Happy New Year! With the holidays behind us, now is the time to get back on your fitness track. So I am providing a workout that can be done at home to get you started and help shed those holiday pounds. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and 20 minutes to burn some serious fat. If visuals work better for you, you can see the warm-ups and exercises on our website at nextlevelfitness.org.

So let’s start 2012 off with a bang!

Warm Up: Before you start any physical activity, do a proper warm up by moving each part of your body joint-by-joint. Remember we want to prepare the whole body for the workout.

After your warm up is completed, you are ready to begin exercising. This workout was designed for all major muscle groups and to elevate your heart rate in a very short period of time. Each exercise will be done 10 times per arm or leg. After each exercise is completed, you will do 30 seconds of either Jump Rope or Mountain Climbers. You will go through this circuit 4 times. Below are the exercises and their descriptions included in the workout.

Reverse Lunge Curl Press: Stand tall with your feet together, holding your dumbbells down by your sides. Step back with your left foot and lower your left knee towards the floor. Your right leg should be in a 90 degree angle. Step back up and bring your left foot back next to your right foot. As you do this, begin a curling motion by bringing your fists towards your shoulders. Once your fists are shoulder height, press the dumbbells towards the sky. Lower the dumbbells back down into the starting position. Alternate the leg you step back with.

Renegade Row: Begin in push-up position holding your dumbbells.

In a controlled manner, pull your left elbow to your ribs WITHOUT moving your hips. Then bring your dumbbell back to the floor. Alternate repetitions between each of your arms. Keep your hips straight through out the exercise.

Plank Push-Up Pull-Through: Start in a plank position with one dumbbell right outside your right elbows. Using your left arm, push yourself up into a push up-position. With the left arm, pull the dumbbell to the other side of your body. Then lower yourself back into a plank position. Now use the right arm to push up and pull the dumbbell across.

Mountain Climbers: Begin in a push-up position. Bring one knee towards your chest. Tap your toe to the ground and place it back next to your other foot. Repeat this with your other leg. Do not round your back while you are doing this exercise.

You now have your dumbbells, an understanding of the proper form needed for your exercises, and your workout format. So stop reading here – and start your New Year’s exercise routine today!

Casey Washack is certified in diet and nutrition, strength and condition training, water aerobics and kick boxing. He has trained a broad array of clients from US Marines, to PGA golfers, to those with physical limitations and medical conditions. Casey is co-owner of Next Level Fitness and co-creator of the highly successful FitIn42 Program. He can be reached at 760.341.8200.