What a glorious weekend in Sydney it has been. The perfect weather for dog walking, a 12km City2Surf training run, a visit to my fave cafe in Surry Hills, kicking a footy in the park, visiting friends, napping, blogging, exploring Tamarama, more dog walking and a little bit of gelato from Gelato Messina thrown in there for good measure (because being perfect all of the time is no fun at all).
On Saturday while we were walking Lou, I came across a bench that’s just perfect for my next installment of the ‘One Object, Five Ways’ series (I really need to come up with a catchier name…). I totally forgot to take a picture of the bench, but you’ll see it pretty clearly in the videos below.
So, here we go again:
Box jumps with a step down
This modified version of a box jump is great for those who are newer to exercise, or who are working with a box/step height that is a little out of their comfort zone. It’s still a great plyometric exercise that will build, strength, speed and power.
Step up with high knee
A great exercise for your butt and hamstrings. Keep your right foot planted firmly on the bench and start with your left foot on the ground. Push through your glutes, driving your left knee high (still keeping that right foot planted). Lower your left foot back to the ground, but allow only your toes to touch before driving your knee upwards again. Keep your bellybutton tucked for core control or you’ll be wobbling all over the place. Speed is the key here – you want to get your heart rate up.
Step ups with reverse lunge
If speed is the key for the high knee, then control is the key here (particularly in the lunge portion of the exercise). Shoulders back, bellybutton in and slowly does it.
Decline push up
This is an advanced version of a push up and shouldn’t be attempted unless you’re confident in your core and regular push up abilities. Works into the upper pecs and shoulders.
Single leg hip raise
Awesome exercise for isolating the hamstrings. Push up through the heel and squeeze your butt at the top.
There you go – one bench, five wonderful ways! You could do a whole workout using these exercises, so get outside, find a bench and enjoy yourself in the great outdoors this week!
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