I’ll be road tripping a couple of times in the coming week, and as much as I’d like to use this as an excuse to not work out, I’m too painfully aware that there are options. Yes, I could go on a run but I hate running, and I’m like 95% sure I have a sports injury, which I’m simultaneously depressed and thrilled by. Depressed because it’s hindering my workouts and, therefore, my journey to slenderhood. Thrilled because getting hurt working out is a lot cooler than getting hurt doing other things, like twisting your ankle getting out of the bed of a truck or having your big toenail get ripped off by a cowboy boot on a moving short bus. Or at least that’s what I’ve heard.
Aaaaand, I digress. Options, right. There are other fitness-y things you can do when you’re limited by a lack of equipment and space. Take a look at what I’ll be doing over the next week while I’m far from home and my faithful Ultimate Conditioning class.
This series of workouts is based on the muscle confusion principle. By regularly changing up your routine, your body will be forced to adapt to dynamic circumstances instead of becoming accustomed to a pattern. All of the moves are of the CrossFit variety, which focus on building strength, cardiovascular fitness and endurance through body weight-bearing exercises.
Here are the moves:
1. jump squat– the higher you go, the more you burn. Great for cardio and strength.
2. butterfly situp– focus on using your core to lift you, not the momentum of your arms like this guy. If you can’t get all the way up, just crunch.
3. burpees– I can’t lie, these suck. You’ll be out of breath in a handful of reps.
4. triceps dip– as she explains, the closer your feet are to your body, the easier it’ll be. Use a chair, step, bench, sidewalk, whatever. You’ll feel it.
5. lunge hop– again, cardio and strength.
6. pushup– I try and do as many as I can on my toes and then drop to my knees when I reach the point of failure.
Now, using those moves, you’ll choose from one of the following sequences three or four times a week, trying a different sequence every workout:
a) total time: 10 reps of each move, moving on to the next one without rest. Do as much as you can in 15 minutes. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
b) total countdown: 60 reps of the first move, 50 reps of the second, 40 seconds of the third, until you’re down to 10 reps of the last move. [2, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3]
c) total rounds: 12 reps of each move, moving on to the next one without rest. Do 5 rounds. Next time you do this sequence, try and beat your previous time. [3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 1]
d) total reps: do as many reps as you can without stopping in between exercises. After a minute’s rest, repeat the sequence twice more. On every new round, try and beat the amount of reps you did the previous round. [5, 6, 2, 3, 1, 4]
I hope you still like me after this.
Source: Women’s Health magazine (July/August 2012)
