One way to cope with the stress and isolation the Corona Pandemic has thrown at us is to toss everything we know about fitness and health out the window.
A friend sent me a funny meme which sums is up pretty well:
I’m giving up eating chocolate for the month.
Wrong punctuation: I’m giving up. Eating chocolate for the month.
Personally, I think chocolate solves most everything. However, feasting on chocolate all day makes me irritable and listless, so that is off the list as a viable mood booster.
Here’s something else you can try, let’s talk about our workouts.
What workouts you may ask? That’s right, I’m here to convince you that no matter if you are surrounded by little kids fighting for your attention at all times or if you lack gym equipment, there is always time for an effective at home workout. And I’m going to give you the best advice you’re going to get:
Keep it simple.
That’s right. Getting in a full workout may be far fetched for many of us – so let’s go easy on ourselves, OK?
We can get a workout, in record time – and super effective, and all it takes is to work four elements.
Think: Legs – Core – Push – Pull
Work those four elements and you’ve got yourself a well rounded full body strength training routine.
Here’s how it’s done:
Pick one or two exercises from each list that hit your legs, core, pushing muscles and pulling muscles. The list ranges from beginner level to intermediate. Pick an exercise you can do for a duration or one minute without rest and move on to the next group. You can go through the list once, twice or three times for a powerful workout.
List A
Legs:
Chair sit to stand, Bodyweight Squats,1.5 squats, one legged ‘pistol’ box squats
Core:
Belly breaths, Bird dog, dead bug
Push:
Wall/counter push up, ledge or knee push ups, regular push ups
Pull:
Angel against wall, dumbbell row, bodyweight row
To build a more comprehensive program, pick from these additional exercises on this list here and add them into the original list or switch out for more variation.
List B
Legs:
Standing lunges, alternate leg lunges, toe touch back lunge, side lunges
Core:
Belly breaths with marching, side plank on knees with side knee raise, side plank with leg raise
Push:
Decline push-ups (legs on a stair or couch), Push aways, Down dog to plank
Pull:
Downward dog scapula presses, reverse snow angels, alternating arm plank row
Aim to strength train 3x times a week. Here is what your workouts can look like:
Each exercise performed for 60 seconds
Legs:
Bodyweight squat
alternating back lunge
Core:
Belly breaths
Side plank on knees with side knee raise
Push:
Ledge push ups
Decline push ups
Pull:
Dumbbell row
Reverse snow angel
Optional repeat
Simple? Yes! Easy? No, not easy, but just think LEGS, CORE, PUSH, PULL – 4 exercises and you got this one!
