Full-body shape-up: Circuit workout from Angie Miller

Bored with your usual gym workout? Try this five-move circuit-style workout from fitness expert Angie Miller. All you need is your body weight, a couple of dumbbells and a resistance band, and you’ll be on your way to full-body fitness.

Angie Miller’s Crave Results

You don’t have to spend hours at the gym to get the body of your dreams. You simply need the right exercises. Fitness pro Angie Miller shares five moves from her DVD Angie Miller’s Crave Results that will blast fat and help you shape, sculpt and chisel every muscle in your body. In Crave Results, Miller focuses on functional exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time, keeping this workout efficient, challenging and fun.

“Functional training is all about making you stronger for everyday movement and activities,” Miller states. “Our muscles don’t work in isolation, and the exercises that we perform should simulate the way we move in everyday life.”

All of her workouts include balance and core work. “Balance is one of our body’s natural resources that we depend on for stability, and our core is our center of gravity. The stronger and more stable our center of gravity, the more efficient and controlled all of our movements will be,” Miller adds.

Targets glutes, quads, hamstrings and core muscles

Start position: Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart. Secure the resistance tube under your feet and hold the handles at shoulder height.

Movement: Bend at your knees as if sitting back into a chair. Stop when your buttocks are parallel to the floor, then slowly extend your legs and come back to standing. Be sure to keep your core engaged, torso long and knees behind your toes. Look straight ahead and keep your head in line with your spine.

Perform: 16 repetitions

Targets your back, arms and shoulders

Start position: Place one end of a resistance tube under your left foot and hold the other end with your right hand. Step back with your right foot and place your left hand on your thigh for support. Create enough resistance with the tubing so there is no slack. Hinge forward slightly and stabilize your core by contracting your abs and back.

Movement: Start with your arm extended and slowly drive your elbow up and back toward your ribs. Focus on squeezing your upper back muscles as if you were trying to move your scapula toward your spine, or “place it in your back pocket.” Then lower your arm until it is fully extended and repeat. Be sure to keep your arm close to your body throughout the exercise. To avoid hyperextending, stop when your palm is flush with your body and try to avoid any hip movement.

Perform: 16 repetitions on each side

Targets glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs, quads and core muscles

Start position: Stand tall, holding a dumbbell horizontally between your palms at chest level. Create a neutral spine with head, shoulders, hips and knees aligned.

Movement: Take a wide step sideways with your right foot until your knee is bent approximately 90 degrees and your thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep your left leg extended (straight). Then step back into a knee hold for balance and core stabilization. Throughout the movement, use the weight to provide additional resistance and power. As you step into the lunge, sweep the weight in front of your body in a small semi-circle, then press and hold it overhead as you balance. Focus on maintaining control of your center, keeping your hips open and body facing forward.

Perform: 8 repetitions to the right. Switch and repeat 8 repetitions to the left.

Targets core muscles, glutes and legs

Start position: Stand tall, holding a dumbbell horizontally between your palms at chest level. Abs are engaged and torso is long.

Movement: Begin with a squat, bending your knees as if you were sitting back into a chair; stop when your buttocks are parallel to the floor. As you squat, rotate your torso, bringing the weight outside your hips. Then extend your legs and drive the weight above your head as you come back to center. Maintain control of the movement and avoid swinging the weight. Focus on maintaining a strong, stable core, and rotating your torso rather than your hips.

Perform: 16 repetitions on each side.

Targets chest, arms, shoulders, abdominals, back and obliques

Start position: Using a mat or a towel, begin in prone (plank) position, on your knees or your toes, with your hands placed directly below your shoulders or slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

Movement: Keeping a strong center, bend your elbows and lower your body, bringing your chest as close to the mat as possible, then push back up to plank by slowly extending your elbows and straightening your arms. Focus on keeping your center tight so that your bottom doesn’t drop, causing your lower back to sway. Be sure to keep your head in line with your spine and avoid “head-butting” the mat.

Next, turn your body and open up into a side plank position, making sure your support hand is directly below your shoulder. Avoid dumping weight into your shoulders and consider placing your bottom knee on the floor at a 90-degree angle for additional support. Throughout the movement, brace your core by engaging your abdominals and lower back and holding your center tight.

Come back to plank position, then turn your body and open up into a side plank position facing the opposite direction.

Perform: 4 total repetitions. Rest and repeat.

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