Bloom to Fit Workout of the Week Episode 4: 10 Rep Mania

Welcome to Episode 4 of the Bloom to FitWorkout of the Week series.

This week I have an interesting workout for you that I think will not only challenge you, but will also open your eyes to the many unique ways you can structure your own workouts.

Feel free to use the structure I use in this workout to craft your own workouts. Play with different combination. Put your imagination to work.

Again, I encourage you to use a modified version (either a regression or progression) if you need to. Challenge your limits but always make sure you’re listening to your body and acting accordingly.

Let’s do this.

B2F Workout of the Week Episode 4: 10 Rep Mania

Total time estimate to complete the workout: 25 minutes

What You’ll Need:

For this workout, you’ll need a kettlebell, a jump rope, a timer, and a bit of space.

Before your workout:

It is essential that you do a proper warm-up before you start the workout. This will prep your body for the intense nature of the metabolic workout. Your warm-up should consist of the following

• A few minutes of light aerobic activity,
• Corrective stretches (optional),
• A series of mobility movements.

For details on how to structure a good warm-up, see the Perfect Warm-up Series.

The Workout

This week’s workout is the 10 Rep Mania.

It is built around two exercises: the kettlebell swing and the jump rope double under. We’ll be using a every-minute-on-the-minute workout protocol. This is where you do the required reps at the start of every minute and when you’re done your reps you use the remainder of that minute to rest.

So set your timer for 10 minutes and at the start of every minute do

• 10 kettlebell swings
• 10 double under

Rest until the next minute starts. Obviously, the more quickly you get through your 20 total reps, the more time you’ll have to rest. So use your time wisely.

Your goal is to complete this workout without your total reps taking over a minute to complete. Here’s what it looks like:

Click play to watch the video.

After your workout

When your timer is done, start your cool-down session.

DO NOT sit or lay down. You need to gradually reduce your heart rate. Walk around taking deep breaths, do jumping jacks, or jump rope for a few minutes until your heart rates comes down.

Once your heart rate is normalized, finish your workout by going through a series of static stretches. You can click here for a full list of static stretches you can use.

Important muscles to be stretched for this specific workout: hamstrings, quads, calves, glutes, hip flexors, lower back. 

Progressions and Regressions

There are a number of ways you can make this workout harder or easier, depending on your current fitness level and limitations. 

Regressions

Here are ways you can make the workout easier:

• Use a lighter kettlebell weight,
• Instead of doing 10 double unders, do 20 single unders,
• If you can’t complete the reps in time, lower your repetitions down to 5 for each exercise.

Progressions

Here are ways you can make the workout more challenging:

• Add a third exercise into the mix (at the end of my video above, I show you how you can add mountain climbers into the mix); this will make the workout more intense by shortening your rest period,
• Use a heavier kettlebell for your swings,
• Use a heavy jump rope for your double unders,
• Increase your repetitions to 20 for each exercise.

Extra Notes

Personally, I found this workout to be much easier than expected. My work to rest ration was 1:1 as I was typically active for 30 seconds and resting for 30 seconds. Next time I’ll definitely bring this up to 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest either by adding an extra exercise in the mix (like I did mountain climbers at the end of the video) or up my reps to 15 or 20 each.