Posts tagged press-ups

After several weeks of not carrying out my short little workouts due to stresses at home, writers block, and pretty much feeling out of sorts with myself, I today finally set off to the gym with a mission in mind…to get sweaty in less than thirty minutes.

This workout took a little over 30 minutes including stretches afterward. It was tough, probably because I have not performed body weight training for a short while. When I pressed play on my iPod it was almost red (red when running out green when full battery power) and I hate working out with no music. Music is my motivator. Anyhow, weirdly the music stayed on. I had Eye of the Tiger, Heart’s on Fire, Creeps, bit of Bobby Brown, K Klass and a few other funky tunes and the best one of all, Take me to the Hospital by The Prodigy, my fav group.

This little workout can be performed at home or the gym.

Items required:

• Skipping rope
• Boxing gloves
• Punch bag
• Mat
• Medicine ball

The Workout

• First off, start with a little skipping for three minutes. Pick out a funky track and skip non stop. Finally finish with ten double unders if you can.

• If you’re at the gym and you have a punch bag to hand, put on your boxing gloves and perform jabs, uppercuts, and straight jabs at the punch bag. Remember to keep your guard up and when the arms are fatigued stay on the balls of your feet to keep the heart rate up. Time yourself for three minutes or a short song length. If you do not have a punch bag perform three minutes of shadow boxing. With the sit-ups, throw punches with every crunch.

• Grab your mat beside the punch bag and try your best to raise your body and punch the bag with every sit-up. After a minute or two the abs will start to ache heavily. Use a mantra to push yourself through the pain. Your abs will thank you for it with strength and burn off fat.

• Take a minute break. Grab your barbell or free weights and perform thirty weighted squats. Push the weight into the ankles and keep the back straight. Your back should not feel any strain, only your buttocks. Perform it in front of a mirror to view your posture.

• Thirty chest presses with 10-40 kg if you can.

• Grab your mat again and perform thirty press-ups on an incline to make it that little bit tougher, just like I love it.

• Straight into thirty squat thrusts.

• Grab a medicine ball and pick it up while in the squat position and use your arms to pull it slightly over your head. Keep the arms slightly bent and keep the back straight as you bring it back down and perform twenty.

• Using the medicine ball again start off in the middle and bring the medicine ball up to the right of your head, slightly using your torso to twist to the right but keep your body facing the front. Perform one on the right and then the left. Try to perform twenty on each side.

• Perform thirty high jumps non-stop.

• Use the medicine ball and holding your arms out slightly bring the medicine ball as fast as possible to your left hip and then swivel it to you right. Perform twenty on each side. Boxers usually work with a partner on this and throw it backwards after spinning it round and then picking it up from the right side to spin to the left again. This works the oblique and hip muscles.

• At this time, Hearts on Fire from Rocky came on so I had to skip to this motivating music. I skipped non-stop for four minutes and finished off with ten double unders.

• I grabbed the medicine ball and performed twenty side bends.

• Finished with twenty lunges on each leg holding the medicine ball straight to tire the arms. After the twenty I pulsed my legs for another ten lunges to kill my leg.

• Finally stretch out the legs and arms.

Drink plenty of fluid throughout. This workout uses body weight exercises, cardio, and works the entire body. Eat well afterward and rest for a day or two before another workout. Give the muscles time to grow stronger.