Full Body Circuit

At-Home Guide for a Full Body Circuit Workout

“This full body circuit targets all of the major muscle groups and can be tailored to fit your goals. These movements are designed to increase strength and endurance while improving range of motion and flexibility. A good frequency for this workout would be three times a week, with a day in between training days.” – Kyle, Owner & Trainer at Kyle House Fitness

Perform each movement for a set number of repetitions before moving on to the next. Take one minute to recover after finishing the final movement, then repeat. Work up to repeating five rounds of these five exercises within 30 minutes.

Photography by Rich Smith

Sumo Squat Reach & Pull

20 reps

Start in a sumo squat position with legs and feet turned out. Make sure your knees are in line with your toes. Extend arms overhead, firming the shoulders and triceps on an inhale. Next, on an exhale, squat as low as you can while maintaining a tall spine. While you are squatting, bend at the elbows and pull your arms down by your sides as if you were doing a pull-up. Firm your back and shoulder blade muscles as you pull the elbows down. To finish the movement, firm glutes and thighs as you extend the legs and reach back up to the starting position.

Dragon Lunge Push-ups

10 reps each side

Start in a plank position. Perform a push-up. Next, pull your left leg around to the left of your left wrist and work to set your foot beside your pinky finger. You are now in a lunge position with your knee in line with your toes. Take your left foot wider as a different option. Step back to the plank position and perform another push-up. Repeat this lunge on the right. Alternate lunges side to side with a push-up in between each lunge.

Warrior Flyes

10 reps each side

Start in a Warrior 1 pose with your lead leg in a lunge and your back leg extended with the outer edge of your heel pushing down. Hinge at the hips, keeping a tall spine and keeping your torso in line with your back leg. Maintain this shape in your legs and torso while you perform the upper body action. Make “cactus arms” by bending at the elbows 90 degrees. Start with working to connect your hands and elbows in front of your chest. Next, open the arms away from one another while keeping cactus arms and firming the shoulder blades together on your back.  Pull the arms back down in front of your body and firm the pecs and chest muscles, then repeat.

Bird Dogs

10 reps each side

Start in a table top position with a long, neutral spine. Keep your shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees during the movements. Extend your right leg back toward the wall behind you, keeping the leg in line with the torso. Firm your thighs and glutes to keep the leg long. Find balance, then extend your left arm forward while firming shoulders and triceps. Keep your left palm facing in toward your face with your thumb up and pinky finger facing downward. Take a long exhale and firm your core center while you tuck your knee in toward your elbow. Return to the table top position and repeat.

Side Plank Crunches

10 reps each side

Start off in a side plank position with your bottom leg’s knee grounded in line with your hip and your bottom arm extended. Your top leg should be extended fully – press down on the outer edge of the heel and firm your ankle. Next, with control, inhale and extend your top arm while rotating the palm toward the face. Work to align your bicep with your top ear. Exhale, then perform a side crunch by drawing together the top elbow and knee. Return to the extended position and repeat.

Recovery → 1 minute

Walk back and forth or stretch a little – just don’t sit still for your recovery time. Keep the energy circulating until you complete all rounds of the circuit.