Upper Body with Tunde Program Review: Push, Pull and Core Strength in 4 Weeks
Tunde Oyeneyin’s Upper Body with Tunde program is designed to build strength, improve core stability, and enhance your fitness routine. The Upper Body with Tunde program is a four-week program featuring three sessions per week—focusing on push muscles, pull muscles, and a mix of upper body and core exercises. Designed to maximize recovery, increase intensity, and track progress, this program is ideal for anyone looking to build strength while allowing muscles the recovery time they need.
Programming Breakdown: What to Expect from the Upper Body with Tunde Program
This program is designed as a four week program, with three sessions per week. The structure allows enough time for upper body recovery between sessions, while still challenging you to push your limits.
Each week the days are divided into distinct categories:
- Session 1: Focuses on Push Muscles—targeting the chest, triceps, and shoulders.
- Session 2: Focuses on Pull Muscles—focusing on the back, biceps, and traps.
- Session 3: Combines Upper Body + Core—strengthening the upper body while enhancing core stability.
Each week concludes with a benchmark workout that helps you track your progress and challenge yourself. As the program progresses, you’ll have the chance to increase reps or weights, ensuring steady improvement and intensity throughout.
Class Breakdown
Here’s a closer look at the structure of the classes. The Upper Body with Tunde program features three sessions per week, focusing on push muscles, pull muscles, and core stability. It is recommended to start each day with a standalone warm up. In Week 1, Tunde offers a five minute strength warm up that you can repeat, or you can also find a variety of different warm up options under Strength Classes.
Session 1: Push Muscles: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders
This 20-minute class is structured with a warm-up followed by a circuit workout and then EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) to target the pressing muscles of the upper body.
- Circuit: 45 seconds each exercise, repeated 3 times.
- Wide Grip Chest Press
- Skull Crusher
- Tricep Push-Up
- Wide Grip Chest Press
- EMOM: 6 minutes
- Minute A: Arnold Press Push Press- 6 reps each side
- Minute B: Push-Ups– 8 reps
- Minute A: Arnold Press Push Press- 6 reps each side
Personal Take:
The workout is designed with clear guidance on proper form and seemed to fly by! While Tunde encourages a quick and steady pace, I opted to slow down and prioritize my form, lifting heavier weights than suggested, to better align with my fitness goals. I recommend having a variety of dumbbells available, as I was not sure which weights would work best for each exercise, I opted to pause and change weights as necessary to get the most out of my workout. The intensity can be adjusted by increasing weights or reps to suit individual fitness levels, making this class appropriate for all levels.
Session 2: Upper Body Pull: Biceps, Lats, Traps
This 20-minute workout targets the pulling muscles in the upper body, specifically the back, biceps, and traps. It’s designed to be a fast-paced circuit with minimal rest to keep your muscles engaged.
- Circuit: 40 seconds each exercise, repeated 6 times.
- Bent Over Row
- Concentrated Curl
- Bent Over Row
- EMOM: 6 minutes
- Minute A: Bicep Curl – 8 reps
Reverse Fly – 8 reps
- Minute B: Upright Row– 8 reps
Personal Take:
This session is brief yet effective, focusing on key pulling muscles with simple exercises. The short rest periods help keep your heart rate elevated while emphasizing muscle activation. It’s a great workout for strengthening the back and arms while keeping things quick and efficient. Once again, in order to align with my personal strength training goals, I slowed down the movements and slightly increased the weights to match my fitness level. During the EMOM, I opted for different sets of weights, as I felt I could lift more during the bicep curls while maintaining proper form, compared to the reverse fly. Modifying the class in this way helped me stay motivated and focused on my own goals, all while being able to participate in a strong session and feeling inspired by Tunde, as she creates a fun, upbeat atmosphere.
Session 3: Upper Body + Core
This 20-minute class combines upper body strength training with a core circuit for total body conditioning.
- AMRAP (As Many Rounds as Possible):
- Benchmark Test (3 minutes):
Perform 10 Bicep Curls and 10 Tricep Push-Ups. - Record how many rounds you complete in 3 minutes.
- AMRAP (4 minutes):
- Overhead Press– 6 reps each side
- Wood Chop- 6 reps each side
- Overhead Press– 6 reps each side
- Core Circuit: 30 seconds each exercise, repeated 3 times.
- Tricep Extension
- Traveling Hollow Hold
- Alternating Single-Leg V-Up
- Oblique Heel Tap
- Tricep Extension
- Benchmark Test (3 minutes):
Personal Take:
The benchmark test at the start offers a fun and challenging way to track your progress, I will be very curious to see what type of gains I see after the four weeks. I found the core circuit, especially the Traveling Hollow Body Hold, to be tough—it really pushed my limits, which I appreciated! The mix of upper body exercises and core strengthening provides a great way to finish the week feeling strong.
Pros and Cons of Upper Body with Tunde
Pros
- Well-structured four-week program focusing on different muscle groups with proper recovery time.
- Flexibility to adjust intensity by modifying weights, reps, or exercise pace.
- Weekly benchmark workouts to track progress and stay motivated.
- Clear instructions and positive affirmations from Tunde, making the program suitable for all fitness levels.
- Combines upper body strength and core stability, promoting functional fitness.
- Customizable to meet personal fitness goals, especially with the option to slow down or lift heavier weights.
Cons
- 20-minute sessions may feel too short for individuals who prefer longer workouts.
- The pace may be too fast for those who prefer slower, more controlled movements.
- Some exercises may require modification to meet personal goals or fitness levels.
- The program advises no additional upper body strength training during the four weeks, which could be limiting for those who typically incorporate more strength work.
Tips for Success
- Have a variety of weights available to ensure you’re using the right load for each exercise.
- Focus on proper form and take your time with each movement to match your personal fitness goals.
- Complete the recommended warm-up and cool-down sessions to aid in preparation and recovery.
- Track progress using the weekly benchmark workouts, and challenge yourself by increasing reps or weights as you move through the program.
Overall Thoughts on the Program
Tunde’s Upper Body with Tunde program is thoughtfully structured, and will offer Peloton members a clear progression over the course of four weeks. Each session targets different muscle groups, allowing for adequate recovery time between workouts. The program is flexible, enabling you to adjust the intensity to match your fitness level by modifying weights, reps, or exercise pace. Tunde’s clear instructions and tips on proper form make the workouts accessible to both beginners and more experienced lifters. In addition, I feel that I was able to modify the program slightly, to meet my personal strength training goals. For me, the 20 minutes seemed to fly by, and if anything, I found myself pushing pause, and taking breaks, as needed, and wanting more exercises. I strongly advise a proper warm up before and cool down after each class, this will help your body be prepared for the workout and recover afterward. Tunde recommends not doing any other upper body strength training during this program to allow for rest between sessions, but she adds that adding in a cardio class or lower body strength training may be beneficial.
I enjoy slower, more controlled movements with heavier weights, and I believe this program can easily be tailored to fit that preference. The balance of upper body strength work and core stability is perfect for building functional fitness. Additionally, the inclusion of weekly benchmark workouts will keep members motivated and provide a way to track their progress. While the classes will vary week to week, the structure will stay the same, keeping it simple- but not easy. I will definitely be continuing on with this program and hope to see measurable results.
If you’re looking to build strength and improve core stability, the Upper Body with Tunde program is an excellent choice to add to your fitness journey. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced lifter, this program provides the structure, challenge, and variety needed to advance your fitness. I truly appreciate Tunde’s mindful approach to fitness and recognize her commitment to inclusivity and authenticity. I am looking forward to the benchmark workouts over the course of the next three weeks so I can see how far Tunde can take me in my fitness journey.
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