Just like anybody my mood to workout
varies. Some days I just want to do cardio and stay on the elliptical for 35
minutes, while other days I want to do a power workout with weights. Even though my motivation varies there are 10
workouts, in no particular order that I love to do no matter my mood.
1. Kickboxing
I can’t think of anything better than
some straight jabs, upper cuts and round house kicks to let out some stress. The
gym I attend offers a kickboxing class that I make sure to attend whenever I’m
free. To bunch and kick to upbeat music for 60 minutes is almost better than
chocolate….I said ALMOST. If you don’t
attend a gym or your gym doesn’t offer a class there are a lot of great kickboxing
DVDs for at home convenience. It’s a must workout to try!
2. Hot Yoga
Another class that I am a frequent
attendee of is Hot Yoga. Turn up the heat to 110 degrees will get you sweating
in five minutes. Throw in 75mins of cardio yoga and it equals one intense
workout. While you may curse several times throughout it and have the urge to
find the nearest ice cold pool to jump into, by the end your body will have
sweated out all the bad toxins and the rest of the day will seem like a breeze.
3. Jumping Rope
This workout is obviously nothing new,
but it sure does beat running aimlessly on the treadmill. This cardio workout
gets your heart rate pumping in no time and is ironically the go-to cardio
workout for kickboxers. This is not a theme for the remainder of the article,
by the way.
4. Kettle Bells
If you are unfamiliar with a kettle bell
it’s a weight with a handle attached to it, and most importantly makes it on my
list because of the variety of workouts you can do with one. The handle lets
you easily swing it for swing through squats, curl it like you would a
dumbbell, and easily hold it out in front of you as you do a sit up with a
reach. It’s workout friendly and offers a variety of exercise options.
5. Jumping Jacks with Medicine Ball
I’ve been doing a lot of free weight,
total body workouts that I made the topic of in my last blog "No More Excuse Workouts."
On some of them I will do anywhere between 50 to 100 jumping jacks per set and
after the first set they quickly become redundant. This is where the medicine ball
comes in. Hold the medicine ball at your chest and instead of clapping your
hands together raise the medicine ball straight up, this technique not only
provides a little variety to your typical jumping jack but also makes it an
upper body workout, as well.
6. Russian Twist
The next two exercises are in the core
family workout. A Russian twist is where you sit with your back off the ground
but tilted back with a weight or medicine ball in your hand as you twist side
to side touching the ground. To increase the difficulty, raise your legs so your
feet hover of the ground. It’s a far cry from your typical mundane sit up and
personally, I think it targets your core even better.
7. Jack Knife Sit Ups
Also in the core family is the Jack
Knife Sit Up, which is also another great mulitasker workout. Begin by laying
flat on your back and hands behind head with feet straight out. Rise up as you
would a sit up, while you simultaneously lift your legs spreading them outwards
and back in like a pair of scissors. When you can feel the burn you know it’s
working!
8. Dumbbell side bends
This great oblique exercise is simply
holding a dumbbell in one hand as you bend to the side letting the dumbbell
drop down to about your knee. Repeat 15 times and switch hands to complete one
set. This workout seems too good to be true with the simplicity but the great
end results down lie – it works!
9. Squat Press with weights
I’m not a huge fan of leg workouts, but
I know they have to be done, so I like to mix mine up by doing a leg and arm
workout. Hold two dumbbells, one in each hand, and perform a squat. On your way
up raise your weights and press them to the sky. Now you’re not only targeting
your quads and calves but your arms and shoulders. Check another multitakser
exercise off the list!
10. Mountain Climbers
Finally, but certainly not the last fun
exercise I can think of, is the mountain climber. I’ll be honest, I have a
love-hate relationship with this one. It’s kind of like corn to me, it better
be mixed in with a lot of other good vegetables, or exercises in this case, for
me to crave it. What keeps me motivated to do these is the final result. By
simply having your arms fully extended in a plank position, alternate moving
your knees in to your chest, kind of like you’re running in place. It’s simple
but quickly gets your heart rate up while working out your core area at the
same time.
Now I think my theme is apparent –
multitasker workouts are the way to go and most importantly, keep you
motivated! Try incorporating some of these in your next workout and see if you
think of working out as less of a chore.
About Just Learn Balance
Just Learn Balance,
JLB for short, is the one-stop-shop for race teams looking to stand out from
the rest. With a desire for living a healthy lifestyle and a love for racing,
founder Jamie Brown combined her two passions to form JLB. The company focuses
on the three C’s: Challenge, Change, and Create. JLB challenges the inner winner in future
and current drivers, and crewmen, by getting their body in athlete form. JLB
changes a client’s perception of food and dieting into a healthy way of living.
Finally, JLB creates marketing material that highlights why our clients are winners.
For questions or comments about JLB, please contact justlearnbalance@gmail.com
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