Workout Basics and Warm Up
To plan your workouts think about doing something focused 3-6 times a week and taking 1-3 days of what’s called active rest (clean house, walk the golf course, go for a hike, take the dog for a long walk, do squats throughout the day – link it to every time you go to the bathroom for example.
This movement is important for recovery and allows your body to do something active for fun, wellness, blood flow to the sore spots from your focused workout, etc. This keeps the body oriented toward energy flow and movement.
Making sure to get a weekend workout in is a great way to make sure your active rest days are not consecutive. Consecutive days off can make it harder to return to your focused workouts on Monday.
Make sure to warm up. Spend 5-10minutes doing easy movement, stretching, and allow the muscles you are going to work to “wake up”. Work to include all the big joints and major muscle groups. It’s a great time to get your music right, your shoes tightened or loosened, or make sure you hair is out of your way. By fixing these things now, you are more likely to stay focused on the work portion.
When you complete the round, give yourself a pat on the back, a fist pump, something that celebrates your accomplishment. This is a big deal for helping habits stick, and helps you be realistic about all the hard work you are doing.
If you are unclear about a movement, look it up (Check out my YouTube Tutorials Here). There are lots of resources online that allow you to make sure you have good form. Always work up to adding weight or making a movement less stable. Good form comes first.
Get Into the Groove
- Squat to Toes – For this squat keep toes pointed forward, feet hip width apart. You may want a block or towel better your thighs to activate the inner thigh, hip, and low back. With control, bring fingers to the floor as you squat low. As you raise up, keep arms straight and extend overhead and move all the way through the squat to full extension on your toes. Your body should be in a straight line nice and tall.
- 5-Pointed Jumping Jack – basically, a jumping jack but take an extra stop with arms extended out to the sides, then jump again and bring them above your head. Repeat in the opposite direction, so jack is 3 parts – low arms, mid arms, high overhead arms.
The Work
1 set through, 30 seconds each exercise. 10 second rest. Repeat 2 more times.
- Compass Jumps
- Plank Spider Walks
- Rocket Girls
- Bear Crawl
- High Skip Jumps – travel if you have space to move around
- Plank Rockets
Dumb bell Matrix
DB in each hand moved through each exericse for 8-10 reps, make the weight hard enough, but keep good form. 2x through
- Rotate and chest press – Standing with knees slightly bent, DB in each hand, press forward and rotate through the torso. Watch the knees, keep the rotation smaller than moving the knees, or if you’d like a bigger rotation, pivot the foot on the toe to follow the knee. Knees, toes, and nose should be going in the same direction to keep the knee protected.
- Rotating Curling Lunge
- Upper Cuts
- Squats with a Y shoulder press
- Front to Lateral raises
- T-burpees – want a different burpee options? Check out this article
Want to make it a little more challenging? Add a 30 second plank hold between each of the exercises above.
Finish Strong
YOU DID IT!! Now that you have finished the “work” portion, it is time for flexibility training. Spend some time stretching all the muscles you worked – in this workout, it’s full body so give all your major muscles a good stretch. Then grab a good post workout snack. Together these get your muscles ready for tomorrow’s movement and make sure you are ready to meet your goals.
Words of Caution …
Please make sure to follow your body. Do not push through pain. Discomfort/Challenge are different than pain. We want to challenge ourselves we do not want to hurt ourselves. Find the level that is right for you and move at that level. Make sure to choose weight and stances that support your body style – if you have to use the wall to do your push ups do that, if you need a chair or a bench use those. Make sure you are doing what you need to do for your body type and current personal level of fitness.
As always have fun living in your body today!
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