The holidays are fast approaching. How are you doing at getting fit and taking it up a notch? This is part 4 of our workout series with Diane and Karen. I’m real excited about the progress I’ve made. To be honest, I couldn’t imagine being stronger now than I was in my twenties, but I am!
Before you make any changes to your health care routine, I just want to remind you to please check with your health care professional to made sure you can! If it hurts, STOP IMMEDIATELY!!
The Workout Rules are found in the first article in the series Getting Fit – Take It Up a Notch. Both Part 2 and Part 3 brought us 3 new exercises each. Now let’s get started with the next 3 exercises from Diane… .
9. Plank Walk and Straddle Jump:
Getting Fit
Advanced: Assume push up position with hands and feet on the ground. Walk your hands down to your forearms one at a time, then come back up to your hands one at a time. Alternate hands going up and down. Perform exercise for 30 seconds. Next, in push up position, jump into a straddle and then jump your feet back together. Perform exercise for 30 seconds.
Newbie: Assume push up position with feet on the ground and hands on the table. You may want to put towel on the table to protect your hands. Be sure to keep your body straight and your abdominals tight. Perform the hand walking (as stated above) for 30 seconds. Jump straddle and together with the feet (as stated above) for 30 seconds.
10. Burpy
Getting Fit: Taking It Up A Notch
Advanced: In standing position, reach down and place your hands on the ground. Jump feet back in to a push up position (body straight with abdominals tight; optional: do a pushup). Jump feet forward to just behind your hands and stand up with arms overhead. Perform exercise for 30 seconds.
If you want a bigger challenge, you can do this exercise on a bosu. Place Bosu (half a ball with one flat side and one round side) about 6 inches in front of your feet with the flat side up. Reach down and put hands on outer edges of the bosu, jump feet back and assume push up position. Jump feet forward and stand up with arms overhead.
Newbie: Assume the push up position with your hands on a table and your feet on the ground. Perform push ups keeping body straight and abdominals tight.
11. Side Lunge with Diagonal Reach (Saturday Night Fever Move)
Advanced and Newbie: Lunge sideways with the right leg bent and the left leg straight. (Optional: you can place the right bent leg on a bosu.) Reach down with your left hand and touch your right foot. Bring arm up across the body and reach up to the left.Point your finger and imagine you are doing the John Travolta Saturday Night Fever dance! You can look at your left hand while performing this exercise. This will challenge your balance a little more. Perform each side for 30 seconds.
If you can play the music while you do this exercise it’s even better! Next week is our last in this series, but it won’t be over. Every few months Diane changes out our routines, so once you get this one down, we’ll change it out for you — it keeps it interesting!
What’s your favorite exercise so far? Which do you dread?
