Musical strength workout

Hiiiii friends! Hope you’re enjoying the morning. I’m moving in slow motion because I had a lovely night of food poisoning. We had an amazing time with Heather, Scott and their friends Kylee and Joel at the Joint for drinks and dinner. (I Snapchatted Scott’s mad sake bomb skills haha.) The Joint is one of our favorite funky OB spots, as they serve tapas and sushi, but I probably won’t be getting the Poke bowl again. I feel like maybe they used it for fish they wanted to get rid of? And I’m done writing about that now that my skin is turning green again.

Moving on….

Today I thought I’d share a Musical Strength workout. As you guys know, I LOVE love love musical cardio as a way to change up your cardio routine and use the music to guide your workout. It makes the time fly by, and for me, it’s also extremely motivating. I think this is why I love teaching music-driven classes so much, like Spin. I put my heart into creating an awesome playlist for each class that will pump people up and motivate them to work harder. 

The same goes for strength. When I first tried BODYPUMP, I was blown away by how brilliantly the exercises coordinated with the music. As a dancer, I really enjoyed this new-to-me choreographed strength training, and class ended way too quickly. I enjoyed the instructor training process and am always a little giddy when a new release pops up on the instructor site.

I put together a BODYPUMP-esque strength workout to share with you. The main differences: it isn’t as complex as a BODYPUMP track (no drop and holds or tempo changes; it’s all 2-2 or pulsing movements), and there are cardio blasts, which will increase your heart rate, given you an awesome sweat, and torch serious calories. 

Here it is if you’d like to give it a try!!

The music:

 

(I would love to put together some video workouts like this, but am not sure how to do it because of copyright issues. YouTube will undoubtedly block it. Please let me know if you have any ideas!)

The workout:

Musical strength workout

Workout guidelines (as always, talk with a doctor before making any fitness changes. Honor your body and modify when you need to!)

“NO”- Use this song as a cardio warmup. Hop on the treadmill, go for a short walk/jog, or Stairclimber. 

“My House:- During the first verse, do upright rows, slowly and with control, heavy weight. Chorus: push-ups, as many as you can do and modify as needed. Second verse: lateral raises. Chorus: push-ups. When you need a break, take it into a plank. Do 3 sets of 12 chest presses for the rest of the song.

“Cake by the Ocean”: walking lunges during the verses, burpees during the chorus. 🙂

“Roses”: for the first verse, do heavy biceps curls. During the chorus, do as many controlled weighted squats as you can. For the second verse, do overhead triceps extensions. Squat during the second chorus. Next, do 3 sets of 12 triceps dips. If you have time leftover, hammer curl until the end of the song.

“Hands to myself”: during the first verse, do heavy bent-over rows. For the chorus, go for as many V-ups as you can. Next verse, do bent-over flyers. For the following chorus, try, plank with hip dips. To finish the song, deadlift, heavy, until it’s over.

“Glitterball”: Cardio blast! Hop on the treadmill, rower, Stairclimber, or jump rope and keep a steady quick pace for the entire song.

“Victorious”: weighted squats during the verses (aim for 12, and then rest until the chorus). Squat jumps (or quick bodyweight squats) during the chorus. Repeat until the song is over. 🙂

Cool down, stretch!

Let me know if you give it a try <3

What’s your current favorite workout song? I’m still obsessed with “Till It Hurts” by Yellow Claw. It makes me run faster every.single.time.

xoxo

Gina

More:

Musical cardio ideas here, here, here, here and here.

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43 Comments

  1. Nicole (Cuckoolemon) on March 8, 2016 at 10:48 am

    this looks awesome (and fun). might give it a try soon!!

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 10:57 am

      let me know if you do! 🙂

  2. Crystal on March 8, 2016 at 10:53 am

    This looks like a great workout! I love music when I work out, although lately I’ve been listening to podcasts instead.

    Maybe you could make a silent video and then people could just play the songs to go with it? Idk if that makes sense lol.

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 10:58 am

      what podcasts do you like? since i’ve been doing strength more than cardio lately, it’s been fun to switch it up with podcasts
      ohhhh that’s a good idea!

      • Crystal on March 8, 2016 at 1:57 pm

        Love + Radio, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and Gilmore Guys (my guilty pleasure lol)

        • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 9:13 pm

          will check those out now!

  3. Sara on March 8, 2016 at 10:58 am

    This post reminded me — can’t wait for you to eventually to a Recap On: Jazzercise…!? Still possibly on your radar?! It’s been my Love Language for a whole year now — !

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 11:01 am

      GAH. yes! i was afraid to touch any impact stuff for a while, but now i can do it again. i finally found a class that works with my schedule, too. i will definitely write a post after i can give it a try! i’ll put it on my “must do before surgery” list because then i’ll be out again for a little while

  4. Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious on March 8, 2016 at 11:07 am

    I choreograph my cardio to songs, but never thought about doing it for strength workouts. I can’t believe I never thought of this before. Genius!

  5. Dietitian Jess on March 8, 2016 at 11:56 am

    Love the idea of choreography for a strength workout- just like being in a class! Pinned! So sorry to hear about your sickness- feel better!!

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 1:24 pm

      thank you! hope you enjoy the workout 🙂

  6. Amanda @ Cheers to the Weekends on March 8, 2016 at 12:19 pm

    What a good idea! I feel like I take a couple of classes here in San Francisco that try to emulate this, but maybe not exactly? I will have to give this a try!

  7. Lori on March 8, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    This looks like a blast! I am definitely going to try it for my next weights session.

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 1:24 pm

      let me know how it goes! 🙂

  8. Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves on March 8, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    I LOVE THIS IDEA. I’ve tried BodyPump once, and I do love the music aspect to it. #dancer. Excited to have a musical workout that I can try at the gym now! Thank you!

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 1:24 pm

      yes, i love it! awesome- hope you enjoy!

  9. Aubrey on March 8, 2016 at 12:57 pm

    Looks fun!

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 1:23 pm

      <3!

  10. Jessie R on March 8, 2016 at 1:50 pm

    I’m so glad you discovered “Till It Hurts” by Yellow Claw! It’s one of my favorites. You would probably also like “Treat Me Right” by Keys N Krates and “Calabria -Firebeatz Remix” by Rune RK.

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 9:13 pm

      yesssssssss heading to iTunes now! thank you 🙂

  11. Kandi on March 8, 2016 at 4:56 pm

    What’s your name on Snapchat? Would love to follow you!

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 9:12 pm

      fitnessista :)!

  12. k on March 8, 2016 at 6:15 pm

    you would probably love soulcycle since its riding to the beat of music with choreographed moves, its my FAVORITE workout.

    • Fitnessista on March 8, 2016 at 9:13 pm

      i’ve always wanted to try it! i heard the music is fantastic

  13. Taylor on March 9, 2016 at 5:34 am

    Love trying different kinds of workouts!! I love good music to get me energized to workout!

  14. Cara on March 9, 2016 at 5:45 am

    Oh no, I hope the worst of the food poisoning is over with, nothing worse than that…Love most of these songs and will definitely try this out!!

  15. Alyssa@afitmess.com on March 9, 2016 at 6:06 am

    I love this! Music definitely keeps me motivated and pushes me to perform harder. I often use music to incorporate speed intervals on the treadmill. For example, do sprints during a chorus or when the tempo changes. My favorite is Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” song. You can get a lot of sprints in on that one. Thanks for sharing!

  16. Katie @ Adulting Daily on March 9, 2016 at 6:31 am

    I LOVE when workout classes coordinate music with movements. The cycling studio I go to it especially good at this. Am working on finding new songs to add to my workout playlist but I typically love mashups and remixes.

  17. Sarah T on March 9, 2016 at 8:59 pm

    Hi Gina! I tried this workout tonight and I really loved it! The music aspect made it go by so quickly and if I needed a break from squats (spoiler: I did haha), I could just dance and keep my momentum! I think I’d need to do it again to sync with the music better, but it went very smoothly. I just made a Spotify playlist with the songs on my phone and had the instructions up on my laptop. Since I don’t do a lot of strength beyond what we’ve done for the shape ups, I had to look up a few of the moves. I think before you’ve linked to them, so that could be helpful for beginners. Thanks for making this!

    • Fitnessista on March 9, 2016 at 9:00 pm

      yay, i’m so happy you enjoyed it! i will definitely link next time <3
      xo

  18. Rebecca Dawkins on March 10, 2016 at 12:33 am

    I’m all about the music. I have a different playlist depending on my mood, the type of exercise I’m doing, whether I be driving, walking, running, whatever! I have a mix of everything 🙂

  19. Sara on March 10, 2016 at 5:23 pm

    I just did this workout tonight and loved it!! That squat track at the end to Victorious was killer. Buckets of sweat. 🙂 Thanks for posting!!!

    • Fitnessista on March 10, 2016 at 11:04 pm

      YESSSS! Amazing job! happy you enjoyed!

  20. Leighton on March 11, 2016 at 9:17 am

    Thank you for creating fun workouts that are actually motivating! I appreciate the hard work you put into making that playlist. Working out is always more fun with great music that has beats that keep you moving. I would love to see more posts like this one!

  21. Eva on March 13, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    Great music and great work out! Thank you for sharing it!

  22. Robin on March 21, 2016 at 1:33 pm

    Music is essential for a good workout. I’m trying your playlist in the morning! Thanks for the suggestions! I may need a sake bomb as well!

    • Fitnessista on March 21, 2016 at 8:11 pm

      yay, let me know how it goes!

  23. Lovisa Karlsson on March 25, 2016 at 7:40 am

    It looks awesome and full of fun. I love to listen music when I do any work. I will definitely try it this therapy in the coming days. Thank for sharing.

  24. Rebecca on August 11, 2017 at 6:49 pm

    I just found your blog yesterday and this is the second of your workouts I’ve done. Really enjoyed it! Please make more!

    • Fitnessista on August 12, 2017 at 1:07 pm

      so happy to hear you liked it!

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