Category Archives: stationary inchworms

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 #2: Bosu Fun

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Don’t worry if you don’t have a bosu ball. All the exercises in this workout can be done without one, but the bosu adds an extra challenge in balance. Balance is an important aspect of any strength regime because it works the small connecting muscles that are especially ignored during traditional weight machine workouts. Small connective muscles and ligaments help distribute forces during exercise that would otherwise be absorbed by large muscle groups, possibly overloading them and causing injury.

Don’t forget the active warmup!

The Workout – Bosu Fun:
** Note: I will include links to videos when the exercises are new, otherwise see previous posts if you’re just jumping in and need some guidance.

15 regular pushups
20 regular crunches
12 spiderman pushups
20 crunches on the bosu ball
20 pushups on the bosu ball (do this with the ball-side facing the floor)
12 stationary inchworms
10 side to side planks on the bosu ball (take the same pushup position as above and shift the weight in your upper body from hand to hand to get a rocking motion – do this 10 times to each side)
20 dips
20 shoulder shrugs
30 sec plank with leg lifts (do 4 leg lifts for each leg – lift about 6 inches off the ground toward the ceiling)
30 sec side plank with leg lifts (each side – do 6 leg lifts for each leg, again about 6 inches upward from the floor)
10 arm circles while standing on the bosu ball (each side – include the squat)
20 situps with a medicine ball throw (I do these without someone holding my feet and my partner is standing up)
20 plank pushups (10 times pushing up with each hand)
20 side to side crunches with a medicine ball (I do these with my feet on the floor, but if you want a bit extra, go ahead and pick them up)
Circle touches while standing on the bosu ball (couldn’t find a good video so here’s my explanation – Stand on the bosu with the flat side on the floor. Place 1 object each at 9, 10:30, 12, 1:30, and 3 o’clock about 5 inches from the edge of the bosu. Balance on one foot. Do a mini squat with your opposite leg back for balance, reaching toward the object at 9 – actually touching it is just a bonus. Come back to a standing position. Repeat for the other objects and then work your way back to the beginning for a total of 9 squats. Switch legs and repeat. Good luck holding your balance. The first time you try this you may want to do it without the bosu ball! This is a great exercise for balance and building ankle strength which is essential to any running activity, especially ultimate frisbee.)
10 chops while standing on the bosu ball (with a medicine ball)
10 backwards leg extensions while standing on the bosu ball (balance on one leg, extend the opposite leg backwards about 6 inches while clenching the glute)

Don’t forget to cool down and stretch. Focus on stretching those leg muscles and hip flexors!

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)