As much as I love alliteration in my blog titles, I think this one goes a little too far. Plus, there is no “f” word I can think of to replace “workout.” Is there?
Before the Run Through Redlands Half Marathon last weekend, Alan and I posed with some of our cross country runners. They ran the 5k. One of the twins was 24th overall, and finished 2nd in her age group, The young man was 10th overall, but was 6th in his age group. Obviously the run was stacked with a lot of high school runners!
I am currently nursing a strange “running” injury. A couple weeks ago I ran 18 miles. Toward the end of the run, my right arm was really tired from carrying my water bottle. In fact, the next day the muscles in my forearm were sore. I actually laughed at that. Now, almost two weeks later, it’s not so funny anymore. On Wednesday, I could hardly lift anything, and if I accidentally tried to pick up something or twist at the wrist, the pain was pretty intense. Since then, I’ve had a chiropractor perform some Active Release Therapy, had a massage therapist work on it, had it taped, iced, and I’ve been really careful about how I move it. Next I’m going to try some magnet therapy. It’s feeling much better, though I’m a little concerned about my long run this weekend. I have carried a bottle for the last 15 years and never had a problem, so this is really strange to me. Only I could run 18 miles and end up with an elbow injury!
Fabulous Fitness Friday
I have a client who I was coaching to run the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego. She was doing great in her training, but unfortunately, life interfered and her work load became overwhelming, so we decided to change her goals. She wasn’t ready to plan for another race, even a shorter distance, so instead we are focusing on health, fitness, and weight loss.
To that end, in addition to running, we have added some strength training to her program. She was doing a little before, but we were focused more on the running. Because high intensity training is so great for fitness and fat loss, I have added one HIIT workout to her program each week, in addition to the one speed training that she had been doing before.
I have been digging around in my own archives because when I’m training a long distance client I want to make sure that she really understands the exercise and can perform it with proper form. Most of my workouts have either a video demonstration or clear written instructions, so I can easily send them to my client and feel confident she can learn from them.
Another advantage of the high intensity workouts is that they usually take only about a half hour (or less) to complete. I know that my client is really busy, so for her to be able to get in a great workout in a short amount of time is important. I bet it is important to you too! Plus, she works out at home with just a few pieces of equipment, so she needs a plan that can be done anywhere. So if you’re looking for a challenging, quick workout that you can do at home, check out five of my favorites!
The Seven Minute Workout
The Seven Minute Workout is a high intensity, fast workout that you can do at the gym or at home. It is based on an article in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health and Fitness Journal that states that 12 high intensity exercises, combined with very short breaks, using only your body weight and a chair fulfills the latest mandates for high intensity effort. For an extra challenge, complete two or three sets of the workout.
Click here for video instruction.
Back to School Workout
Yes, I know that that we’re approaching summer break, not back to school, but this workout is great for any time of the year. It is designed to be done outdoors on a track, but it’s great for at-home too. Just head out the door for the running intervals!
The You Tube Circuit Workout
A few months ago, I started working on a video library of the exercises that I use in my workout. Not the whole workout, just each individual exercise. This workout comprises the first five videos that I made.
And the links to the videos:
Burpees
Plank to Side Plank
Lunge w/Twist
Mountain Climbers
Squat Jump
Sorry, no push up video.
Fast and Furious Workout
The only equipment needed for this challenging workout is a medicine ball.
You’ll find the complete video instruction here.
Total Body Functional Workout
This workout is pretty high intensity from beginning to end, including a quarter mile run to finish off each set. It will really get your heart rate up and work your whole body in a short amount of time. Each set takes less that five minutes (plus the run), so you can complete a great workout in less than a half hour. Because it needs no equipment, you can take it outdoors (maybe to the high school track for a great place to get your running in).
Video here.
Fitness Friday! Five Challenging Workouts to get you through the weekend! #Fitfluential #HIIT
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And I want to leave you with a final workout (yes, that makes six, but six doesn’t start with an “f” so…). This workout, oddly enough, is my most re-pinned workout, which kind of cracks me up because I did nothing to make it “pinnable.” In fact, it is just a picture of me, taking a picture of the workout. See:
Silly picture or not, it’s a pretty great workout and will definitely challenge you.
So, I have a 20 mile run on my schedule this weekend. I’m not real excited about it because it’s going to be hot on Saturday (over 100), so I’ll have to get out the door really early. What is your plan for the weekend? Any races, big runs or other events? Maybe one of the Fabulous Friday workouts?