Spooky Sweatfest Workout

Hi friends, here is the October cardiolicious, sculpting, sweaty Halloween workout. I hope you love it 🙂

Spooky Sweatfest--A total body Halloween workout that's so effective, it's scary! ;) fitnessista.com

Halloween Workout Form Cues

*For any of these exercises, feel free to ditch the equipment and use dumbbells (or just your body weight for the push-ups and planks) instead. I originally designed it with a body bar, but didn’t have access to one when I went to photograph the moves. A pair of dumbbells or a barbell will work just fine 🙂

Weights

-Make sure to warm-up before starting the workout

-Lunge and curl: Watch your front knee to make sure it isn’t shooting forward, and as you curl, keep your arms in close to your sides. Use your biceps to lift the weight, not your low back or swinging hips. 

-Squat press: When you’re holding the weight in front of you, it’s tempting to let those knees stick out. Think about REALLY sitting your hips back and keeping your weight in your heels- you should be able to wiggle your toes at any time

-Squat jumps or tuck jumps: too much for your knees? Try half-jacks, jogging in place or jump-roping instead.

-Shuffle and ball slam: Shuffle to one side 10 times, and then bring the ball up to slam it down 10 times, landing in a low squat. IMPORTANTE: use a heavy ball and test it first- otherwise, it may bite you in the face. And that hurts. 

-Push-up and ball roll: I have to do this one on my knees, but if you’re wicked strong, go for it on your toes. Make sure to keep your hands out wide, pushup and then roll the ball under your opposite arm, placing that arm on top to switch sides.

-For the plank, if that’s too easy, try lifting up one leg. Too much? Go onto your knees, and make sure to keep your booty in line with the rest of your body (no hips in the air).

*For all of the kettlebell moves, if you’re new to kettlebells, I recommend using a dumbbell instead to get the feel for it.

-Squat with the kettlebell down low and as you come up, swing it in front of you. Be sure to keep your wrists STRAIGHT- if they bend, the kettlebell is too heavy. Only swing the weight up to shoulder height, and for even more of a challenge, try switching hands.

-Windmill: If you’re holding the weight in your right hand, your right toes should be facing outward (the other toes are straight ahead). Lower down into a triangle position, and using your core, come back up. Imagine your body as a flat piece of toast about to go into the toaster- keep your shoulders in a straight line and avoid rounding your back.

-As always, check with a doc before making any fitness changes. Modify as needed, honor your body and any injuries/considerations you may have.

October Spooky Sweatfest--A total body Halloween workout that so effective, it's scary! fitnessista.com

I hope you love it! Be sure to send me LOTS of sweaty pics, mmm k? @fitnessista

Please leave a comment to let me know how it goes!

For more ideas on incorporating this workout into your fitness plan, check out the October Workout Calendar.

More October Workouts: 

JACKED-o-Lantern Halloween Workout

HallowLEAN October Workout

Happy sweating <3

xoxo

Gina

Any workout moves or gym equipment that intimidate you? I used to haaaate the scary cable pulley thing. 

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53 Comments

  1. Kaila @healthyhelperblog! on October 1, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    love ful body circuit workouts! nice incorporation of strength and cardio too! l

  2. Julie on October 1, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    So excited! Thanks, Gina!

  3. Chelsea Lords@ahintofhealthy on October 1, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    Gina, you are great! I am so excited to try these and love the Halloween twist you added. Makes me excited for the holiday 🙂

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 12:59 am

      i’m so excited tooooooo!

  4. Cher @ Weddicted on October 1, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    Even your medicine ball is orange and fits with the theme – cute! Can’t wait to try this out tomorrow morning, thanks!!

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 12:58 am

      let me know how it goes- have fun!

  5. Caitlin on October 1, 2012 at 10:52 pm

    Eeeee I’m so excited to take this to the gym in the morning! So it’s just as effective with just dumbbells? My gym doesn’t have kettlebells 🙁 but I do LOVE them!

    • Fitnessista on October 1, 2012 at 11:47 pm

      yeah you can definitely do it with a dumbbell instead!

  6. Les on October 1, 2012 at 11:24 pm

    I can’t wait to give this a try tomorrow morning! Thanks for the text-only version, that is really helpful. And thanks for all that you do for us!

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 12:57 am

      thank YOU so much for hanging out with me over here <3

      • Les on October 2, 2012 at 2:48 pm

        Did it! I used dumbbells and it was great. I really liked the squat swings.

        • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 5:13 pm

          whoo hoo!

  7. Jess on October 1, 2012 at 11:49 pm

    Thanks for the spooky workout!!! Love it!!! 🙂

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 12:57 am

      🙂

  8. Angie on October 2, 2012 at 12:04 am

    I just did this without the medicine ball! It was good and fast.

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 12:57 am

      whoo hoo! amazing job!

  9. Alicia on October 2, 2012 at 12:19 am

    That looks like an amazing circuit workout. I also have to say that you came up with an awesome name!

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 12:56 am

      i can’t take credit for the awesome name- i put the call out on Facebook 🙂

  10. Michelle @ Eat Move Balance on October 2, 2012 at 5:17 am

    Looks like a great workout idea (and I love the visuals for each exercise too!). Thank you!

    I’m probably most intimidated by the smith machine. I stay away from it….it looks really intense!

  11. Health Web Blog on October 2, 2012 at 8:36 am

    It might be kinda spooky, but it also looks like something kinda exciting to do. So, who knows.. i might even try them out. Great!

  12. Stellina @ M Yogurt Addiction on October 2, 2012 at 8:50 am

    Love these spooky graphics! And theme based workouts, so fun 🙂

  13. Sarah Crowder on October 2, 2012 at 9:20 am

    Looking forward to giving this a go today. One suggestion – maybe link to a post on your site for any place the exercises are demonstrated or explained. I am probably in the minority on this because I’m new to it but for example, I don’t know what a windmill is…I mean I have a pretty good idea based on the name 🙂 but I end up Googling or YouTubing it. NBD but I’d rather stay on your site of course!

    • Sarah Crowder on October 2, 2012 at 9:22 am

      Sorry I was just thinking this comment probably doesn’t make sense because I know you have some explanation/form tips listed…I guess I’m just a visual person who has a hard time learning new exercises…

  14. Colleen on October 2, 2012 at 9:40 am

    Holy canoli! I’m hurting just LOOKING at this workout. Can’t wait to give it a go!

  15. Sylvia on October 2, 2012 at 9:52 am

    This looks intense!
    Quick question though, what sequence do you suggest we do this? for example do I do all body bar exercises first and then do all medicine ball exercises and so on or do I do one body bar exercise, next move on to one medicine ball exercises then go to kettle bell and repeat? Please explain, sorry I’m new at this whole body exercises circut!

  16. Lindsay on October 2, 2012 at 10:47 am

    I wasn’t sure what order to do this, either. I started and got all the way to the run before I realized I needed to do more than 1 set of the moves, so I went back and did another set of lunges and squats, then repeated, then I did the k-bell moves at the end. Still a great workout though, very sweaty! 🙂 Thanks Gina!

  17. Caitlin on October 2, 2012 at 11:05 am

    I just did it straight through the way you typed it out, and I actually liked doing that better than a circuit style workout! The time flew by…it was so intense…my muscles are currently shaking…thank you so much Gina! I especially love the ball slam…never done that one before!

  18. Ali @ Around the VeggieTable on October 2, 2012 at 11:31 am

    What’s the alternative exercise with dumbbells for the ball slams? I’m not tryna slam my dumbells onto my floor 🙂

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 11:42 am

      Throw a pillow 🙂

  19. Lea @ Greens and Coffee Beans on October 2, 2012 at 11:47 am

    I love the Halloween themed workout! One minute of jumping lunges? Now that’s scary (:

  20. Tiffany on October 2, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    I just did this work out this morning! It was tough, but great! Thanks for posting 🙂

  21. Ashley on October 2, 2012 at 5:14 pm

    Thank you so much for posting this! It really is a sweatfest! I just did it and I love it. Thank you for posting the whole October workout schedule too 🙂 It really does help keep me motivated and organized and I appreciate the time and effort you put into the workouts sooo much. So thanks again! 🙂

    • Fitnessista on October 2, 2012 at 5:50 pm

      yeahhhhh! i’m so happy that you enjoyed it- thank you for letting me know!

  22. Sia on October 2, 2012 at 7:35 pm

    Definitely a sweatfest! Thanks for the great workout.

  23. Jessica on October 2, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    Tried this workout tonight and it was great! Thanks!!

    • Fitnessista on October 4, 2012 at 12:11 am

      :)!

  24. Paula on October 3, 2012 at 3:11 am

    Did this yesterday and today I’m so sore! I don’t know what I did, buy my hamstrings are screaming! Those windmills also got to my obliques. Haven’t done those in a while!

  25. Rachel C on October 3, 2012 at 2:40 pm

    This is definitely a Halloween workout — it is full of tricks! I just finished it and it was so hard, much harder than I had expected from reading it. I loved the use of different equipment and new moves (side shuffle!!) this workout will definitely be added to my workout schedule. Thanks again for all your hardwork!

  26. allison on October 6, 2012 at 1:32 pm

    Great workout Gina! thanks!

  27. Laura on October 6, 2012 at 5:43 pm

    Tried for the first time today and loved it! I didn’t want to go back and forth so instead of the jogs, I did two tabata in between…very fun!

  28. Kyra on October 11, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    Did this workout on Tuesday and my legs are still TRASHED (in a good way!). Haven’t been this sore since my first BodyPump class. Excellent workout and happy to have a new strength training routine!

  29. Brianna on October 14, 2012 at 9:23 am

    Great workout! I definitely felt it the next day 🙂

  30. Rose from Holland on October 31, 2012 at 10:15 am

    Hi Gina, I recently found your blog and I love it! I really like the mix of recipes, workouts and personal updates.
    I’ve been training seriously for thee months now (a lot of cardio in combination with (heavy) weight lifting and healthy yummy food) and so far I lost 20 pounds (BMI is now just under 23).
    I just did this workout and I loved it!! It got my legs burning and my energy up!

    Looking forward to doing more of your workouts and making those amazeballs 🙂

    Just wanted to let you know: you’ve got a new (overseas) fan 🙂

    • Fitnessista on November 2, 2012 at 11:03 pm

      thank you so much, rose- it’s so nice to meet you! happy to hear you liked the workout, too
      xoxo

  31. Emily on October 31, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    I tried to do this last night, but I’m really confused about the sequence/order. Is it three circuits, e.g. body bar stuff three times through THEN move on, or do you run through all of the exercises once and then go back to do the additional sets of lunges/squat presses?

    • Fitnessista on October 31, 2012 at 5:04 pm

      you just go through it in the specified order 1 time. 1st exercise you do 3 sets, next one is for 1 minute, move on to the next one, etc

  32. Abby on April 6, 2013 at 5:55 pm

    Pulled this one out of the archives (aka the starred blog posts on my phone’s Google Reader) and it kicked my booty again 6 months later. Woah. 6 months. Time is flyin’!

    Thanks Gina again.

  33. Sara Gail on October 29, 2014 at 10:10 am

    I’m in need of a new workout and am definitely trying this tonight! Also in agreement that the text only version is really helpful- just snapped a pic with my phone to take with me to the gym 🙂

  34. Jennifer on October 1, 2016 at 5:28 am

    Woo! This was tough

    • Fitnessista on October 3, 2016 at 10:31 am

      <3 <3

  35. Cara on October 1, 2016 at 9:29 am

    hOTober starting off with a bang!! Just finished PBB this week and was so happy to have something new to follow!! Forgot how sweaty this workout was!!

    • Fitnessista on October 3, 2016 at 10:31 am

      yayyyy awesome job 🙂

  36. Annie on October 16, 2016 at 1:17 pm

    Just did this workout and it was a killer – in a good way!! I loved it!! Thanks for the workout. 🙂

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