Monday Workout: Extra Bonus Points

This week we have options.  Choose the squat pop up if you want extra bonus points.  Three rounds.

 

jacks	30
Arnold press	20
squat pop up or pushups	10
1 arm clean and press	30
flies	20
YTA	10
overhead curtsy	30
deadlifts	20
toe reaches	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Power Step Ups

The Amazing Stickie loves step ups, but sometimes she wants a bit more challenge.  Today she’s doing power step ups.

She begins with one foot up on a strong box, step, or bench.  She pushes herself up onto that foot and lifts her other knee high, hopping up above the box.  After landing back on the box, she returns her foot to the floor.  Her arms swing as she moves for extra bonus calorie-burning points.  She usually does a set of 15 or so on one leg and then switches to the other side.

Month of Gratitude: Weights

November is a month of gratitude.

I am thankful, today, for weights.  Not just heavy things, but specifically weights.  Of course, we can get strong by lifting couches or groceries or growing children.  We can use our muscles to lift our own body weight in various ways.

 

But the person who decided that having a set of measured weights in graduated sizes is a genius.  With measurement comes the ability to track and plan and plot progress.  We can benchmark where we are and we can add incrementally to our challenges so we can develop in a healthy way.

 

Also:  weights are much easier to grip than couches or children.

 

What is your favorite piece of fitness equipment?

Month of Gratitude: Parasympathetic Nervous System

November is a month of gratitude.

Today I am grateful for the parasympathetic nervous system.  (Now that’s a sentence I never expected to write!)  The world out there likes to encourage me to be best buddies with my sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for stress reactions like the fight-or-flight response.  But my parasympathetic nervous system offers a respite from that.

 

Tapping into deep breathing allows me to relax and heal, to rest, to repair the results of the day’s stresses, even if those stresses are good things like a hard workout, a challenging situation well-resolved, or a novel experience.

 

What’s your favorite way to find relaxation?

Monday Workout: Ramp

We’ve got lots going on today with compound exercises.  Ramp up that metabolism, baby!  Three rounds.

 

tap backs	30
farmer carry	20
renegade row	10
woodchoppers	30
good mornings	20
lateral raise	10
suitcase swing	30
side lunges	20
side banana	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Plyo Pushups from Knees

The Amazing Stickie knows that a great way to power up her workouts is to add plyometrics.  Today she’s doing plyometric pushups from her knees.  (It is also ok to do these from regular pushup position, but it’s harder!)

She begins in modified pushup position, a straight line from her knees to the top of her head.  She bends her elbows as she would for a regular pushup, but then explodes upward so that her hands leave the floor at the top of the pushup.  That’s one rep.  Sets of ten are good.

Month of Gratitude: Body

November is gratitude month!

Today I am grateful for my body.  I mean, without a body, where would I be?

 

My body takes care of all kinds of stuff without me even noticing.  I don’t have to remember to breathe (although sometimes it helps!).  I don’t have to figure out how to digest my food or keep my internal temperature at a healthy level.  When I get a scrape on my knee, my body just fixes it!  Blood moves all by itself.  Even my lymph system does whatever it is it does without any interference from my conscious mind.  And that’s just the maintenance portion of the show.

 

When I want to go somewhere, my body gets me there.  When I want to move things, my body coordinates all the bones and muscles to get it done.  I have my own personal meat monster to do my bidding!

 

Then there is the joy my body provides.  I get to feel the sun on my face.  I rejoice in flowers (obviously!).  Tasting food, listening to music, smelling herbs or petrichor, all the pleasures of the world are brought to me through my body.

 

Thanks, body!