To continue my ideas on my favorite things to do to exercise, here is a list of some of my all time favorites when it comes to strength training and conditioning.
Kettlebells
I know I already listed kettlebells as a great form of exercise when it comes to cardio, but guess what...it's phenomenal for strength as well! It constantly challenges the body when it comes to muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, balance, and core-work. Because of its general nature and balancing challenges, when doing kettlebells, you will also be working your entire core the entire time, whether you realize it or not. It's also fun due to the creative movements and interesting terms. Try it out!
Calisthenics
Calisthenics is also known as "using your body weight to exercise". I love it because it's convenient, it's efficient, and it works! All you need is you and you are set and ready to go. My favorite calisthenic exercises to do these days are push-ups, walking lunges with a kick, side-planks, squats, side-lunges, squat-thrusts, reverse crunches, leg lifts, regular crunches, walking push-ups, and plank oblique squeezes.
Circuit Training
This kind of strength training incorporates a mixture of strength and cardio moves for a short amount of time by setting up stations. Usually there are about 6-8 stations, starting with a quick 30 second cardio move (aka-jumping jacks, running in place, jumping rope, high knees). Moving then to the next station, for example, could be bicep curls for 30 seconds, with a station of squats after that for 30 seconds. Finally, doing some kind of ab-work, such as plank or crunches, for 30 seconds. There can and should be more stations in between these, but they were just an example. A great workout is completing all of these stations (1 round) at least 3-4 times. These exercises can be done with or without equipment.
Yoga
Although I'm not as big of a fan of regular Hatha yoga than say Ashtanga (power) yoga, I'm still a huge advocate of the practice of any kind of yoga. It lengthens the body and encourages flexibility, enhances lung capacity through controlled and intentional deep breaths, and it increases muscular strength and endurance through weight-bearing poses.
There are several types of yoga:
Anusara
Ashtanga (vinyasa)
Bikram
Hatha
Iyengar
Jivamukti
Kripalu
Kundalini
Power
Prenatal
Restorative
Sivananda
Viniyoga
Yin
Check out each one of these types of yoga to see if one of them appeals to you!
Equipment
Bosu balls
I absolutely love these. It can be used in so many different ways for so many different exercises. Some of my favorite things to do on a bosu ball are:
LUNGES
PLANK AND/OR PUSHUPS
BRIDGE
SQUAT BALANCE
BICYCLE BALANCE
OBLIQUE TWIST WITH MEDICINE BALL
Which brings me to another type of equipment...the Medicine Ball
Again, another piece of equipment that I can get really creative with.
Things I love doing with a medicine ball are:
ONE-HANDED PUSH UPS
SQUATS
STANDING OBLIQUE TWISTS WITH A PARTNER
ELEVATED LEGS CRUNCH
SQUAT AND STAND TWIST
CHEST PRESS THROW AND CATCH
PARTNER CRUNCH AND THROW
Stability Ball
Stability balls are great because of the height and width that they provide.
Some favorite exercises of mine are:
THE PIKE
WALL SQUATS
CRUNCHES
PUSH UPS
HAMSTRING CURLS
BACK EXTENSIONS
KNEE SQUEEZES WITH REVERSE CRUNCH
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are fantastic to use 1-2 times a week. You never want to use it on a regular basis due to how deep the exertion of the muscle goes. These awesome bands allow creativity, are convenient, and can be folded up into the size of a pair of socks! So for those of you who use travel as an excuse to not exercise, sorry! Do yourself a favor and buy one of these bad boys to use when on the road.
Some of my favorite exercises are:
BICEP CURLS
SEATED ROWS
STANDING ABDUCTION
CHEST PRESS
SQUAT
STANDING OBLIQUE TWIST
The Kettlebell
I LOVE KETTLEBELLS.
Get ready to get your hands dirty, because doing kettlebells is hard work. It's gritty and raw, but the results are real.
Favorites:
DOUBLE SWING
TURKISH GET UPS
BEAR WALKS
CLEAN AND PRESS
SNATCH
WIND MILL
RUSSIAN TWIST
The TRX Suspension Trainer
This is another great workout gadget on the go. However, I'm not gonna lie...these guys are expensive. So I'll hint that maybe make your own first...after you do some research to see how this TRX works and is made.
Favorites:
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
ROWS
LUNGE
CHEST PRESS
PIKE
SINGLE LEG SQUAT
Body Bar
I love body bars because they are a softer, shorter version of a barbell. They're easily accessible and are a great resource if you don't feel like using a really big barbell or 2 handweights.
Here are some of my favorite things to do:
SQUAT
SUPINE OBLIQUE TWIST
(who loves this picture?!)
SUPINE TRICEP EXTENSIONS
BENT OVER ROWS
CHEST PRESS
CRUNCHES
SCISSOR LUNGE
Stay tuned for All Time Favorites, Part 3-Core and Abdominal Work
Circuit Training
This kind of strength training incorporates a mixture of strength and cardio moves for a short amount of time by setting up stations. Usually there are about 6-8 stations, starting with a quick 30 second cardio move (aka-jumping jacks, running in place, jumping rope, high knees). Moving then to the next station, for example, could be bicep curls for 30 seconds, with a station of squats after that for 30 seconds. Finally, doing some kind of ab-work, such as plank or crunches, for 30 seconds. There can and should be more stations in between these, but they were just an example. A great workout is completing all of these stations (1 round) at least 3-4 times. These exercises can be done with or without equipment.
Yoga
Although I'm not as big of a fan of regular Hatha yoga than say Ashtanga (power) yoga, I'm still a huge advocate of the practice of any kind of yoga. It lengthens the body and encourages flexibility, enhances lung capacity through controlled and intentional deep breaths, and it increases muscular strength and endurance through weight-bearing poses.
There are several types of yoga:
Anusara
Ashtanga (vinyasa)
Bikram
Hatha
Iyengar
Jivamukti
Kripalu
Kundalini
Power
Prenatal
Restorative
Sivananda
Viniyoga
Yin
Check out each one of these types of yoga to see if one of them appeals to you!
Equipment
Bosu balls
I absolutely love these. It can be used in so many different ways for so many different exercises. Some of my favorite things to do on a bosu ball are:
LUNGES
PLANK AND/OR PUSHUPS
BRIDGE
SQUAT BALANCE
BICYCLE BALANCE
OBLIQUE TWIST WITH MEDICINE BALL
Which brings me to another type of equipment...the Medicine Ball
Again, another piece of equipment that I can get really creative with.
Things I love doing with a medicine ball are:
ONE-HANDED PUSH UPS
SQUATS
STANDING OBLIQUE TWISTS WITH A PARTNER
ELEVATED LEGS CRUNCH
SQUAT AND STAND TWIST
CHEST PRESS THROW AND CATCH
PARTNER CRUNCH AND THROW
Stability Ball
Stability balls are great because of the height and width that they provide.
Some favorite exercises of mine are:
THE PIKE
WALL SQUATS
CRUNCHES
PUSH UPS
HAMSTRING CURLS
BACK EXTENSIONS
KNEE SQUEEZES WITH REVERSE CRUNCH
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are fantastic to use 1-2 times a week. You never want to use it on a regular basis due to how deep the exertion of the muscle goes. These awesome bands allow creativity, are convenient, and can be folded up into the size of a pair of socks! So for those of you who use travel as an excuse to not exercise, sorry! Do yourself a favor and buy one of these bad boys to use when on the road.
Some of my favorite exercises are:
BICEP CURLS
SEATED ROWS
STANDING ABDUCTION
CHEST PRESS
SQUAT
STANDING OBLIQUE TWIST
The Kettlebell
I LOVE KETTLEBELLS.
Get ready to get your hands dirty, because doing kettlebells is hard work. It's gritty and raw, but the results are real.
Favorites:
DOUBLE SWING
TURKISH GET UPS
BEAR WALKS
CLEAN AND PRESS
SNATCH
WIND MILL
RUSSIAN TWIST
The TRX Suspension Trainer
This is another great workout gadget on the go. However, I'm not gonna lie...these guys are expensive. So I'll hint that maybe make your own first...after you do some research to see how this TRX works and is made.
Favorites:
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
ROWS
LUNGE
CHEST PRESS
PIKE
SINGLE LEG SQUAT
Body Bar
I love body bars because they are a softer, shorter version of a barbell. They're easily accessible and are a great resource if you don't feel like using a really big barbell or 2 handweights.
Here are some of my favorite things to do:
SQUAT
SUPINE OBLIQUE TWIST
(who loves this picture?!)
SUPINE TRICEP EXTENSIONS
BENT OVER ROWS
CHEST PRESS
CRUNCHES
SCISSOR LUNGE
Stay tuned for All Time Favorites, Part 3-Core and Abdominal Work
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