“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” — Plato, a philosopher in Classical Greece
Working out has been a major part of my life! It helps me to energize, reset, improve my mood and feel better throughout my days! I have tried numerous types of workouts such as bodybuilding, CrossFit, HIIT, running and boxing. The pandemic has caused me to think outside the box! I currently use a blend of all my experiences and I will give you examples of workouts I do myself. The best part of my strategy is that you don’t need to workout for hours to get a good calorie burn to feel better and look better! My strategy involves different types of workouts through the week to keep fresh! Some workouts are longer than others! The movements are not complicated and are not meant to impress like so many advertisements available online. The best part yet, no need to buy expensive equipment or a monthly membership!
I make my own workouts most of the time. I use the Trifecta app for when I want something random. Trifecta also has a timer that I use for all my workouts. It has a standard timer, interval timer, tabata timer and count down timer. It also includes a workout tracker and index for exercise movements. The timer helps you focus on your workout versus watching the clock to know when you have to switch exercises, especially for intervals and Tabata. Trifecta has other resources as well such as food tracking and meal delivery services.
The following workouts are not meant to treat or manage any type of medical condition. Before performing any of the below exercise routines, please discuss with your medical professional what type of exercise would be suitable to your needs.
Tabata intervals!
Warning: this type of workout is not for beginners.
Just the name made me curious when I first heard of it! Dr. Izumi Tabata, the creator of the original tabata set. Tabata is an interval with 20 seconds of max effort performing an exercise and 10 seconds of rest. This is performed 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. That’s the entire workout! Exercises such as sprints, burpees, thrusters or high rows are highly effective! If you have access to bikes, rowers or assault bikes…give it a go! I couldn’t complete it the first time I tried.
To make this an interval workout and total body routine, choose 5 movements that target different muscle groups.
Warm up: Before any high intensity exercise it’s crucial to perform a warm up to prevent injury. Try:
30 seconds high knees
30 seconds jumping jacks
30 seconds alternating lunges
30 seconds plank shoulder tap
Repeat 2-3 times.
Perform each exercise for one complete tabata set. After each completed round rest 1 minute. Your goal is to perform as many reps as possible each time. Document the least amount of reps you complete during your set. This will be your goal to beat next week.
1. Pull ups
2. Burpees
3. Push ups
4. lunges
5. V push ups
6. sit ups
You do not have to use the exercise I choose. You can choose what you prefer based off your athletic abilities. Make sure you choose complex exercises over single muscle group exercises. In other words, do pull ups instead of bicep curls. The more muscles used will increase the calories you burn!
HAVE FUN SWEATING!
Regular interval training!
Regular interval training involves multiple exercises back to back for a set number of repetitions or time. This type of workout benefits strength, endurance and cardiovascular health. Not forgetting to mention large amounts of calories!
First, complete a warm up, then the workout!
Complete each movement for 30 seconds without resting:
Running High knees
Squats
Plank runs
Push ups
Rest for 1-2 minutes (when you are able to tolerate, reduce rest time to 30 seconds)
Repeat each round up to 9 times if you’re daring! My standard workout is 6 rounds. Adjust it to your fitness level.
Strength and conditioning work
I named this: “the only option is failure.” That’s the goal! You’ll choose 4 different exercises for either upper or lower body. Complete repetitions until you can’t get one more. Focus on form and feeling the muscles contract. Do not use speed or momentum to lift your body. If you cannot complete repetitions with good form or you start to use momentum, you have failed. If you are more of a beginner, use more rest between sets. Next week, you will try to increase the amount you can complete.
This is one of my completed workouts.
Warm up
2 sets of 10 reps each
Jumping Jack with shoulder press
Hanging scapular retraction
Shoulder tap plank
Plank runs
Workout of the day
Reps: failure/rest 60-90 seconds
Pull ups: 12/10/8/6
Ab roll outs 12/10/8/6
Push ups 31/21/13/13
Handstand push ups (or V push ups) 6/5/4/3
This workout is to focus on strength training and not cardiovascular work. Your heart will still be pumping with the short rest between sets.
Random WOD (workout of the day)
One day a week I choose a body weight CrossFit workout! If you have equipment you can choose any CrossFit workout! Meet the girls!
I will be adding weekly workouts that I use personally!
Osen Village 