20-Minute Upper Body Pyramid Workout

Equipment: Weighted objects (water bottles, dumbbells, household items), elevated surfaces
Format: Round 1: 15 seconds | Round 2: 30 seconds | Round 3: 45 seconds | Round 4: 30 seconds | Round 5: 15 seconds. Rest 15 seconds between each movement.

Pyramid 1

Exercise 1: Reverse lunge with a bicep curl

• Start standing, core tight, chest straight, and weights in both hands at chest level.
• Step your right foot back and begin to bend your back knee until it touches the ground almost at a 90-degree angle (make sure your knee doesn’t go beyond your toes and keep your chest straight).
• As you descend, perform a bicep curl with the other arm by curling the weight onto your shoulder while contracting your biceps.
• Reverse the curl as you stand up through your front heel and bring your back foot to your starting position into a squat.
• Return to standing and repeat the reverse lunge with your left leg and right arm.
• MOD: Grab a chair or wall to help stabilize.

Extra Action: Squat to Upright Row

• Start standing with your feet wider than your hips apart, allowing your feet to naturally evert.
• Hold the weighted object in your hands with your arms straight in front of you and your shoulders back and down to balance the weight pulling you forward.
• Bring your hips back, core engaged, chest straight (don’t bend forward), weight on heels, knees in line with toes.
• Pass through your heels and squeeze your glutes, and as you return to standing, pull your weight-bearing object toward your chin, leading with your elbows. Pay attention to the muscles between the shoulder blades.
• Lower your weight and repeat your squat to upright row.

Pyramid 2

Move 1: Ball (or pillow) pass

• Lie on your back with your core engaged and a pillow or exercise ball between your feet.
• Press your lower back slightly into the mat, bend or straighten your legs, bring your legs and arms together, and transfer the pillow to your hands.
• Stretch your body by raising your arms overhead and straightening your legs while keeping your lower back pressed against the mat.
• Twist the movement by bringing your arms and legs back together and moving the pillow back to your feet.
• Repeat this action back and forth.
• MOD: Keep your knees bent throughout the movement.

Bonus: Bridge Hold with Chest Press

• Begin lying on the ground with knees bent and feet on the ground, then Blueberry Spine Place your weight directly on your chest as you support your core.
• Press your heels into the ground, push your hips toward the ceiling, and squeeze your hips at the top and hold.
• Bend the elbows and lower the weights until the arms touch the ground, then push the weights up to return to the starting position and repeat the assigned number of times while keeping the hips lifted.

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Pyramid 3

Exercise 1: Push-ups

• Start in a high plank position with your hands folded under your shoulders and your core engaged.
• Bend your elbows, keep your shoulders away from your ears, and let your elbows bounce back to lower yourself onto the mat.Keep your eyes about 6 inches in front of you, not
• Look up or down to keep your spine neutral.
• Keeping the core engaged and the shoulders away from the ears, push hard up and away from the floor or elevated surface to return to the starting position.
• MOD: Do this from a height or from the floor, then kneel down for push-ups.
• look at mine Push-Up Progression Tutorial Tips for perfecting form and building strength!

Bonus Move: Supergirl Lifting Weights

• Start lying on your stomach with your arms and legs straight.
• Use your lower back and hip strength to lift your legs and arms off the mat together.
• Hold this pose for the allotted time, focusing on keeping your shoulders down and arms raised.
• MOD: Start by isolating only the upper body, placing the legs on the mat for stability. Perform upper body isolated lifts a few times. Then perform a few lower-body isolated lifts. Do isolated upper and lower body lifts until you feel comfortable putting them together.

Pyramid 4

Action 1: Triceps Kickback

• Stand up, core tight, chest out, and right hand clenched.
• Hinge forward at your hips, place your other hand on the surface in front of you to help support you, roll your shoulder blades down and back so they don’t bend forward, let your dumbbell hang under your chest and Keep your eyes neutral.
• Pull the weight to your sides, keeping your elbows close to your body and squeezing your back muscles as if you were pinching the bottoms of your shoulder blades together.
• In this row of poses, perform a tricep rebound by straightening your arms and contracting your triceps.
• Controlled return to your row position, then repeat

Bonus Move: Standing Cross Body Crunch

• Start standing up, engaging your core and grabbing something to help with balance.
• Lift your right knee up and across the midline, rotating your torso as your left elbow touches your knee.
• Return to standing and repeat all reps on one side, then switch sides for the next round.

terminator

Crossbody Mountaineer (90 seconds)

• Start with a high plank with shoulders stacked over hands, core engaged, and back flat.
• Keeping the hips down, bring the knees into the chest by moving the knees to the opposite elbow and back, one at a time.
• MOD: Put your hands on the edge of a sofa or table and move on a raised surface