Strength Workout # 7: Circuit Fun

Workout:

pushup circuit –  yoga, regular, yoga, twist, yoga, arm raise (do 5 of each of the pushups with minimal rest in between)
20 chops on a bosu ball
20 dips
20 shoulder shrugs
20 pushups with feet on a chair
bridge hold with 10 leg extensions (hold your body in a bridge position – butt off the floor and extend your foot from your knee. You will be balancing on your opposite leg, but make sure not to let your butt sag. Alternate legs and do 10 total extensions)
20 crunches on a yoga ball
20 lunges on a bosu ball
ab circuit – regular crunches, leg lifts, side to side touches, flutter kicks (flutter your feet about 4 inches off the ground while you are lying on your back), plank, bicycle (do each exercise from 1 minute, for a total of 6 minutes)

Challenge: regular pushups to exhaustion (make sure to keep track of your records)

Strength Workout #4: Bosu Challenge

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)

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)
**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 # 3: Variety Pack

This workout has a bit of everything. It has some exercises using a medicine ball. If you don’t have access to a medicine ball or a weight, a jug filled with water will work just fine!

Active warmup.

Workout – Variety Pack:
20 rowboats (this is normal yoga “boat pose” with bent knees except move your knees toward your chest while you move your chest toward your knees. This is the same motion as if you were on a rowing machine. Your feet never touch the ground.)

20 side to side crunches with a medicine ball
14 spiderman pushups
plank (x2 for 45 sec each; rest between sets)
side plank (x2 for 45 sec each side; rest between sets)
20 shoulder dips
20 shoulder shrugs
20 bridges
20 step ups with a leg extension (Step up a stair or into a doorway. When you have stepped all the way up with one foot, extend your opposite leg backward approximately 6-10 inches while flexing your glutes. Step back down and step up with your opposite leg. This exercise is meant to get your glutes firing independently so that you can strengthen each side.)

20 high side plank switches (Start in a high plank position and rotate into a high side plank. Rotate back to a high plank position and repeat on the other side.)

30 side leg lifts each side (10 each of your foot parallel to the floor, toes pointed toward the ground, and toes pointed toward the ceiling)
10 yoga pushups
10 side tricep pushups (each side)
10 circles with a medicine ball (each direction, with a squat)
20 pikes on a yoga ball
10 circles with a medicine ball while standing on a bosu ball (each direction, with a squat)
10 elbow to knee twist while standing on a bosu ball (each side)

10 diamond pushups
flutter kicks (60 sec)

Cool down!!