The Arms & Abs AMRAP Workout

Push your upper body and core to the limit with this quick yet challenging Arms & Abs AMRAP-style workout!

Welcome to another great Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up where Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama and I bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us each week by reading along, linking up and grab the button to proudly display on your blog/in your posts! 

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When it comes to the weekend, I typically only do one kind of workout: long runs. I was supposed to log a few taper miles last weekend to prep for this weekend’s Rock’n’Roll Dallas Half Marathon (btw, you can get $15 off Rock’n’Roll full and half marathons with code “RNRRNB2018“), but my foot was acting up a bit. Rather than push my foot with a race coming up, I decided to get in a solid upper body workout instead. 

Will’s sister, who is an avid crossfitter, was visiting, so I threw together a somewhat crossfit-inspired upper body and core workout for us to do. 

When I first looked at the workout I’d written out, I didn’t know how challenging it would be, but about five minutes into round one I was feeling the burn. As I type this, my triceps are still sore.

Moral of the story? Don’t underestimate this workout. 

How to do the moves:

Bicep Curls: Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms by your sides. Hold a light-medium weight dumbbell in each hand, palms facing away from you. Bend at the elbows and slowly curl the weights up toward your shoulders. With a slow and controlled motion, curl the weights back down to starting position. Repeat.

In & Outs: Sit on your bum. Lift your legs off the floor (knees bent) and lean back slightly to create a V-shape between your torso and your thighs (arms by your sides). Keeping your core tight, lean your torso back and straighten your legs until both your shoulders and your legs hover just above the floor. Using your core, pull your torso back up and your legs back in. Repeat.

Push Ups: Head over here to see how to do the perfect push-up. The goal is to get your chest all the way down and touching the floor. Feel free to drop to your knees to modify.

Reverse Butterfly Kicks: Lay on the floor, belly down, with legs straightened behind you and arms straightened out in front of you. Engage your core and lift your arms and legs off the floor as much as you can comfortably. Kick your legs in small motions up and down as if you were swimming for 20 reps per side. (NOTE: You should feel this move in your back, shoulder blades and butt!).

Tricep Dips: Start sitting on a bench or chair. Place your hands on the edge of the bench on either side of your butt. Shift your butt forward until it is no longer on the bench. You legs will be extended forward, heels on the floor. This is your starting position. Slowly lower your body by bending at the elbows (keeping them close to your sides) until your upper arm and forearm make an angle smaller than 90 degrees. Using your triceps, push your torso back up to start. Repeat. 

Russian Twists: Sit on your bum. Lift your legs off the floor (knees bent) and lean back slightly to create a V-shape between your torso and your thighs. Keeping your core tight, twist your torso and hands over to the right and then to the left for a total of 20x per side. Hold a dumbbell between your hands to make the move more difficult.

Shoulder Presses: Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Hold two dumbbells up to your shoulders, palms facing out. Straighten the arms and lift the dumbbells overhead. Return to start (slow and controlled) and repeat.

Side note: my foot is feeling MUCH better. As of now, I’m still planning on running Rock’n’Roll Dallas this weekend. I’ll actually be taking over Rock’n’Roll’s instagram stories for the race, so that’ll be a nice excuse to take the race slowly and capture all the best moments. Be sure to tune into their stories to see me (and the race) in action! 

Have workouts, fit tips or healthy recipes to share? Add them to the Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up (full rules here).

Let’s Chat:
What’s your favorite upper body workout move?