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- Try This 3-Circuit Home Workout From Trainer Massy Arias – It Takes Just 10 Minutes
Try This 3-Circuit Home Workout From Trainer Massy Arias – It Takes Just 10 Minutes
Massy Arias
Massy Arias, a NASM- and ACE-certified personal trainer who has worked with the likes of Jordin Sparks and Kelly Rowland, said that she’s a huge fan of circuit training. One of the benefits she highlights is weight loss due to the minimal rest in between exercises as well as the emphasis on strength in addition to cardio, allowing people to challenge their muscles and increase their heart rate at the same time.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a more advanced level because at the end of the day, you’re performing one movement after the next movement after the next movement with no breaks in between,” Arias said. “There’s always an insane range of possibilities in terms of the movement and the sequences that you use and what you want target.”
Arias created a 10-minute circuit-based workout for POPSUGAR that you can do right at home. It includes three mini circuits total that feature a cardio-focused move, one lower-body move, and a move for the upper body and core. You’ll be done in a flash and will complete a range of both basic and compound exercises.
10-Minute Home Circuit Training From Massy Arias
Equipment: a workout mat (recommended), a set of dumbbells of your choosing (optional), and a kettlebell (also optional).
Directions: Before you begin your workout, make sure you do a few warmup exercises. Do the three exercises in circuit one for one minute each, then rest for 20 seconds before moving to the next circuit, where you’ll repeat the format over again for circuits two and three. The goal is to perform each movement at a decent pace for the entire minute, and you can modify as needed. See the breakdown in more detail ahead. Don’t forget to cool down with some stretches afterward.
Circuit One
- Goblet squat: 1 minute
- High plank: 1 minute
- Jump rope: 1 minute
Rest for 20 seconds.
Circuit Two
- Hip thrust: 1 minute
- Bear crawl: 1 minute
- Burpee: 1 minute
Rest for 20 seconds.
Circuit Three
- Bulgarian split squat: 1 minute
- Dead bug: 1 minute
- Jump rope: 1 minute
Rest for 20 seconds.
Add this workout to your next sweat session, or do it as a standalone routine when you want to keep your exercise time short and sweet. For a step-by-step breakdown of these moves, keep reading. Plus, check out Arias’s training programs on her website.
Massy Arias
Circuit 1, Exercise 1: Goblet Squat
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder width with your toes pointed slightly out. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest level with both hands. (If you do not have a weight, simply keep your hands at chest level.)
- Keeping your back flat, push your hips backward, bend your knees, and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor and your elbows are close to your knees.
- With your weight focused on your heels, push yourself up to the starting position to complete one rep.
- Continue for one minute.
Massy Arias
Circuit 1, Exercise 2: High Plank
- Start resting on all fours. With your palms flat, raise up off your knees onto your toes. Keep your hands directly below your shoulders.
- Engage your abs, pulling your belly button in.
- With your head and spine in line, keep your back flat – don’t let it curve. Picture your body as a long, straight board.
- Hold for one minute.
Massy Arias
Circuit 1, Exercise 3: Jump Rope
- Jump rope in place for one minute.
- If you don’t have a jump rope, you can jump in place without one.
Rest for 20 seconds before moving on to circuit two.
Massy Arias
Circuit 2, Exercise 1: Hip Thrust
- Sitting on the ground with your legs extended, rest your upper back against a stable bench or chair.
- Arias doesn’t use weights here, but if you have a dumbbell or kettlebell, you can place it directly above your hip joints, holding it in place with your hands.
- Brace your core. As you drive your heels into the ground, squeeze your glutes and lift your hips up until they’re even with your knees.
- With control, lower back down to the ground. This is one rep.
- Continue for one minute.
Massy Arias
Circuit 2, Exercise 2: Bear Crawl
- Start on all fours with your knees below your hips and your hands below your shoulders. Set your spine in a neutral position, and draw your shoulder blades down and back. Tuck your toes, then lift your knees off the mat, resting on the balls of your feet.
- Take a small step forward with your left foot and your right hand at the same time, ensuring that you keep your abs engaged so your torso remains parallel to the ground.
- Take a small step forward with your right foot and your left hand at the same time, once again ensuring that you keep your abs engaged.
- Continue alternating until you’ve reached the end of your mat or have taken ten steps (if you don’t have a yoga mat), then repeat this motion backward.
- Continue for one minute straight.
Massy Arias
Circuit 2, Exercise 3: Burpee
- Start standing with your feet shoulder-width distance apart.
- Bend at both your hips and knees, placing your hands on the floor in front of your feet. Make sure to keep your spine in a neutral position.
- Jump both of your feet backward so your legs are completely extended behind you, resting on the balls of your feet. Your body should be in one straight line from your head to your heels; this is a plank position. To advance the move, do a push-up from your plank position, as Arias demonstrates.
- Next, jump both of your feet up to your chest, once again ensuring that your feet remain shoulder-width distance apart.
- Jump up into the air, extending your arms above your head, and land with control.
- This counts as one rep. Repeat for one minute.
Rest for 20 seconds before moving on to circuit three.
Massy Arias
Circuit 3, Exercise 1: Bulgarian Split Squat
- Grab a pair of dumbbells of your choosing and hold them at your sides, though you can perform this move as a bodyweight exercise like Arias does here. Place the toes of your right foot on a bench, box, stair, or chair.
- Make sure your left foot is out far enough so that when you lower your hips, your knee stays over your ankle.
- Bend your left knee, squeeze your right glute, and lower your pelvis toward the ground. Your back knee should be hovering over the ground.
- Press your left heel into the ground to straighten your left knee, so that you come back to standing. This completes one rep.
- Continue for a minute.
Massy Arias
Circuit 3, Exercise 2: Dead Bug
- Lie on your back with your arms extended upward directly over your chest. Bend your knees and bring your legs into tabletop position, ensuring your knees are stacked over your hips and your shins are parallel with the floor. This is your starting position.
- Draw your ribs in to engage your core. Bring your left arm back and down toward the floor alongside your head, and at the same time, extend your right knee and hip to lower your right leg toward the floor. Ensure that your arm and leg are lowering at the same speed and that you maintain a neutral spine.
- Raise your left arm and right leg to return to the starting position. This counts as one rep.
- Continue alternating sides for one minute.
