Just because it’s been awhile since I’ve posted a workout… doesn’t mean I HAVEN’T BEEN WORKING OUT!!!
Except that I haven’t…
I trotted off to Bohol on October 25, thinking I would work out every day & even post a “beach workout,” because how fun would that be?? But our trip was cancelled & we ended up at Puerto Galera instead. I did nothing that weekend except hike to the amazing waterfall I told you about a couple of posts ago. But jumping into the waterfall doesn’t really count, as you’re going down… Sure was fun though!!
The day after we got back, I left again for the family reunion in London, where ok, we did go running several times through the beautiful Kensington park- how can anyone resist the autumn leaves? But I did absolutely noooo strength training and the word burpee never crossed my mind. And you know what?? It felt amazing to take a break!! This was an accidental hiatus, for sure, but it’s made me realise that backing off every so often should be part of our workout routine, just as much as purposefully increasing weights or time or distance, etc. Continual intense exercise with no time off can lead to chronic fatigue or muscle soreness, stress injury, a depressed immune system & decreased metabolism. If you follow an intense exercise regimen and never take time off, and find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms, it may be time to take a short break. Time spent in active recovery (I mean a week or 2) is not lazy, it’s replenishing. My accidental break has been wonderful for my body, mind, & soul… and I promise myself to make it a regular habit! I’ve come back to my workouts feeling refreshed & ready for the next challenge. Granted, I’ve been (quite) a bit sore after the first few bootcamps back, but in a good sort of way.
So… here was our latest challenge in bootcamp after my 2-week refresher! I call it the 10-20-30-40 workout because you do 10 reps of the first exercise in the circuit, 20 of the next, 30 of the next, & 40 of the last. It’s challenging both physically & mentally, because you know the last set is the longest.
Do 2 rounds of each circuit with one minute rest in between rounds. Then rest 2 minutes before going on to the next circuit (there are 3 in total.) It should take you around 35 minutes to finish, but if you want to extend, add 3-5 minutes of cardio (jump rope or jog) in between circuits to make it about 45 minutes total. Warm up & cool down about 5 minutes each.
10-20-30-40 WORKOUT
CIRCUIT 1
10 STAR JUMPS
20 PUSHUPS
30 V- SIT-UPS
40 KETTLE BELL SWINGS
(rest 2 minutes)
CIRCUIT 2
10 BURPEES
20 WIDE-GRIP STANDING ROWS
30 SQUATS
40 KETTLE BELL FIGURE 8
(rest 2 minutes)
CIRCUIT 3
10 SQUAT TO OVERHEAD SHOULDER PRESS
20 (EACH LEG) MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
30 KETTLE BELL REVERSE LUNGES
40 SECOND ELBOW PLANK
Try it and let me know what you think! Have fun!!
And don’t forget to rest when you need to…
Interesting workout. Seems like a great cardio/fat burning routine. I will have to try these exercises out and see how it works for me. I will report back on the results. Thanks for sharing with us!
Thanks, Dean! It is very “metabolic” in the sense that it keeps your heart rate up while still building muscular strength. Let me know how you like it! Thanks for commenting!