + Pivots to Lunge
C. Burpee + Lateral Hop
***Perform each movement, in order, for 20sec at a time. Complete a total of 3-5 rounds, with no rest between rounds.***

Notes on form:
[Bouncing Sumo Squats]
- Keep your feet flat on the floor - if your heels lift when you squat, your feet are likely too close together
- As you squat down, your knees should point in the direction your toes are pointing
- Pull your knees wide as you squat so you feel your hips working
- As you stand, drive your heels into the floor & squeeze your knees toward each other so you feel your inner thighs working
[Sumo Squat Hold + Pivots to Lunge]
- Stay at the bottom of your squat position, knees at 90 degree angles
- Drop 1 knee & lift that heel as you pivot & turn your chest 90 degrees
- In your lunge, your back shin should be parallel to the floor, your back foot should only have the ball of your foot touching the floor, & your front foot is holding your weight mostly in your heel
- As you rotate back to your sumo squat, STAY LOW!!! Don't let the angle in your knees get any larger than 90 degrees & flatten both feet into the floor again
[Burpee + Lateral Hop]
- This is your standard, no push-up burpee, but the jump up to kick off the movement is a hop to the side instead up just straight up

How many rounds were you able to finish your 1st attempt?! Tell me on FB/IG/TW @cassiebstrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

B Strong, Build Stability: At Home Arm & Core Burner

A single set of these babies can get your body from cold & creaky to hot & sweaty... making this the perfect dynamic warm-up to bust out when you don't have much time for a workout. This, prior to any of my "Greatest HIITs" at-home drills, is the perfect quick, no excuses workout!

Here's the step by step breakdown of the series:
- Start in high plank
- Slowly lower through push-up until you're lying on your belly
- Extend arms straight forward, squeeze ankles together & lift to Superman
- Holding Superman, perform 2 lat pullbacks
- Tuck your hands & toes, then push-up to high plank
- Perform 2 Cross Under knee crunches, 1 with each leg
- Start back from the beginning & perform 6-10 total reps

Notes on form:
[Slow Push-up]
- Aim your elbows to point back behind you & pull your shoulders away from your ears as you lower
- Be sure to drive your heels back toward the floor, tighten your quads & squeeze your butt so that your lower 1/2 isn't dead weight to your arms
[Superman + Lat Pullbacks]
- Reach arms directly in front of shoulders, hands no wider than shoulders
- Engage your lats by pulling your shoulders back away from your head & engage your inner thighs by keeping legs completely straight & squeezing your ankles together
- For Lat Pullbacks, pull elbows back as if you were trying to tap them together behind your back, squeezing your shoulder blades toward each other
[Push-up]
- Same notes as above for lowering down
[Cross Under Crunches]
- Suck your "gut" in to "make room" for that knee to travel toward the opposite elbow
- Twist your pelvis so that the hip of your crunching knee stacks underneath the other hip
- When you step your foot back to plank, be sure to square your hips back up so they're side by side again

How many reps did it take for you to start sweating?! Tell me on FB/IG/TW @cassiebstrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

B Strong Greatest HIITs: [At Home] Arms & Legs Workout

Get ready for a serious BURN with this one! It doesn't look like much, but you'll feel it everywhere!! Grab a 12-18 inch high chair or bench, be sure to prop it against a wall so it doesn't move, and you're good to go! You can totally do the 1st movement on the floor, without your hands up on the chair, which will make it more challenging on your arms & core, just keep the chair nearby for the BULGARIANS!

Here's the series:
A. Tricep Pump Push-up + "Bunches of Crunches" (crunch the same knee across to opposite elbow, straight forward between elbows, then oblique crunch to the same elbow).
B. Alternating Bulgarian Split Squats & Hops (5 of each on each leg)
Alternate between movements A & B, with minimal rest between movements, until you've completed 3-5 rounds of each.

Notes on form:
[Tricep Pump Push-up]
- Hands directly under shoulders, aim your elbows back toward your hips and keep them pulled tight toward your ribcage - this is how you target your triceps.
- Once you reach the bottom of the push-up, do a pulse where you push-up only a few inches, then return to the bottom before pushing all the way back up to plank.
- Maintain a long neck, neutral spine, and tight abdominals.
[Bunches of Crunches]
- Each time you crunch your knee, brace your core as tight as you can.
- Each time you extend your leg back, do so until is straightens & squeeze your glute tight.
[Bulgarian Split Squat]
**The hop is 100% optional!**
- Place one foot on the chair or bench & keep your standing foot flat on the floor throughout the entire movement - the only time your heel should leave the floor is for the hop!
- Stand upright, without arching your back, pull your belly tight & tuck your back knee under your body as you lunge.
- Drive through the heel of your standing leg as you stand/hop.
- When you hop, land softly, bending your knee & keeping your chest upright as you land.

Grab a workout buddy and see who can finish all 3-5 rounds 1st! Who won?! Tell me on FB/IG/TW @cassiebstrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

B Strong Greatest HIITs: [At Home] Plank & Plyos Drill [2]

I love drills like this to burn out your body at the end of a workout. I also keep them in my back pocket for days I can't get to the gym and/or don't have any equipment available to me. In just 6-10 minutes, you can get your heart rate up, work every major muscle group AND get a good sweat going! You may recognize movement B from Body Fix - if so, you know what I mean when I say get ready for those hips to BURN during your skater jumps! ;-P

Here's the drill:
*1min/movement series x 3-5 rounds [no rest between movements]
A. Plank Series: Reach Each Arm Forward; Open to Each Side Plank; Gorilla Hop to Squat; Walk Feet Back to Plank.
B. 2 Skater Jumps + 2 Lateral Hops.

Notes on form:
[Plank Series]
- Engage lats, squeeze glutes, and tighten quads to maintain a straight spine & keep hips squared up with the floor.
- Avoid letting your hips twist during reaches forward.
- Keep lats engaged & neck long as you open to side planks.
[Skater Jumps]
- Leap to the side as if you're leaping sideways over a puddle.
- Land softly & bend your knee as you land to minimize impact on your joints.
- To initiate the movement, kick your landing leg sideways as you push off your standing leg to give your body more momentum to travel side & engage your obliques.
[Lateral Hops]
- Now instead of leaping, your feet stay under your body and you travel less per jump.
- Focus on landing softly & minimizing the impact on your joints.

How many rounds did it t