For a change I have added new activities to my weekly training. Some of it is for fun and relaxation, but also to work on my flexibility, co-ordination and agility.
Last Tuesday night I began Salsa lessons for example. Dancing is something I have always wanted to do and I was impressed with how much I enjoyed it. I always thought I had two left feet, but I was a little better that expected. However that was just after the basics, so we will see how I get on with more complicated moves LOL! Then, on Saturday I went to a Capoeira class. I was very nervous about this class because I knew it would challenge my balance, co-ordination, flexibility and agility. I found that this type of training was both challenging and very fun! For the last 2 days, my quads and upper back muscles have been rather sore with DOMS lol, just from the bodyweight Capoeira. This shows how much bodyweight exercises can challenge you in a totally different way.
Because of my DOMS, and because I wish to train heavy tomorrow, today I decided to design a workout with mostly body weight exercises. For the Tabata at the end, I used a Kettlebell for swings. However you can always swap this exercise with another body weight one if you prefer.
The Workout
Today’s workout is comprised mostly of body weight exercises, mixing set reps and set times. Complete 3 rounds of the 6 exercises in the first section and then finish with the Tabata below. For the timed exercises, I set my Gymboss Interval Timer for one interval of 45 seconds. Feel free to adjust this time according to your fitness/energy levels. I have suggested a rep range for the other exercises. My reps per exercises are in brackets were I was able to keep track:
Burpees x 45 secs (16, 15, 15 )
Single-Leg Hip Thrusts (left) x 12 – 15 reps
Single-Leg Hip Thrusts (right) x 12 – 15 reps
Jump Rope x 45 secs
Pull Ups x 5
Side to Side Step Ups x 45 secs (47, 45, 46)
For the Tabata below, set you Gymboss Interval Timer for 8 cycles of 10 seconds rest and 20 seconds MAX effort. I used 20kg for my Swings.
Complete 4 rounds of the following:
Two-Handed Swing
Dynamic Squats
That’s it for today. I know it’s a little lighter paced than usual, but every so often we need to deload and take things a little slower. I really enjoyed the change of pace, but I am ready to up my game again for the next workout. I hope you all enjoy this one too 🙂
After the weekend I have given myself 2 full days of rest and I am giving myself today to allow my grip, forearms and my poor hand extra recovery so I can resume my heavy lifting asap. I thought I would start by introducing a workout that includes some Body Weight principles and the KB Swing, but I couldn’t even do the KB Swing for any more than 30 seconds LOL, so I had to swap it out for some other exercise. It may not seem like much has changed, but I feel a shift towards some new designs and combos coming our way 😉
As you know I prefer short bursts of intense activity during my workouts and this is a great method for training in general as it is highly effective for improving your strength, conditioning and body composition in a more efficient way. However, one aspect of training I always neglect (along with flexibility) is endurance. With that in mind I feel I can use the KB skills from the weekend to include some longer duration exercises, like the Snatch … YES I said Snatch!
From the IKFF Workshop, I learned that the KB Swing is more of a gateway exercise to the clean and snatch. Although an effective exercise on its own, I want to begin to introduce the Single Arm Swing in preparation to the other KB lifts that I often ignore. In fact, I have been getting it the wrong way round in that I have used the Clean mainly as a way to get the KB into the rack position and that’s all! I will be using it more in combinations and drills to get the true benefits of full body KB exercises and fine-tuning our skills. What I mean is using the KB Clean to lead on to Presses/Push Presses/Jerks. With these types of Combos, it is best to work towards endurance.
I will still use the separate elements in my workouts, but I will also include more challenging lifts, especially for the benefit of those who enjoy Long Cycles!
For today’s workout I decided to include some challenging lower body combinations. These include longer intervals, higher reps, faster reps and plyometrics. Unfortunately I cannot replicate the exercises that Steve Cotter taught us at the weekend, as I need to consider beginners, but I am wanting to introduce some basic principles of his training methods. Plus for some of the tumbles and things I need a large padded room … and not because I’m crazy 😉
The Workout
For me, I set my Gymboss Interval Timer for one interval of 1 min, to count down for all the timed exercises. I have suggested a range of times and reps to draw attention to that fact that not everyone will have the same fitness level, so work to your own ability. But don’t forget to challenge yourself too.
The workout has 4 sections. Each section has 3 or 4 exercises, mixing Body Weight (mainly) and Kettlebells. The aim is to complete 2 rounds of each section before moving on.
Body Weight Squat (increase the pace every 10 reps) x 20 – 50 reps (50, 50)
KB High Deficit Reverse Lunge (left) x 30 – 60 seconds (16kg – 18, 17)
KB High Deficit Reverse Lunge (right) x 30 – 60 secs (16kg – 18, 17)
*Single-Leg Hip Thrust (left) x 12 – 20 reps (20,20)
*Single-Leg Hip Thrust (right) x 12 – 20 reps (20, 20)
** Use your rear leg for support and balance and only lower to a level where you can stand back up. Whether this is a quarter or half of the way down, that is fine. This is a very challenging squat because you require a lot of stability through the ankles, knees and hips in addition to adequate strength, mobility and flexibility. So there are many elements coming together here – so take this one slow! NOTE: The higher the bench the greater the range of movement.
I found this workout to be very challenging. The single-leg squats are a great exercise, but I find when I do full pistols, they flare up my SI Joint pain. So I know I need to work on my flexibility and avoid full range of movement in the meantime. All in all, I really enjoyed the change of pace today – especially the jumps 😀
Thank you all for your lovely messages and birthday wishes over the last few days. I am having a great time away. Even if the weather has been very poor, I have still enjoyed the change of scene and pace. The day after I arrived here, I did this workout and since, I have only managed to train once. I miss my Kettlebells!
My Aunt took me to her work gym yesterday and I was amazed at how good it was. It had a squat rack, proper plates, loads of free weights, a back extension “machine”, a pull up bar :), a dip station 😀 and plenty of benches. I was like a kid in a sweety shop! AND we had it all to ourselves 😀 😀 😀
I took my mum around and showed her some exercises, I taught my Aunt the Bulgarian Squat and a Sumo DL using a Dumbell. I was in my element.
I actually realised how much I now take my strength for granted. For example I was doing my pull ups and my Aunt was wanting to try them. She pulled herself up half way and then burst out laughing when she realised how hard it was. My mum even tried but her grip was not even strong enough to hang from the bar! That was once me. I don’t mean to use them as an example to make myself feel better but I want to highlight that it gets easier and we all start somewhere.
Any exercise that may seem to hold power over you now, can be tamed!
Right, now I need to get on with this post, because the weather today is amazing and I want to get an “Irish Sun Tan” LOL ie burnt 😉 Just joking LOL
Obviously being without my KBs did provide me with a challenge to get a good enough workout with my Body Weight and I overcame this challenge by choosing single-leg exercises, increasing reps, time intervals and rounds to make workout more intense. The major issue was finding a way of performing some sort of pulling exercise as I had no weights or pull up bar. You will see in the video what I did.
The Workout
There are 3 sections containing a combo of 3 exercises. Complete 3 rounds of each combo before moving on to the Bridging Exercise in between. If you have the weight available to you, then add resistance to the Bulgarian Squats. I would have done Pistols here but I fear they do not agree with my SI Joint, so I am avoiding them. Set your Gymboss Interval Timer for a set interval of 45 – 60 seconds.
Bulgarian Squat (right) x 20 reps
Bulgarian Squat (left) x 20 reps
Burpees x 1 min ( 17, 15, 14 )
Pull Ups x 2 – 3 reps (because of the vertical bars, these were super challenging for my grip, plus I kept sticking to them LOL)
Shoulder Elevated Single-Leg Hip Thrust (right) x 20 reps
Shoulder Elevated Single-Leg Hip Thrust (left) x 20 reps
Squat Jumps x 1 min ( lost count )
Pull Ups x 2 – 3 reps
Dive Bombers x 12 reps
Diagonal Knee Tucks x 1 min
Lunge Jumps x 1 min (didn’t count)
Pull Ups x 2 – 3 reps
Given what I had available, I had a good workout. It goes to show – there simply are no excuses!
Hope you all have a great day and will let me know what you think, as always. I hope to be back soon with a new post but, right now…
Today I felt like trying one of my older workouts again – and I have chosen this one because it is all body weight (for those who don’t have Kettlebells), and most of the exercises are fairly straight forward.
Now back to this workout were I am showing my improvements over the last year. I last did Smok’N Guns & Buns back in Feb 2010, so near enough one year ago. While I did the workout in a decent time back then, I can see great improvements in my flexibility, stability and strength. Just look at my burpees, dive bombers and plank climbers – What a difference!
Because all my old videos are such poor quality on my computer, here is the original video, if you want to check it out:
The focus of this workout was arms, quads and glutes. But in actual fact there is core, chest and back work too. Plus the bursts of cardio that help with the heart rate and sweat glands 😉 If I had my Gymboss Interval Timer back then I would have made it even more intense, by setting intervals, but today I just did it as it was. But I of course timed it to see.
Here is today’s attempt:
So the set-up is really straight-forward. There are 3 rounds of set reps of the following 6 exercises:
Burpees (with or without push ups) x 20 reps
Tricep Dips x 15 reps
Lunge Jumps x 20 reps
DiveBombers x 15 reps
Side Lunge Jumps x 20 reps
Planks Climbers x 20 reps
If you do fancy setting intervals, then why not do a killer 15 seconds rest and 45 effort, or 20 seconds rest and 60 seconds effort 😀 he he, EVIL!
I completed it in 18 minutes and 14 seconds. I have to admit I did think it was going to be easier than it was, my shoulders are in bits – thank goodness I have now realised the benefits of pulling exercises, to balance out all the pushing in this one! This is where I think you do need some equipment for home workouts to allow you to work your back.
Give it a try and let me know how you get on, and if you did intervals??
This workout is for those of you who I have not yet converted to using Kettlebells 😀 It’s a great fat-burning and toning workout that will help define those arms and firm those thighs and butts while melting the fat away. Again it is a short, but intensive, workout that should be completed with as little rest between rounds as possible.
The Workout
The workout consists of 6 exercises per round. The objective is to complete 3 rounds as fast as you can. I completed 3 rounds in 21 mins 14 secs. The exercises and reps are as follows:
20 Burpees
15 Tricep Dips
20 Lunge Jumps
15 Dive Bombers
20 Side Lunge Jumps
20 Plank Climbers
Let me know how you get on with this workout and post your time. Friendly competition is good lol
