The design and development of the YBell have been a labor of love for me.
I first started using traditional training tools like dumbbells, kettlebells, and medicine balls to create my own brand of High-Intensity Resistance Training (HIRT). When member numbers grew, it became impossible to keep incorporating multiple pieces of equipment into each session.
I needed a more effective way to help my clients keep the intensity up without switching stations or equipment. That’s what led to the creation of YBells.
Can You Do High-Intensity Resistance Training at Home?
Certainly!
Designing a high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) regimen specifically tailored for your home gym enables you to reap the rewards of enhanced muscle strength, toning, calorie burning, and endurance. HIRT is particularly advantageous for full-body workouts or sessions that focus on upper and lower body splits, making it an excellent choice for individuals seeking impactful results within a condensed workout timeframe.
The beauty of HIRT lies in the fact that you can utilize lighter weights, eliminating the need for a spotter. However, having a workout partner can add an extra element of enjoyment and motivation to your training sessions.
How can YBells improve your HIRT workout?
HIRT training frequently incorporates lightweight equipment like dumbbells, barbells, and free weights. This is precisely why the YBell is an ideal choice for your at-home HIRT workouts. Utilizing resistance tools such as YBells in structured high-intensity workouts can yield a multitude of sought-after benefits, including weight loss, improved cardiovascular fitness, and enhanced muscle endurance.
One of the remarkable advantages of utilizing YBells for your high-intensity resistance training is the versatility of fitness equipment at your disposal. Having to interrupt your workout to move between stations or switch out equipment introduces unnecessary breaks into your routine. Since the aim of HIRT is to maintain an elevated heart rate, minimizing breaks is crucial.
With the YBell, you can seamlessly transition from dumbbell to kettlebell to double grip medicine ball exercises, as well as perform various floor-based movements like push-ups, push-up rows, and burpees, all without having to relocate. It simply requires adjusting your grip on the YBell.
YBells truly shine in a group training setting, whether it's a fitness class or a workout session with your partner. Instead of individuals scattered across different stations performing distinct exercises, everyone can engage in the same exercises simultaneously. This fosters a healthy sense of competition, tapping into our innate drive for rivalry and ensuring that everyone reaches higher intensity levels.
Considerations for Creating a HIRT Workout Routine
Keep these factors in mind as you create your YBell HIRT routine:
1. Start With a Warm Up, End With Stretching
After stretching and warming up, you want to see how hard you can push yourself for 35 to 45 minutes in a full-body YBell workout. Don’t forget to stretch after your workout for proper muscle recovery.
2. Exercise Selection Matters
If you battle through 20 reps of dumbbell squat presses (about 50 seconds of work for me), your heart rate has shot right up, and your legs and shoulders are probably burning, which is how you’ll know you’re challenging your cardio fitness, muscle strength, and endurance at the same time.
3. Target Different Muscle Groups
To keep working on muscle tone and endurance, select another resistance exercise to add to the routine. Repeating the same dumbbell squat press would be extremely hard, so it’s best to choose an exercise that targets different muscle groups. This is easily accomplished by targeting upper/lower splits and core exercises.
Mixing it up to target different muscle groups ensures that rest breaks aren’t influenced by muscle fatigue. Incorporate upper body exercises like the dumbbell hammer curl press and lower body exercises like the kettlebell rack squat (using YBells throughout). Your lower body muscles are recovering while you’re working out your upper body, and vice versa.
4. Keep Your Heart Rate Up
Resting is important, but you don’t want to rest long enough to let your heart rate drop back down to normal. The goal of a good HIRT workout is to get your heart rate up to at least 80% of its maximum rate.
Keeping your heart rate up leads to a stronger heart, improved cardiovascular fitness, and max calorie burns.
Try the YBell Full Body HIRT Workout
Set a timer for a 50-second workload and a 20-second rest for each exercise below. You can adjust those times according to your fitness level for shorter workloads and longer rest breaks. Remember to keep your intensity level up, regardless of how long your workload is.
1 round = 6 exercises. Aim to do 3 or 4 rounds for a full workout.
- Dumbbell hammer curl squat
- YBell tricep push-up
- Kettlebell rack reverse lunge
- YBell chest burpee
- Medball side drop lunge
- YBell push-up rows
