Women’s Health partnered with our sibling publication Men’s Health to find and recognize Power Couples—ultra-fit pairs who work out together and basically epitomize #swolemategoals. Our first Power Couple: trainers Bree Branker and CJ Koegel.
Where do you get your #fitspo? Instagram? Fitness sites (*wink, wink*)? What about your S.O.?
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For trainer, fitness model, and Akin’s Army instructor Bree Branker, her bae CJ Koegel is her number-one workout buddy—and yeah, it helps that he’s a trainer and fitness model, too. “We work out together a lot, usually two to three times a week,” Bree tells WomensHealthMag.com.
Branker and Koegel are total Women’s Health and our brother publication Men’s Health #swolemategoals: They share a strong focus on physical, mental, and emotional health. That’s why we’ve named them the first ever Women’s Health and Men’s Health Power Couple, to serve as fitspo for other duos who want to use fitness and exercise as a tool to make their relationships even stronger—or single ladies who are just looking for a crazy-effective.
Try this circuit workout the couple developed to challenge your core strength, balance, and endurance. It’s entirely made up of bodyweight moves, so you can do it anytime, anywhere. And while it was designed as a workout to do with a partner, you can also complete the entire sequence solo (just follow along with Branker in the GIFs below).
Time: About 30-50 minutes
Equipment: Mat
Good for: Total-body toning, core strength, stability
Instructions: Complete 10 reps of each move (on each side where indicated). Move from one move to the next, taking 15 seconds of rest in between each. Move through the entire circuit 3-5 times, depending on desired intensity.
Do this workout two to three times a week for optimal results.
Squat hold
How to: Stand as tall as you can with your feet spread shoulder-width apart. Lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees. Hold this while your partner completes 10 jump squats. Or if you’re at it solo, hold for twenty seconds. Then slowly push yourself back up.
Jump Squat
How to: Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart, toes pointed slightly out. Keeping your chest upright and core tight, bend your knees and sit your hips back, extending your arms straight in front of you at shoulder height. Press through your heels to jump as high as you can off the ground, swinging your arms behind you. That’s one rep. Land softly and immediately lower into your next squat. Complete 10 reps.
Plank Hold
How to: Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Lower your forearms to the floor with elbows positioned under your shoulders and your hands shoulder-width apart. If someone looked at you from the side, your arms would form a 90-degree angle. Step your feet back, one at a time. Maintain a straight line from heels through the top of your head, looking down at the floor, with gaze slightly in front of your face. Now, tighten your abs and hold. Hold while your partner completes 10 lateral hops in each direction, or for 30-45 seconds.
Lateral Hop
How to: Glue both legs together and bound from side to side as if jumping over an imaginary line (or your partner), landing lightly and taking off on the balls of your feet. One hop is one rep. Complete 20 reps.
Roll Up
How to: Start in a standing position with feet hip-width apart, with a mat placed behind you. Lower your body down until your butt reaches the mat, then roll your back onto the mat and lift your legs over your hips. Use momentum to roll quickly back to the starting position, but bend your knees and place your feet flat on the mat. Plant your feet and stand up. That’s one rep. Do 10.
Plank to Squat
How to: Start in a plank position, with your hands on the ground instead of your elbows. Squeeze your glutes and core to maintain a straight spine alignment. Hinge at the hip and hop your feet just behind your hands. Take your hands off the ground and raise your torso into a squat position. Hold for a beat, then hinge at the hip to place your hands back on the ground and hop your feet back to the starting position. That’s one rep. Do 10.
Bear shoulder taps
How to: Start in tabletop position, your wrists under your shoulders and your neck aligned with your spine, and raise your hips slightly to lift your knees off the floor. Keeping your core tight and hips level, lift your left hand up to touch your right shoulder. Reverse the movement to return to start, then repeat on the other side. That’s one rep. Do 10.
Go back to squat hold, and repeat the entire circuit 3-5 times, depending on desired intensity.
Read more about trainer CJ Koegel on Men’s Health.
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