Good Vibes Workout Day 22: A Combo Crusher

The fun combos will get your mind working too.

From Self Magazine-By Christa Sgobba, C.P.T.

4 Exercises That Combine Multiple Moves to Work Every Muscle

The workout below is for Day 22 of the Good Vibes Workout, a four-week workout plan. It’s pretty great on its own, but you can also check out the full program right here or browse the calendar here. If you’d like to sign up to receive daily emails of these workouts, you can do that here.

You’ve made it to the last week of the Good Vibes Workout! You now have three full weeks of circuit routines, cardio workouts, and yoga flows under your belt, and we hope you’re feeling confident and excited to take on this final stretch.

For today’s strength routine, we’ll be working with combination exercises, or those that are made up of multiple traditional moves, to keep your mind engaged as your body takes on an extra challenge. If you find that you tend to get bored with a lot of traditional exercises, combo moves may be the way to keep your interest piqued.

Some of the combo moves here add an extra cardio element—like the jump at the end of the squat walk to jump, for example—while others give some extra attention to important muscle groups that often fall by the wayside. For instance, take the plank to row: You’ll be working your core in the plank portion, and the addition of the row helps give your back muscles, like your lats and rhomboids, some strengthening too. Plus, when you raise your hand off the floor to do the row, you take away one base of stability, so your core has to work extra hard to keep you stable.

We’re also introducing a new variation of the reverse lunge today: the reverse lunge to kickstand hinge. The hinging motion—important for performing strength exercises like the deadlift correctly—helps incorporate your hamstrings and your glutes during this exercise, and is key to building balanced strength across the front and the back of your body.

Your bonus EMOM section is also made up of combo moves, too, so your mind—and muscles—will be extra engaged in this routine from start to finish. Let’s get started!

Workout Directions

Complete each exercise for your chosen work/rest interval:

30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest
50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest

After all 5 exercises, rest for 60 seconds. That’s 1 round. Complete 2–5 rounds.

Exercises

Lateral Squat Walk to Jump
Plank to Pike to Toe Touch
Reverse Lunge to Kickstand Hinge (Left Side)
Plank to Row
Reverse Lunge to Kickstand Hinge (Right Side)

Bonus: EMOM

After your last circuit, try the bonus EMOM: Do both moves for the recommended number of reps aiming to finish in under 60 seconds. If you have time left over, rest. At the top of the next minute, start again. Complete 4 times (a total of 4 minutes).

Lateral Squat Walk to Jump (8–10 reps)
Shoulder Tap to Mountain Climber (6–8 reps)

1. Lateral Squat Walk to Jump
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and core engaged.
- Send your hips back and bend your knees to drop into a quarter squat. (Meaning your knees form an angle wider than 90 degrees. This should be closer to standing than a full squat.)
- Staying in the squat position, step to the right with your right foot and allow your left foot to follow. Take two more steps to the right with your right foot, or less as space allows.
- Explode up, jumping and extending your legs fully, sending your arms behind you to help with momentum.
- Land lightly on the balls of your feet and immediately drop into a quarter squat again. Repeat on the other side, walking to the left.
- Continue to alternate directions after each jump.
- Make it low impact: Omit the jump at the end. Instead, quickly and powerfully stand tall to rise up from the squat position, raising your hands above your head for extra power.
2. Plank to Pike to Toe Touch
- Start in a high plank with your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, legs extended behind you, and your core and glutes engaged.From here, do a pike. Lift your hips toward the ceiling, coming into a downward dog position.From this position, lift your right hand and rotate under your body to tap your left knee, shin, or toes as your flexibility allows.Return your right hand to the floor, then lower your hips to return to the high plank.Repeat on the other side: Pike your hips toward the ceiling, lift your left hand off the floor, rotate under your body, and tap your right knee, shin, or toes as your flexibility allows.Return your left hand to the floor, lower your hips, return to the high plank.Continue to alternate sides.

3. Reverse Lunge to Kickstand Hinge
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and engage your core.
- Step backward with your right foot, landing on the ball of your right foot and keeping your right heel off the floor.
- Bend both knees to 90 degrees as you sink into a lunge. Focus on keeping your core engaged and your hips tucked (don’t stick your butt out).
- Push through the heel of your left foot and bring your right foot back to center, stopping a few inches behind your left foot. Keep your right toes on the floor.
- Push your butt back into a hinge, pretending like you are closing a car door behind you. You should feel this in your left hamstring. This is the kickstand hinge.
- Push through the heel of your left foot to stand up tall. This is 1 rep.
- Step backward with your right foot into a reverse lunge and continue.
4. Plank to Row
- Start in a high plank with your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, legs extended behind you, and your core and glutes engaged.
- From this position, perform a bodyweight row. Raise your right palm off the floor, drawing it toward the side of your chest, keeping your elbow hugged close to your body (do not wing out your elbow as you lift your hand). Think about your triceps facing the ceiling.
- Lower your right hand back to the floor.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Continue to alternate sides, keeping the rest of your body as still as possible.
- Make it easier: The wider apart you spread your feet, the easier this move will become.
5. Shoulder Tap to Mountain Climber
- Start in a high-plank position with your wrists directly under your shoulders, core engaged, hips level, and legs extended behind you. Step your feet just wider than hip-width to make this move easier.
- Lift your right hand and tap your left shoulder. Return to the starting position.
- Now lift your left hand and tap your right shoulder. Return to the starting position
- Now do a twisting mountain climber by bringing your right knee to your left elbow, returning to the starting position, then your left knee to your right elbow. Focus on keeping your hips level as you do the mountain climber.
- You can do 1 tap on each shoulder and 1 mountain climber on each leg, or, if you prefer, you can do 2 reps of each.