P is still napping most days of the week, which is an equal blessing and a curse. It’s great because she often needs a little catnap after camp, but it’s unpredictable. Sometimes she stays awake the entire day (which = early bedtime, which is glorious) but sometimes she ends up falling asleep on the couch at 6pm which just throws off the rest of the evening.

I used the days she does nap as an extra 45 minutes to an hour to crush whatever lingering items I have on the to-do list, or even catch a quick workout.

I realized last week that I have a go-to circuit when she’s napping and I want to get in a little bit of strength. It gets my heart rate up, but doesn’t involve any jumping. (I try to keep things pretty quiet so I don’t wake her up!) It also works your entire body, and I can usually finish 3 rounds in less than 30 minutes.

I thought I’d share it on the blog today if you’re looking for a quick strength workout you can do during naptime, or even when you just have 30 free minutes and a pair of dumbbells.

Form cues and tips:

Squat and press: Holding a pair of dumbbells, keep your chest lifted and your weight in your heels as you squat down and back. Exhale and squeeze your booty to rise, and perform an overhead press at the top.

Walking lunge with hip extension: For your lunge setup, make sure your feet are hip distance apart, and think about sinking down instead of forward as you lunge. Watch the front knee to make sure it doesn’t extend past your toes. When you lift up to come to standing and switch legs, lift the back leg up behind you (squeeze your booty!) before bringing it forward.

Bent-over row to triceps extension: Your feet will be just under your hips with a slight bend at the knees. Hinge forward from your hips, keeping your back flat (shoulders pulled back) and core braced. Lifting up from your elbows, bring them high and wide, engaging into your rear delts. Stop the elbows at shoulder height before carefully lowering back down. Bring your elbows in by your sides and use your triceps to straighten your arm as much as possible before bending and lowering back down.

Side to side curtsy lunges: Start with one leg forward, toes angled out 45 degrees. Step your other foot totally back behind the front, so that your foot is behind the opposite shoulder. Sink low into a curtsy lunge, rise, and then step to repeat on the opposite side. 

Push-up: On your knees, toes, or modified against a wall. Keep your hips down in line with your spine, and exhale, squeezing your chest, to rise.

Safe core work: I like to do any of the core exercises from this post, depending on how I’m feeling. If you don’t have any abdominal separation, try a frog crunch. Lie on the floor with your hands behind your head and legs straight out at an angle. Engage your abs, tuck your chin and lift your upper body as you bend your knees in, keeping your feet together, knees wide. Bring your knees and elbows together, then return to start. Weighted hip raise: Start on your back, with knees bent and feet pressing into the floor. Press your hips up towards the ceiling, and lower down to two inches above the floor. I like to do these using a heavy flat weight and/or a resistance band loop above my knees.