Fitness and Weight Loss: Torch your core and upper body using just a medicine ball

Just what your body needs after the long weekend.

Finding the incentive to do anything post-Labor Day Weekend is a tall order. Jumping out of bed for your alarm? We'd rather not.

Opening your work inbox after at least three days OOO? No thanks. Hitting the gym for a full body workout? Only if we can double the gains.

Coming off of a few days of rest, your body may not be in peak shape to hit the gym and go full-out during your workout. That's why compound movements are a necessary evil in any routine—and especially one that is playing a little bit of catch-up.

This one move from Dennys Lozada, a Nike trainer and instructor at Everybody Fights boxing gym in New York, will hit some of your largest muscle groups and wake you up from that long weekend lull. But don't be fooled by the compound movement—this exercise will heat your body up and have you feeling the burn fast.

Lozada's medicine ball slams target your upper body and core muscles while triggering lower body stability. Stand with your feet under your shoulders holding the medicine ball at chest level. In one movement, twist your hips and upper body toward the wall, slam the ball against the wall, and catch it. Then twist back to your starting position.

Per Lozada, two things are key during this move: engage your core and drive your back foot into the ground as you twist. "Your wrist and your shoulder should all be in one line [as you slam the ball into the wall]," he advises.

Do 20 to 25 reps on one side, then switch to your other side resting for 10 seconds in between.

Just what your body needs after the long weekend. Read Full Story