fun, accessible workouts for women
It’s a little under 11 weeks until the 2013 Sun-Herald City2Surf, and people all over the country are starting to panic a little. Why did I enter? Is there enough time left to train? Do I really have to wear a Spiderman costume? Well folks, the answers to those, and many more questions, will be answered in today’s post.
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By now there’s a fair chance you’re aware of my love for High Intensity Interval Training – and in my defence, what’s not to love about a workout that’s time-efficient, burns big calories (for up to 24 hours after you finish your workout!) and helps increase your aerobic capacity? Truth is though, this extreme level of intensity is not for everyone, and in many cases, regular interval training is going to be challenging and effective enough for you to get results.
Getting ready for some running intervals – on of my fave session types!
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It’s a common misconception among women that a lunch break does not provide enough time for a good weights-based workout – I think that’s why you see so many of us pounding away on the treadmill day in, day out. The truth is that you can get a great strength session completed in under 30 minutes, which leaves plenty of time to have a shower, re-apply makeup and blow dry your hair, or whatever it is that you need to do. The trick is simple – be prepared.
One of my current favourite workouts – I write it on a Post-it & stick it on my phone.
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Recently, a colleague asked for my thoughts on weight training. She’s thrown herself into an exercise regime, but the weights component is starting to bore her. She’s still using the program that was designed for her (and I use the word ‘designed’ loosely) when she signed up at the gym. You know the one – three sets on a chest press machine, followed by three sets on the rower, followed by snooooorrrrrrre.
A workout you say. Are you sure we couldn’t just cuddle?
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As anyone who has done a few sessions with me will tell you, Tabata is one of my favourite methods of training. I love it for many reasons, but if I had to whittle it down to just three I’d say 1) It’s time-efficient 2) It’s simple and 3) you can do it anywhere.
Breakown of Tabata training (source: http://activeroots.blogspot.com.au)
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Sometimes getting to the gym just isn’t an option. Maybe you’re at home with a sleeping baby or you’ve only got a short window of time available. Or maybe you can’t justify spending money on a gym membership at the moment. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t mean you have to forgo a workout. I’ve put something together that you can do in the comfort of your own home, or out in the fresh air at a park if you’d prefer. You should be able to find everything you need in your surroundings, so go on, enjoy!
Supermans (left) and Step Ups (right)
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I’m a big believer in incidental exercise – always have been. It’s one part of me that is decidedly un-lazy actually (if you can accept that un-lazy is even a thing). Really, why drive to places that are within walking distance? Why wait around for an elevator when you could be up two flights of stairs in less than a minute? I’ve always liked to think of these things as free exercise. Extra calories here and there that I can burn just going about my everyday life. And you know what? It all adds up!
Is this you? (borrowed from http://veryfunnypics.eu/)
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If ‘There’s Something About Mary’ taught me anything, it’s that eight-minute abs didn’t stand a chance once seven-minute abs came along. So it stands to reason that this six-minute ab workout is going to Blow Your Mind. You should be using your core all day, every day, but it doesn’t hurt to tack a little ab session onto the end of your regular workout too. Makes for nicer looking ‘beach muscles’ anyway (as one of my PT lecturers used to call them). As always, I’m about efficiency, so I like to set this up as a circuit.
Want a toned tummy? Do this!
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I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with stairs. Actually, it’s more of a grudging respect-hate relationship. They hurt, oh how they hurt, but damn they’re good for you.
Stairs Wednesday has become a bit of a tradition in my workplace. Every week we lace up our joggers and head to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair for a little dose of hell on earth. Now the concept of a stairs workout just ain’t that complicated. You go up, you go down. Singles, doubles, jumps, hops, however you do it, it’s going to hurt. And this week, hurt it did. By the end of our session I was literally dripping with sweat, and my legs were shaking for the entire jog (which I’m big enough to admit petered into a walk) back to the office.
Where the fun begins!
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I get frustrated when I read ‘no equipment’ workouts that require you to have two trees spaced exactly 13.5 metres apart, a sturdy chair and two 2.25 kilo bags of rice… I feel like it’s false advertising. But I will admit that working your upper body can be difficult without any equipment, so this workout focuses on the lower body, with some upper, core and total body exercises thrown in for good measure. You can do it in your lounge room, on the balcony, by the side of the road, or wherever takes your fancy. It’ll be over and done with in under 30 minutes but trust me, go hard the whole time and you’ll burn big calories!
