Tag: Wednesday Workout

Wednesday Workout: Stair Cardio Blast & Total Body Circuits

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Hi there! I wanted to share a workout with you that I did last week. It left me incredibly sweaty, and even though it was likely due in part to the weather, I still think a lot of it was a result of the workout, which is a good enough reason to share, amiright?!

Even though I have some outdoor workouts on the blog, sometimes I really have to mentally force myself to do something other than just run. I don’t know what it is, but mentally I feel like that’s a better workout, although I really know steady-state cardio isn’t the best bang for your buck when it comes to high calorie burn both during and after your workout. But, that’s a whole post for another day! Today, let’s focus on the fact that I got outside and did a workout other than just running- a victory in and of itself!

I’ve always wanted to utilize the stairs and turf fields at the soccer fields near my house, so it was a perfect time to do that. These fields are awesome- they’ve got a baseball field and soccer field and a kiddie soccer area and playground area and everything is brand new! They’re usually packed at night with soccer leagues, but during the day it was just me and a few other random people, which was great because I was able to do my workout in privacy (for the most part).

What you’ll do for this workout (after your warm up) is do 4 sets of stair runs, all with 10 jumping jacks when you reach the top. If stairs don’t do it for you or aren’t available to you, feel free to do 4 cardio exercises for 30-45 seconds each (think: high knees, burpees, jumping jacks, jump squats, butt kicks, skaters, etc.). When the first stair set is complete, you’ll do the first bodyweight circuit 4 times through. Repeat the stairs and then do the next bodyweight circuit 4 times through. If you’re feeling good- go ahead and do the stairs for a 3rd time!
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Wednesday Workout: Men’s Health Inspired Circuit & Cardio Blast Workout

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Good morning! Hope your Wednesday is off to a great start! I’m here to share a workout that I did at home a few weeks ago. It was a rainy Monday, which meant no running outside for me- I’m not ashamed to admit that I am a fair-weather runner 🙂 I put this workout together by combining a workout I found in RM’s Men’s Health magazine with some other exercises I wanted to do on that particular day… plus a little cardio blast… #becausecardio.

The way you complete the workout is by (after a warm up, of course) completing each exercise in the strength circuit for 60 seconds, moving from one to the next with little or no rest. For exercises where it says (30R/L), it means to perform the exercise on each side for 30 seconds. In between the strength rounds/circuits, perform the cardio blast.

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Wednesday Workout: Lululemon Window Performance

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Hey guys! Happy Wednesday. I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve done a Wednesday Workout post for you, right?! Today’s is fun because it’s a shortened version of the workout I did in the window at Lululemon over the weekend. Although it was a little awkward doing my workout thang in the window of Lulu on a busy Saturday, the awkwardness went away fairly quickly and I got in my groove- in my happy place.

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When coming up with the workout, I knew I didn’t want to include cardio because I A. didn’t want to sweat too much and B. didn’t know how much space I’d have. I ended up sweating a lot because of the lights and exercises, but oh well. that’s just what happens when you work out!

lulu window workout

The workout for you today is 20 minutes of the workout I did while I was at Lulu. I was there for an hour and did about 50 minutes of a weight and resistance band focused workout (including warm up), then spent some time playing around with yoga poses. These are what got people to stop and watch me- it was funny!

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Wednesday Workout: Hotel Gym Full Body Circuit

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I’m a big believer that just because you travel, doesn’t mean you have to give up your normal routine. Sure, things will be different- that’s a given- but when I travel I really try to stay on track with eating well and keeping active. Well, I guess this is more true when I travel for work because personal vacations should include indulgences and living off your normal schedule, right?! Last week I had to travel for work and since I was traveling alone, I was able to eat when, where and what I wanted and also go to the gym when it was right for my schedule- this was awesome!

I’ve been to a lot of hotel gyms- some are good some are not so good. Luckily, the gym at Le Joule had a pretty nice gym- full set of weights, cable machines, kettlebells and cardio equipment. I ended up working out twice in my very short stay because I enjoyed the gym so much (ok, and the shower in my room was amazing and I wanted to use it again…). The first day was a little cardio and then the full body circuit in this post. The second was a 5K run on the treadmill and some abs. All in all, I was really happy that I was able to get some physical activity in, especially since the flight was so long each way!

Hotel gym full body circuit
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Wednesday Workout: The “Back & Forth” Workout

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Last week, I decided to take my normal lunch break workout outside, rather than to the gym. Since I knew I was teaching cardio kickboxing the next day, I didn’t want to do anything too crazy, especially in terms of cardio, but I also knew the weather was so nice and I wanted to get some movement in, which is when I came up with this workout.

Well, this workout doesn’t exactly mimic the workout I did, but that’s only because I didn’t write anything down and have since forgotten the exact workout. However, I think what I have for you today is still a pretty good workout; I definitely plan on doing it the next time I do a lunch break workout outside.

The back & forth workout

I’m a big fan of traveling workouts because I like the idea of knowing that I have to go to X spot before finishing- it motivates me to move faster than I normally might otherwise. It’s also just a fun way do something different from the standard time or rep format. Here are some explanations for the exercises:

  • Frogger jump squats- Use your arms to help you get momentum as you leap forward, landing softly in a squat position. Repeat until you get to the end mark, and then do the same thing back to the starting line.
  • Inchworm Push-Ups- Start in a standing position and walk your hands out to a high plank. When you get in the high plank, do 1 push-up and then walk your feet up to meet your hands. Stand up tall and then repeat.
  • Bear Crawl- Begin in a table-top sort of position. Engage your core and lift your knees up from the ground. As you move forward, your right arm and left leg will be in sync. Try to stay as low as possible rather than sticking your butt in the air, in other words, keep hips and shoulders at the same height. (the 1:50ish mark in the video in this post will help)
  • Lunge w/oblique twist- Hold your arms out in front of you and step forward in a lunge. As you’re in the lunge position, rotate through the core so that your arms are twisting over the bent leg; if your right leg is forward, rotate to the right, feeling a nice stretch/twist throughout your core. Repeat there & back.
  • Crab walk- Start in a seated position with your hands on the ground & finger tips pointing towards your toes. Engage your core and lift yourself so that just your feet and hands are on the ground. Move like a crab to get to the end and back.
  • Frogger burpees- This is exactly like the frogger jump squat except rather than landing in a squat, you’ll land in a chest to ground burpee position.

Let me know if you have any questions- I hope you try this next time you’re looking for a way to get a workout in without actually going to the gym 🙂

Questions for you: Do you like to take your workouts outside?