Sometimes it is fun to do an exercise and its opposite back to back like we do this week with the flies and reverse flies. Punching forward and then kicking back has a similar feel. Three rounds.
db kicks | 30 |
flies | 20 |
reverse flies | 10 |
| |
kb alt arm swing | 30 |
kb hammer curl | 20 |
kb halo | 10 |
| |
(lunge) punches | 30 |
kickbacks | 20 |
side banana | 10 |
I try to avoid buying needless gadgets. That said, there are some tools that can be really useful for building balance.
1. yoga block
2. strap
3. roller
4. BOSU
5. turntable
6. balance board
There are lots of ways to put together a week’s worth of workouts that incorporate all the things we need to do. This is good, because we all have different lives, bodies, and preferences.
Those of us who particularly love one kind of workout will have to make more of an effort to squeeze in the other stuff. For example, it is often the case that folks who love lifting find it challenging to get around to doing flexibility work.
I have two suggestions for tactics. The first one is to find ways to make it fun. Maybe some of us really detest weight lifting. But doing it while catching up with a friend? That could be kind of awesome. If the idea of treadmill time reminds us that it was first used as a punishment, maybe we’d do better getting our cardio from playing basketball or swimming or dancing. Cue Mary Poppins singing “A Spoon Full of Sugar.”
The other suggestion is to find some accountability and/or community. Classes and teams are popular for this reason. People make friends. In the case of classes, there’s also reduced cognitive load because we show up and someone tells us what to do.
Getting in our workouts can stimulate our creativity as we look for ways to get everything done and have a good time.
Go play.
We’ve spent the month going over the basics of the various kinds of exercises that are beneficial for our bodies. The thing is, we need to put the kinds together for maximum benefit.
If that sounds overwhelming, stop for a second and breathe. Any exercise is better than no exercise and starting with what is manageable is always a good idea. (Also: it is my job to put things like this together, so if you need help, you could hire me.)
A person who has been exercising for a while might have a weekly workout schedule that looks something like this:
Monday: cardio and stretching
Tuesday: cardio warm-up, weights and stretching
Wednesday: cardio and stretching
Thursday: cardio warm-up, weights and stretching
Friday: cardio and stretching
Saturday: yoga or Pilates
Sunday: rest
Notice that resting is right in there, looking important, because it is. We don’t want to overdo things!
Go play.
Month end means a short circuit. My clients have figured out that doing a short circuit four times is not easier than doing a longer circuit three times. Did I say it would be? I did not. The point in doing a different shape of workout is that it challenges our bodies in different ways. Four rounds.
1 min cardio | |
| |
tap backs | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
squat pop up | 10 |
woodchoppers | 30 |
renegade rows | 20 |
scissors | 10 |
Things that can use stretching!
1. Hamstrings (aka, the back of the thighs/knees)
2. Calves
3. Quads (aka the front of the thighs)
4. Back
5. Chest
6. Wrists and arms
7. Neck
8. Whatever else feels stiff or restricted
Balance work is, like flexibility, both essential and often neglected. The statistics on older people who fall are not pretty. Hint: we are all getting older.
With my clients, I make sure that we work on having a strong core. This means more than doing a few ab exercises. The core is all the trunk musculature, all the way around. We can’t neglect working those deep back muscles that support and move our spines.
Additionally, I make sure we do asymmetric work. When we work one side of the body differently than the other (in a one arm clean and press, for example), our bodies have to figure out how to stabilize us. And, of course, this means straight-up balance work, like single leg squats, single leg deadlifts, and the like.
Pilates, by nature, enhances both core strength and balance. Yoga, likewise, is a great practice for those who want to improve balance.
The best thing for balance? Practice. I often suggest using the time we are standing around anyway to practice balance. I have at least one client who has taken me up on this (and told me about it). She works on her calf raises while she’s waiting in line at the grocery store. (Because she is awesome, she thinks of the amusement caused in her fellow shoppers as bonus points.) I can say that her constant practice has yielded results, both in her actual balance and her confidence. Those of us who don’t want to practice in public can use tooth-brushing time, microwave time, or commercials time for mini-practice.
Go play.
