Spring has finally out-muscled Winter. I'm hoping that
YOU -- like me -- will be taking all or most of your workouts outdoors.
Today's exercises are Yoga-influenced (like much of the previous ones) since
carrying one's body, without tools, is the most challenging and useful way to
build strength. It is also dangerous if not done with caution and proper
form. If you're unsure of something, write and ask me, another trainer,
or disregard it and move on.
It is also IMPERATIVE that you stick to your level. I
always like to present really difficult techniques for people to try and up
their strength. However, it will do nothing but hinder and injure you if
you do not listen to your body when something is too hard ... or if you put too
much pressure on a joint that's screaming for you to stop. So, since I'm
not there with you in body, let's go with the "rule" that: if it
feels wrong, it's wrong. At the end of the day ... if all you end up
doing is a basic set of pushups with a run/jog/walk, then that is not only
triumphant, but exactly where you should be.
That said ... I would like this set of exercises to come
AFTER a
*30-60 minute run/jog/walk.*
Please make sure that you have enough fuel (food and water)
in your system to perform the cardio and strength exercises well. And
don't tell me you don't have time to take at lease 30minutes to get your heart
rate up and sweat before this set. Find time and do it. With the
way people are eating and sitting these days, it is NOT ok to skip out on the
cardio portion. If you have questions about that ... ask me.
1). 30-60 minute run/jog/or walk ... on treadmill, in
place at home, but most preferably, outdoors.
2). Single Leg Burpee - 5 times Right & 5 times
Left
*Preparation: Just to
test, hop on your right leg a few times. Hop on your left leg. Any
knee or joint pain? If not, continue. Hop on your right leg with
arms reaching up to ceiling. Slowly go into a sort of single leg squat on
the Right, putting weight on the heel. Allow the left leg, slightly bent,
to be lifted behind you as your hands reach towards the floor.
Pain? If not move on. If so, stop. Can your hands touch the
floor? Your chest should be forward ... nearly touching the top of the
right thigh. Here, if you are hesitant about jumping back with the right
leg only, then use both legs like in a regular burpee. If your confident
that you have the strength, balance and are injury-free, then jump your right
leg back, keeping your left leg up, into a single-legged plank. Arms are
straight. Hands are underneath the shoulder line. Body is straight
with only the left leg slightly lifted from the ground. Perform one
push-up with nose aiming above fingers and chest touching floor (you can modify
this by putting the right knee down for a moment and lifting it back up to
plank). Are you confident that you can jump forward BETWEEN THE HANDS and
into that proper single-legged squat position we were in before the jump.
Try it, if so. Is your right foot completely flat to the ground? Do
not ... DO NOT (do you hear me?) DO NOT jump up again on that single leg until
and only IF that right foot was/is able to land flat between the hands in good
balance. You WILL injure your knee without that stability ... so please,
take note and be mindful of form. Weight should most definitely no be forward
on the toes. Keep it equal throughout the foot. That said, before
jumping out of the single-leg squat ... bring your hands, palms facing out, to
your shoulders. Do not whip your back up into a jump. Your hands at
your shoulders should have put your chest upright so that now, though your
right knee is bent, your shoulders are almost in direct line above your hips
before you jump up, raising your arms up to start over again. All
good? If there's any fear that it's too much pressure on the knee or the
back, then do the same thing jumping with both legs 10 times instead of 5 times
each leg singly. So, once form is correct, it goes: jump up, single
leg squat reaching down to floor, jump back, push-up, jump into squat again,
jump up to repeat.
15-30 second rest (*if you need more of a break at any time,
your body will get cold and these exercises might be too difficult ... so
either, tweak the exercises so that you don't need as long of a break or march
in between them to keep warm, pacing yourself properly)
3). Frog Jumps (30 seconds)
*This is a fairly common exercise
to get you for number 6. Deep squat, legs just wider than hip width,
keeping chest up, back arched in a sort of C shape with tailbone up.
Weight rests on the heels -- can your toes be lifted up? You can put them
down, but make sure your weight is not forward on the toes -- as I say a
million times and still not enough! Can you touch the floor with your
chest still up, weight on heels into the squat? If not, don't go as far as
touching the floor until you can do so while keeping proper form. Hands
come back up to shoulders, palms face out, shoulders above hips before hopping
up with arms raised overhead and right back into the deep squat to repeat
again.
15-30 second rest
4). Single-Leg Table-Top Balance (Hold Right and Left
side 30 seconds each)
*There are a zillion variations of
this, however, I'm going to keep this as simple as possible for this workout
section because I'd like the legs to re-adjust and train well. Balancing
on the Right leg, raise the Left leg up behind you, making it parallel to the
floor. The Left foot should be flexed and the inside or arch of the Left
foot is facing the floor (thus, the outside edge of the left is facing the
ceiling and the heel and toes face the side walls or what have you). The
Right fingers are down on the ground in front (the palm is NOT flat on the
ground ... it truly is a light touching of the tips of the fingers on the
ground) of the Right toes and a bit off to the Right side of the body (so, not
directly in front of the toes). The Left arm raises up towards the
ceiling with the palm facing the same direction as the Left toes (side wall),
fingers reaching towards ceiling and arm perpendicular to ground. Head
looks up at Left hand (you can look down at the floor if you like, but I would
rather the face be turned upward, if possible, just to avoid any kind of
dizziness). Looking forward tends to put too much pressure on the
neck. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
15-30 second rest
5). Cobra Push-up - 8 complete reps (Massively
DIFFICULT!!! Do your best)
*Start in the Yoga Down Dog position --
look up online if you don't know what I mean. Hands are angled forward
with palms on ground; feet are angled back; the body makes an upside down
V. Now, you're going to "snake" your way into a hovering, low
push up position. So, keeping your butt up, swoop your nose and chest
down then forward, so that your elbows are now bent, your chest is hovering a
weeeeeeee bit above the ground between your hands and your head is hovering the
same weeeee bit above the ground forwards of your hands. Push yourself
STRAIGHT up into a straight arm plank position (for, by this time, your butt
should have lowered as you swooped low). You can fall to the knees here
for a modified push-up or stay on your toes to "keep it real."
Now, the insanely hard part: lower your body back down into that hovering low
pushup or bent armed plank position and swoop BACK into the Downward Dog, this
time leading with the butt, then the chest, then the nose until the arms and
legs are straight as in the beginning. NOTE: You do have the option of
dropping to the knees while swooping backward and then straightening your legs
to complete the Down Dog. That's one full "cobra" push
up. Heheheheeh! Yes, I love it like the evil trainer that I
am. Do that 8 more times and enjoy every muscle building second of it!
15-30 second rest
6). Burping Frog "Twist" (without push up) -
10 reps
*I cringe at the word
"Twist" just because I do not want to think of any body rotating
their spine. So, let me explain "twist" in this burpee
sense. It is a "direction change" that still keeps the
shoulders over the hips at all times and does not allow the shoulders to turn
ahead of the legs. Hmmm ... let me be more detailed. So, let's go
into this as if we are simply doing a wide legged burpee. Legs start
wider than hip width. Jump up, arms in air overhead then land in a proper
frog/deep squat position (explained above). Hands need to be on ground
completely, though, before jumping. So, palms flat to ground -- PLEASE do
not make a cup with your hands by only putting the fingers down. The
ENTIRE palm needs to rest on the ground with evening spread fingers and hands
directly underneath shoulders. Jump back into plank -- legs still -- and
always for this exercise -- just wider than hip width. Jump forward into
frog position. Please make sure your feet are completely flat on
ground!!! And HERE ... now, as you jump up, turn so that you land facing
the side wall. (basically, let's pretend you're in a proper boxed room
with walls A, B, C and D. Let's say A and C are North and South.
And B and D are West and East, respectively. You are facing wall A as you
do the Burpee, then as you jump up from the squat you turn, mid-air to face
wall D (at your right) where you have landed back into the squat. Before
doing another burpee, jump and turn again to face wall A as in the
beginning. Perform the wide legged burpee and this time, after you jump
your legs forward, jump up to face wall B. And jump once more to face
wall A at start. So, in essence, you NEVER face south or wall C.
It's all Center, Right, Center, Burpee, Center, Left, Center, Burpee.
Phew! Hope that's clear!!!
15-30 second rest
7). Inner Thigh Side Plank or Balancer Muscle Build
(20-30 seconds each side)
*Laying on your Right side, go into a
side, forearm, modified plank. So, Right arm is bent 90 degrees, elbow
directly below shoulder ... right hand is forward, perhaps in a loose fist with
thumb side up and pinkie side, therefore, pressing down into ground. Legs
are stacked, left leg on top of the right, however, right leg (for now) is bent
at 90 degrees with the right foot behind you. The left leg is
straight. The inside of both knees are touching each other -- they are
one on top of the other, ever and always facing forward, the same
direction. To start, lift the right hip from the ground so that the right
knee is down; the left inner arch of the foot is down and the right forearm is
down but the right hip is up ... sort of like a side plank but modified for
certain purposes with the right outer knee touching down. The left arm
lifts up, perpendicular to the floor with palm facing forward. Ok ... can
you do that? Now, you'll notice not much pressure on the LEFT foot or
inner thigh though THAT is where the pressure will be. So, press your
LEFT inner foot into the ground, keeping the left leg straight. try to
raise the entire RIGHT leg, still bent, just an inch or two off the
ground. TRY! Can you do it? If not, try to train modified
with that right knee down but, ultimately, you wanna put the pressure on the
TOP leg -- in this case, the left. Keep the body's straight alignment and
try it on the other side.
REPEAT ALL exercises 2 through 7 either 2 or 3 times total.
Be sure to take 5 to 10 minutes to stretch (if
you need advice on certain stretches, look to previous blogs, please).
Drink plenty of water ... make sure you take in enough potassium and protein
... and feel great about yourself! Here we are Spring!
