Well, it’s that time of year again for us ex-pats… the (wild) anticipation of summer home leave! Oh, the joys of being back in our home countries for several weeks!! We all start counting down the days right about now…
One of the things I’ll miss, though, is working out with “The Fit Chicks of Alabang”… my bootcamp girls that meet 3 times every week during the school year. These ladies have become super fit, and have kept me in peak condition all year as well. So now we’re faced with the prospect of working out on our own all summer…
Who’s a fan of solo workouts? I don’t mind them during summer. My Pa was so kind to think of my future home leaves 20+ years ago when he bought his house backing up to a greenbelt area with a fitness course, running trail, and pull-up bar… just for my eventual exercise convenience, I’m sure! And Denver weather is about the most perfect I could ever imagine for outdoor workouts: high 50’s (sorry, I think in Farenheit in the US!) in the morning, and low humidity. It’s almost impossible not to work out every day!!
Then there comes the matter of weights… how many of you have dumbbells or home equipment to use during extended vacations? If you don’t, this can turn itself into an excuse not to do any strength training, but we must, we really must train our muscles year-round! Not only will we feel better day to day, but we’ll maintain muscle mass, and this translates to a high metabolism and relatively higher calorie needs. All the better to eat our home country’s wonderful food, right??
We often do a body weight workout in class, just to change things up and also to remind ourselves that we don’t need dumbbells or kettle bells to fatigue our muscles to the point of soreness. Here’s the one we did last week:
BODY WEIGHT WORKOUT
Walk or jog 5-7 minutes
Do 2 rounds of the following:
15 WALKING LUNGES
15 BURPEES
15 PUSHUPS
SUPERMAN SERIES:
10 REPS FINGERTIPS ON EARS
10 REPS ARMS OUT, PALMS DOWN (REVERSE FLY)
10 REPS ARMS BACK, PALMS TURNED AWAY
15 EACH LEG DONKEY KICKS
20 TUCK-UPS
20 GIANT JUMPING JACKS
10 EACH LEG PLANK LEG EXTENSIONS
40 MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
10 EACH WIDE-NARROW SQUAT JUMPS
40 BICYCLE CRUNCHES
15 EACH WALKING LUNGES: step forward into a lunge, then stand up and “walk” forward with your opposite leg into the next lunge. Continue for all reps. (You travel, which is why I’m walking out of the pictures!)
BURPEES: hands down, jump back into plank, jump back into tuck, jump up, and repeat! Burpees are the best full-body exercise out there.
15 PUSHUPS: feel free to do these from your knees…
SUPERMAN SERIES: keep your feet on the floor the whole time. As you lift your upper body, squeeze your shoulder blades together and arch upwards.
#1 10 reps Arms bent, fingertips by your ears:
#2 10 reps Arms straight out, palms down (reverse fly):
#3 10 reps Arms straight back, palms facing away from you:
15 EACH LEG DONKEY KICKS: keep your hips facing down, and extend your leg behind you by flexing your glutes
20 TUCK-UPS: if it’s too challenging to keep your arms off the floor, place them just behind your hips for balance.
20 GIANT JUMPING JACKS: just like a regular jumping jack, except come all the way down to touch the floor when you close your legs and arms.
10 PLANK WITH LEG EXTENSION: for each rep, extend your leg up, keeping your leg straight and your hips facing down. Softly place your foot back down, and repeat with the other leg.
40 MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS: you don’t need to touch your top foot on this variation… but get a little cross-body action with your top knee to engage your obliques.
10 EACH WIDE-NARROW SQUAT JUMPS: from the starting position, jump up and land in a wide squat, then jump up and land in a narrow squat. This is one rep.
40 BICYCLE CRUNCHES: make sure you’re lifting your shoulder blades up off the floor
If you give this workout a try, let me know what you think! Your comments mean the world to me. Have fun and stay fit!