Tag Archives: at-home workout

Leap Day Workout

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Leap Day!  It dawned on me that the perfect workout to share with all of you today would be one that involved a lot of leaping, naturally.

Exercises that incorporate leaps, jumps and other explosive movements are known as plyometric exercises.  Plyometrics are an excellent way to burn fat, build power, endurance and speed, and they also help to improve your coordination.  And while they can be modified for varying skill levels, these types of movements are not for the faint of heart – you should already be in good physical condition, free of any injuries (lower body ones, especially) and comfortable with the basic squatting and lunge patterns before attempting an entire workout like this.

Standard disclaimer: As always, please consult with your physician before attempting this, or any other exercise program.  Remember to honor your body and any injuries or limitations that you may have, and to go at your own pace.

————————————————————-

Leaping Leap Day Workout

*This workout can be performed on its own, or you can incorporate it into your strength training routine if you’re looking to burn more calories.  If you’re new to this type of workout, I wouldn’t recommend doing this more than once every four years 1-2 times per week, and never on consecutive days.

Warm-up: Five to ten minutes of low-to-moderate intensity movements to get your blood flowing; for example marching/jogging in place, high knees, arm circles, jump rope (pretend if you don’t have one), etc. if you’re at home, or you can hop on the cardio machine of your choice if performing this at the gym.

Workout: Perform 2-4 rounds of the following circuit.  Rest for 1 minute between each round.

Cool down/Stretch at the end!
——————————————————————
If you try this workout, I’d love to know what you think!  Enjoy :)

Winter Warmer

Posted on by
1

Despite its unseasonably late arrival in New York – where we were enjoying balmy 60-degree weather well into December – the harsh, cold winter is finally here , and it doesn’t look like it’s going to ease up anytime soon.

I don’t know about you, but when the temperatures fall it can definitely be tempting for me to skip my workout, especially on those dark, cold mornings.  Trust me, I understand that it’s easy to make excuses to not leave the house when there’s a foot of snow on the ground.  But since we’re all about overcoming obstacles over here, let’s tackle this one then, shall we?

Here’s a workout for you to add to your arsenal for those days when you either can’t get to the gym, or if the very idea of venturing out in the cold chills you to your bones.  You’ll be using your own body weight for these exercises (which are a combination of strength-building and cardiovascular moves), so you don’t need any equipment for this workout, other than mat or towel to put on the floor if you don’t have carpeting.

The best part is that you’ll be able to complete this workout in about 30 minutes, and I can promise you that it will have you thawed out in no time.

**As always, please be sure to talk to your doctor before attempting this (or any) exercise program.  Remember to go at your own pace and to honor any injuries/limitations that you have by making modifications where necessary.**

Winter Warmer Workout

Warm-up: five minutes of light cardio, doing a combination of jumping jacks, jogging in place, high-knees, butt-kicks, hopping back and forth and side to side, arm circles, and/or marching in place.

Perform each move in the order listed below, and then repeat entire sequence.  Aim to complete 3 rounds in total:

-          20 Squats, immediately followed by 20 Jump Squats

-          20 Alternating front kicks (20 on each leg)

-          20 Push-ups (modify on your knees as needed)

-          20 Around-the-World Lunges on each leg (front lunge, then side lunge, then back                lunge all on the same leg – that’s 1 rep)

-          20 Mountain Climbers

-          20 Tricep Dips (legs extended and/or 1 leg raised to make this more challenging)

-          20 Sumo Squat Thrusts  (I could only find a video of a regular squat thrust, but for              this variation, come down into a sumo squat with a wide stance, toes turned out)

-          20 Alternating Plank Twists

Cool-down/stretch for at least 5 minutes at the end, being sure to include a stretch every major muscle group!

Let me know if you try this workout, and of course, leave a comment or shoot me an email if you have any questions.  You can also tweet about it by using the #winterwarmer hashtag.

Goals, Not Resolutions

Posted on by
Reply

Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone had a great time this holiday season, but now it’s time to toss out the leftover Christmas cookies move forward and set our sights on new goals and accomplishments for the coming year.

For most people, this time of year means plotting out your New Year’s resolutions.  Truthfully, I’ve never really been into this whole idea myself, I think in no small part because the very word itself annoys me.  To me, a resolution implies making up your mind to do something, but it neglects how you will get there.  And we all know that the how is the most important part – it can mean the difference between going a crash diet and eating more veggies and moving more in order to lose weight in a healthy way.  I often I think that people’s “resolutions” are lofty at best, and not fully fleshed out in terms of how you are going to get to the point where you achieve your goal.

Now goal, on the other hand, is a word I’m much more comfortable with.  Since getting into goal-setting this past year, I’ve experienced the profound positive effects that creating (and achieving) goals can have on one’s life.  As a result, I’m starting to re-think the whole resolution thing; I can really appreciate the sentiment behind it, but instead of resolving to do anything, I’m going to map out a plan of action and create some SMART goals to make sure that what I want is achievable, and that I’m able to take specific steps to ensure that I’m holding myself accountable along the way.  I would challenge you to re-think the notion of resolutions as well, and instead chart out the steps to achieve your goals for the year.

Relatedly, one complaint I’ve heard a lot lately is regarding how packed the gyms get this time of year.  Believe me, I totally get it  – frankly I used to get pretty annoyed with this myself, with all of the newbies cramming into the gym on January 1st, trying to make good on their decision to try and lose weight and taking “my” spin bike or hoarding the weights for a month until they fell off the bandwagon entirely by February.  But then I realized that these January Joiners have just as fair of a shot of making it as anyone else, and if a resolution is what gets them in the door in the first place, who is anyone else to judge them for taking the opportunity to possibly get hooked on exercise and change their life around?  Furthermore, I think there are actually a few positives that we can take away from this situation:

  • If you know that the gym will be slammed after work, or that your favorite class will be packed, instead of looking at it as a bad thing, why not instead use this as an opportunity to mix up your own routine?  Exercise before work instead, or make plans to try another class.  Take your workout outside if you can, or rent or buy a new exercise DVD that you can do from home occasionally.  Continually keeping your body guessing is good for muscle growth, avoiding plateaus and keeping you interested in your workouts, so switching it up could potentially help you achieve your own goals even faster.
  • You stand a better chance of finding a workout buddy this time of year.  Everyone has a friend or family member who vows to lose weight over the Christmas ham, so why not go to the gym with them, or plan an at-home workout together instead?  Or, you can step even further outside your comfort zone and actually go talk to one of those gym newbies, rather than giving them the death stare when they hop on your favorite treadmill.  They’ll probably appreciate having a veteran like you show them the ropes around the gym, and if you hit it off, you can help keep each other accountable for working out long past January.
  • If your own interest in exercise is starting to wane, use the heightened sense of enthusiasm and energy in the gym to your advantage to help reinvigorate your own workout.  Sometimes seeing all of those people all gung-ho can really help to motivate you and reignite that spark that reminds you why you stick with your own workouts year-round.

Were you ever a January Joiner?  What tips would you give those who are just getting into fitness and exercise to help them stick with it the rest of the year?

Also, I’ll be addressing a lot of questions I’ve gotten recently in some upcoming blog posts – feel free to email me or leave a comment with any questions that you might have and I’ll include those as well. Ask away, I’m sure no matter what it is, you’re not the only one with that question, so don’t be shy :)