Wednesday Workout

Happy Hump Day!  How’s everyone feeling today?  Remember that run I was planning on after work yesterday?  Yeah, it didn’t happen.  I conveniently forgot that it gets dark at 5 pm now, so by the time I got home at 6:30 I decided against it.  It’s not that I feel unsafe in my neighborhood or anything, but I just hate running at night.  I’d rather get up for an early morning run any day of the week.

However, I still wanted to get in some activity, so I decided to come up with a quick 15-minute total body workout.  I was exhausted by the end of this, but you could easily modify this to include more rounds if you have more time, or combine this with your next cardio or weights session if you’re really looking to take your workouts up a notch.

For this workout, you’ll need a timer, and you may want a mat (or carpeting) if doing these exercises at home.  Don’t forget to warm up for at least five minutes beforehand – light jogs, butt kicks, jumping jacks, etc. all work to get that blood flowing.

Here it is, your 15 Minutes of Torture Fun Workout:

*As always, please consult a physician before trying this, or any new exercise program.  Don’t forget to listen to your body and honor any injuries that you have.

1. One minute of walking lunges.
2. One minute of (what I call) Leapfrogs/Football Run Combos – from a squat position (booty back, knees bent & behind toes), take 2 giant hops forward, being sure to land with soft knees (hence the name, since you look like a frog jumping).  After the 2 hops, pick up those feet and quickly jog back to your starting point.  If you have a mat, place it lengthwise in front of you, keep your feet on each side of the mat and make it your goal to jump as far as the length of your mat.
3. One minute of walkout push-ups.
4. 30 seconds of reverse planks, followed immediately by 30 seconds of tricep dips.
5. One minute of alternating plank twists.