Welcome to the new year! Let’s make it a great one by working with compound exercises. Those who want some extra challenge can add a reverse lunge to the end of the step ups. Three rounds.
kb swings | 30 |
kb twists | 20 |
kb 8s | 10 |
| |
step up (reverse lunge) | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
quadruped lateral raise | 10 |
| |
squat to leg lift | 30 |
flies | 20 |
pretty princesses | 10 |
Today the Amazing Stickie is working on multiple things at once, as she often does. She’s challenging her core strength by working in quadruped position while also working her arms in the quadruped lateral raise.
She begins on her hands and knees, ensuring that her knees are directly under her hips and her hands, holding light weights, are directly under her shoulders. She raises one arm directly out to the side until it is parallel to the ground and then lowers it back to starting position. Then she repeats on the other side. (For less of a challenge, do all the reps on one side first and then switch.)
A set of ten is usually sufficient.
In the new year, I’m going to begin by focusing on the effects of strength training on the body.
Today, we begin with perhaps the most obvious effect: our muscles get stronger, our bones get tougher, and our tendons and ligaments become more resilient.
In theory, I think we all get behind this as a worthwhile goal. In practice, we come up against a few obstacles. One of those is that sometimes other people don’t really want us to be strong. They get invested in our weakness. We have to decide that what is good for us is more important than other people’s agendas.
Another perhaps obvious obstacle is that strength training is work and sometimes we don’t much want to work. This is another spot where we have to focus on what’s best rather than what is most fun.
Go play.
We have made it to the end of another year! Hooray for us!
Today is a good day to ask ourselves some questions.
What went well in fitness this last year? What did we enjoy? What progress did we make? What did we learn? How can we keep our momentum going?
What went less well? What do we need to put in place to make things go better in the future?
What would we like to see happen in the new year? Do we want more energy? Do we want to learn to tango? Do we have travel plans that we might want to prepare for?
When we reflect on where we’ve been and where we want to go, we give ourselves a better chance of success.
Wishing everyone a fabulous 2025!
We’re finishing out the year with a short circuit full of fun stuff. (Maybe not YOUR definition of fun, but whatever.) Four rounds.
1 min cardio | |
| |
jacks | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
1 leg deadlift | 10 |
suitcase swings | 30 |
(lunge to) curl | 20 |
brains | 10 |
Today the Amazing Stickie is doing Push Pull for her abdominals and upper body. She begins in a V sit position. She bends one knee toward her chest and pushes the opposite arm toward her toes while pulling the other arm back. Her torso twists toward the bending leg.
Then she reverses it and pushes and pulls the other way.
A set of ten is good.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!
Celebration is good for us. Humans, to be healthy, need other humans. So today is a good day to love the folks you love and to enjoy whatever good things are around.
Go play.
