Workout Of The Week August 13, 2013

Jeez, it's been forever since I posted.  That's what happens when your four kids are home for the summer.

W.O.W.

8/13/2013

Let's do one more outside workout before we roll into Fall.

As per usual find a park or recreation area that has benches or maybe a short wall.  Also kind of map out an area to run/sprint.  Photos are shown with weights but I doubt you want to run to the park holding a set of 15 pound dumbbells so bodyweight will work just fine.  The whole point of an outdoor workout is to be convenient and free of equipment.

Your warm up can be the run to the park but if you have to drive to the park then once you get there you can do the following to warm up: 25 jacks, 25 squat thrust with NO HOP, 25 air squats, 25 very tiny squat hops, jog in place.  You could repeat all that or call it good and move on.

On the wall or bench:

Reverse lunge step knee lift X15 on each side (see below)

Push ups X15 (can put hands on bench or on ground)

Repeat both two more times.

Run ten 50-100 meter sprints, jogging back to the start to recover between each one.

Back to bench:

Crossover step up X15 on each side (see below)

Tricep dips X15

Repeat both two more times.

Repeat sprints

Back to bench:

Side squat knee lift X15 on each side

Seated kick outs for abs X15

(see below for both)

Repeat both two more times.

Repeat sprints

Cool down by jogging home or jogging around the park.

I know you won't but please (please?) try to stretch a little.  Especially your hamstrings and lower back.  I'd appreciate it.

New Workout Of The Week

W.O.W.

June 11th, 2013

It's time to post a body weight workout that you can do outside in a park. You will need to find a park bench or a picnic table, your going to do a lot of leg work:)


Warm up by jogging to the park or you can do jacks and push ups once you get there.

After your warm up go to your bench and perform 20 step ups on each leg.  Next stand on top of the bench and perform glute dips - this is the exercise where you stand on top the bench and pretend to dip your toe in the water (the 'water' being the ground).  Perform 20 step ups on each side and then 20 glute dips on each side - thats one set.  Then jog around the park or in place for 2-3 minutes.  Repeat the entire sequence four times through. 

Staying at the bench, perform 20 push up (with hands on the bench).  Turn around and perform 20 dips.  Rest and repeat three more times.

 Find a patch of grass and perform 20 squat thrusts followed by 30 split jumps (also know and scissor jump) and then 40 flying jacks (also known as power jacks and star jacks). Rest and repeat three more times.

  Hands behind your head in for the above exercise.

Lean down and touch the sides of your foot and then hop up.

Return to the bench and stand facing away.  Put your hands on your head with your feet very close together.  Lower yourself slowly until your butt brushes the top of the bench (try not to sit down) and then hop up for a total of 20.  Step away from the bench and put one foot on the bench behind you.  Perform 20 dynamic bulgarian squats on each leg - single leg squat reaching down and touching the ground on each side of your foot and then jumping up.  Rest and repeat three more times.

 

 See if you can find a straight path or walk out on to the side walk.  Pick two landmarks and sprint as fast as you can from one to the other and then jog back.  Repeat for a total of ten times.

 Return to the bench.  Sit down and perform kick outs for abs - four sets of 20.  A kick out is when you take your feet off the ground and pull both knees in to your chest.  Then you kick both legs out as you lean back slightly, feet do not return to the ground until you have completed all the repetitions.  Hands are on the bench behind you for support.



Stretch and go home.......or go home and stretch.  Either way.

Top Four Body Weight Drills

There are four exercises that you can do anytime, anywhere so keep them handy for when you are on the road or stuck in your house for any reason. Here are the drills with variations to keep it interesting.



Push Ups

#1. Decline push ups - put your feet on a chair or table to perform the movement.
#2. Renegade push ups - perform a push up and as you come up out of the push up extend the opposite arm and leg. There are a couple variations on this drill. The most popular one is push up and row (pull one elbow to the ceiling at the top of the push up) but it isn't nearly as effective without weights and the drills I have listed are specifically designed to be challenging without using any equipment.
#3. Tricep push ups - keep elbows close to your body throughout the exercise.
#4. Plyometric push ups - as you come up push off explosively so that your hands (and/or feet) leave the floor.

Squats

Here are just a few squat variations. There are many, many more.
#1. Change the tempo of the squat by pulsing at the bottom for 10-20 reps before you come all the way up.
#2. Take your feet really wide with toes turned out, place your hands on your head and sink down at least to a 90 degree angle at your knee.
#3. Drop into a squat with your hands on your head and walk around the room for 10-20 steps.
#4. Bring your feet together and touch the floor with both hands on either side of your feet. Explode up into a jump while reaching for the ceiling.




Squat Thrusts/Burpees

#1. Just to clarify - a squat thrust is nothing fancy, just down/back/in/up. A burpee has a push up thrown in.
#2. Add a jack with the legs once your in plank and a jack as you hop up.
#3. After you kick your legs back lay all the way down on the floor so legs, belly and chest are all touching then push yourself up and hop in and up.
#4. After you kick your feet back bring your knees into your chest and kick back again before you hop in and up.




Sit Ups

#1. Traditional gym-class sit ups - hands behind the head, knees bent and curl all the way up to touch your elbows to your knees.
#2. Straighten your knee with arms straight over head. Curl up and touch your toes.
#3. Start with legs straight and hands behind your head. Curl up all the way, bringing one knee into your chest, touch it with your opposite elbow (you should twist across).
#4. Put your hands behind your head and tuck elbows and knee together so they touch. Extend legs out parallel to the floor. Bring them up some if your lower back bothers you.

Mix up sets and reps for the above exercises to create even more variation.

W.O.W. June 27, 2011

Work Out Of The Week

This is a complicated pyramid work out. It's complicated to figure out, not to do. You will perform 5 drills in order but the times will vary.

Here's the formula:

Drill #1-50 seconds
Drill #2-50 seconds, Drill #1-40 seconds
Drill #3-50 seconds, Drill #2-40 seconds, Drill #1-30 seconds
Drill #4-50 seconds, Drill #3-40 seconds, Drill #2-30 seconds, Drill #1-20 seconds
Drill #5-50 seconds, Drill #4-40 seconds, Drill #3-30 seconds, Drill #2-20 seconds, Drill#1-10 seconds

You can do the above with any five drills. The sequence is about 9 minutes long. Go through it in order, Drills #1-5, and then rest. Repeat everything but start with Drill #5 and go backwards.

Here are today's drills:



#1 Jacks

#2 Push Ups

#3 Jump squats

#4 Sit ups

#5 Burpees

Go through the above drills, rest, and then repeat in reverse order.




Yes, it's hard to keep your own time but there are ways to do it. There are interval apps for smart phones and there are watches with which you can program any interval length.

W.O.W. May 10th, 2010

The following work out is designed to accommodate people without equipment.

Perform 30 body-weight squats lowering thighs parallel to the floor and making sure to push your butt back.
Perform 30 body-weight lunges, alternating legs - back knee should touch the ground on every repetition.
Perform 30 switch lunge jumps hopping as high as you can to switch legs front to back.
Perform 30 crouch squat hops - feet are wider then shoulders, crouch down and touch both hands to the floor between feet then hop up as high as you can reaching hands toward the ceiling.
Hold a plank for 2 minutes.

Run 5 sets of 60 second on/15 second off sprints - run as hard as you can for 60 seconds and recover for 20 seconds. Don't forget, you don't have to use a treadmill for your sprints. You could do this entire workout at a track.

Repeat sequence a total of 3 times.

Good luck.