Category Archives: bird-dog

Strength Workout # 6

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The workout:

10 lunges each leg
10 squats
20 calf raises each leg
20 supermans
10 bird-dogs each side
20 spiderman pushups
plank for 30 sec (during that time raise each leg 5 times during the 30 sec)
10 inchworms with a twist pushup at the bottom
side plank for 30 sec each side (during that time raise your upper leg about 6 inches, do that 5 times during the 30 sec)
10 yoga pushups
20 bridges (hold the last one for 30 seconds)
20 pikes on a yoga ball
10 circles with a medicine ball each side
wall sit for 45 sec (make sure that your knees are at 90 degrees)
20 side to sides with a medicine ball
10 pushups with a twist

Strength Workout #5: Power Pushups

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This workout contains a variety of pushups so make sure to warm up your arms, shoulders, and chest muscles. Also, don’t forget to stretch these same muscles after your workout.

The workout – “Power Pushups”
** take at least 1 min rest between pushup sets
** the number of pushups are designed for a male. As a female, half the number of pushups is a good challenge for me.

plank (45 sec)
side plank (45 sec each side)
20 pikes on a yoga ball
20 pushups with a twist
20 plank pushups (10 pushups leading with each hand)
20 spiderman pushups
10 stationary inchworms with a pushup and a twist at the bottom (instead of the normal plank position at the bottom of the inchworm, do a pushup with a twist before walking your hands back toward your feet)
20 bird-dogs
20 pikes on a yoga ball
10 leaning planks on a bosu ball (invert the bosu so the flat side is facing upward. Grab the sides and assume a straight-arm plank position. Lean to the left so that your weight is primarily on your left side, roll back to center and then roll to the right and back to center. Repeat 10 times slowly.)
20 side tricep pushups (10 each side)
20 triangle/diamond pushups
20 pushups with an arm raise (10 with each hand)
6 min abs (pick 6 ab exercises and do each one for one minute with no rest in between)

** Pushup challenge: Regular pushups to exhaustion. Remember to keep track of your progress!

Strength Workout #4: Bosu Challenge

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Again, all these exercises can be done without the use of a Bosu ball so don’t fret!

Active Warmup. Focus on warming up your hip flexors with some leg swings and hip rotations (among other things)!

The Workout – Bosu Challenge:
20 regular pushups
20 regular crunches with your heels raised
20 leg lifts
boat pose (30 sec)
20 shoulder dips
20 shoulder shrugs
20 leg lifts from a shoulder shrug position (i.e., with your butt hanging off a chair and all your weight supported by your arms, raise each leg in sequence. You only need to lift your leg a couple inches to get the benefit. This will target your hip flexors!)
20 chops with a medicine ball
20 chops with a medicine ball while standing on a bosu ball
20 pikes on a yoga ball
20 supermans
20 bird-dogs
20 pushups with a twist (Watch the video… but bring your knee to your opposite elbow while you are lowering into the pushup – instead of while in the plank position. Keep your twisted knee off the ground and raise back up. Switch legs. We’ll make our own video of this at some point.)
side planks (each side, hold for 45 sec and do 10 leg lifts during that time)

20 side crunches on a bosu ball (each side)
10 single leg squats on a bosu ball (each leg; with opposite leg balanced behind, i.e., not a pistol squat)
10 lunges on a bosu ball (each leg)
10 side lunges on a bosu ball (each leg)
**Challenge**:
Balance on one foot on a bosu ball for as long as you can. Record the amount of time for each foot so that you can compare when you get stronger!
Do as many regular pushups as you can. This means to exhaustion (i.e., you fall on the floor because you can’t push up or lower yourself down, you absolutely can’t do anything else, and after you collapse you have to roll over to get yourself up to a sitting position because your arms are too tired to help push you up). Keep a record for later comparisons.
Cool down. Stretch with focus on your hip flexors, hamstrings, quads, and also on your pecs. If you have a foam roller, pay that baby a visit!

Strength Workout #1: Whoa it’s a Workout

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Warmup:
5 sun salutations
10 hip rotations each directions
20 arm swings (side to side, forward, and backward)
20 trunk twists
20 lunges
20 squats

Warmups need to be active instead of stationary stretching to warm up the muscles, as opposed to stretching tendons. Focus needs to be on warming up the core and the shoulders.

The Workout (“Whoa it’s a Workout):
Note: These are designed for a “rather in-shape” male. As a woman, I usually do the same workout but only do half the reps for any kind of pushup exercise, or I do as many as I can with proper form. The following sequence is designed to have minimal rest time in between exercises (i.e., no more than 1 min) unless otherwise noted.

12 regular pushups
20 regular crunches
12 pushups with feet up on a chair
30 sec plank
30 sec side plank (each side)
12 spiderman pushups
30 sec flutter kicks (while laying on back)
12  stationary inchworms
20 shoulder dips (use a chair or steady low table)
20 shoulder shrugs (from the same position as the dips… keep elbows locked)
20 crunches on a yoga ball
10 circles with a medicine ball (each side)
20 leg throw-downs (do leg lifts if no partner)
5 yoga pushups (make sure to do these with good form)
5 triangle/diamond pushups
10 side tricep pushups (each side)
20 pikes on yoga ball (may need an extra minute rest after this one)
20 supermans (level 1 according to this video)
10 bird-dogs (each side, bring knee to opposite elbow)
20 bridges
10 side plank hip raises (each side)

Cool Down:
3 sun salutations
Static stretching focusing on arms and twists (some examples include gripping the inside of a doorway while leaning through to stretch the pectoralis muscles, sitting twists, and stretching the triceps)