The Fire Island Workout Part 4

Considering that the body can develop a virtual callous to the same exercise in a mere week, I asked our Fire Island workout guru Gonzalo Garcia how to switch things up in the home stretch to beach season. Garcia is a fan of compound movements, so consider adding these exercises to the original high-intensity itinerary.

Warming Up
Garcia’s advanced warm-up is not too different from his first plan, alternating between jumping jacks, internal and external rotations, and step-ups. In order to increase the difficulty of the rotator-cuff sequence, perform these movements with your palm facing upward.

Circuit One
It’s back to squats, but first, grab three pairs of dumbbells of increasing weight. Holding the dumbbells, squat, then drive the dumbbells to your shoulders, and then perform a shoulder press, pushing the dumbbells above your head and making them touch at the very top of the arc. The dumbbells come back down to the shoulder and then descend to resting position in the same hammer-curl motion you made to lift them originally. As always, your feet are hip-width apart.
    In our previous workout Garcia performed three sets of pushups. Now, he recommends doing pushups on one leg, alternating from leg to leg or performing five pushups on one leg followed by five on the other. Alternatively, Garcia will do pushups with one hand on a medicine ball, rolling the ball to the opposing hand between each motion. “Just make sure to not hyperextend the shoulder,” he says, demonstrating how coming too close to the floor throws one’s elbow out of alignment with the shoulder.
Garcia finishes this circuit with a set of stomach crunche, keeping the medicine ball constantly at arm’s length.

Circuit Two
To make a compound movement of walking lunges, clutch the medicine ball and add a slight rotation to the exercise. Rotate in the direction of the leading knee, Garcia says, but don’t overdo it. Turn to 1:30 or 2 o’clock (10:30 or 10, conversely) to burn those obliques.
    Now, Garcia adds a squat movement to his row, which requires a two-pulley machine. Place a strap in each hand, squat, and contract the deltoids as you ascend from the seated position.
    And, to complicate mountain climbers, just twist. As you pull in your knee, move it toward the fully extended knee without rotating it any further.

Circuit Three
For back extensions, Garcia still performs very small up-and-down movements. The compound-movement version of this exercise includes a reverse fly. That means performing the back extension with two dumbbells and, at the top of the movement, opening up the arms in a reverse-fly motion in which the shoulder blades pinch inward. The exercise should be fluid rather than explosive, Garcia says.
    If you’ve already conquered the Roman Chair with a medicine ball, then consider, instead, lifting your slightly bent legs, holding that position, and then kicking out your legs one at a time. Your abs remain contracted as each column of muscles gets an extra oomph. To incorporate oblique work, hold your legs up and then rotate them from side to side, keeping the knees together throughout.
    Balancing your feet on a second bench or stability ball makes for a more difficult tricep dip, and even more so if you lift one leg in the process. Another option: Loading on weight, starting with a 35-pound plate in your lap.
    Continue pairing opposing muscles. So, to target biceps, perform a hammer curl and rotate the wrist until your palm faces you. Rotate back to hammer position and lower the weight.

Circuit Four
Once again, our workout concludes with core conditioning, plus some hamstring work. Lying on your back, place your heels on top of a balance ball. Lift your hips approximately three butt-clenching inches off the ground and then pull the ball into your body. Not as simple as it sounds.
    Then, flip over into plank (bridge) position. Tap your toes side to side, for a count of 10, hold the plank position again, and then perform a hip drop, twisting your hips slightly from side to side. The workout finishes with bicycle abs or a pike, in which, with your hands behind your head, you fold your body until fingers practically touch toes. A variation of the pike is an exercise Garcia calls “Dead Rockettes,” in which you perform a similar folding motion but alternating from side to side, each hand reaching for its diagonal foot. To make pikes and Dead Rockettes more difficult, instead of starting these exercises with your feet on your floor, keep your legs slightly elevated at all times.