Keep Strong

It has been over 4 months since my last entry.  Clearly a baby changes lives!  Over the last 4 months I pretty much dedicated all my time to Kaya while still teaching the Boot Camp class at the Y.  For those of you who haven’t been to class, Kaya and I are actually teaching those classes together so even then he is with me, wrapped to my chest.  That being said, being with him all the time gave me the opportunity to be creative in keeping up with my basic strength training.  After all, to be able to carry him, entertain him and keep up with him I need healthy muscles. 

Kaya asleep and everyone else is ready to be done!

Either with kids or without kids, I guess, we all have found ourselves in situations where a regular workout has been hard to keep up with.  In these situations, the key things to focus on are your large muscle groups.  As much as everyone would like to keep their biceps looking nice and big, if you don’t have the time to do your regular exercise, the time you will spend to keep your back or your butt in shape will help you much more than focusing on your biceps.  Keeping your total body strong will help you to get back in shape with rest of the smaller muscle groups once you will have the time to have your regular workout back in schedule. 

I admit that my biceps are much smaller now but by focusing on the below moves, my core (glutes, abdominal, back, chest) is still strong enough to keep up with the demands of my sports – windsurfing and mountain biking – as tested over the last few weeks.

Here is my recipe of moves:

1.     Start with JUMPING JACKS – 10 of them

2.     Come down to PUSHUPS – 10 slow counts

3.     Continue with BURPEES without pushups – 8 of them

4.     Come up to a perfect SQUAT – 10 pulses with 2sec hold in between

5.     Stand up with feet with apart for SHOULDER CIRCLES – 10 small and 10 large (alternating direction)

6.     Come back down to PLANK – 20 sec hold on elbow, 20 sec hold on hands

7.     Repeat 1 through 6 one more time

If you have ever trained with me you know my pickiness on form.  Therefore I would like you to pay attention to the following:

PUSHUPS: Either on your toes or on your knees, keep your butt down and your lower back up.

SQUATS: Knees behind your toes, knees inline with your ankles, butt sticking out, chest facing forward NOT towards the ground

SHOULDER CIRCLES: Arms parallel to the ground THE WHOLE TIME

PLANK: Keep your butt down and your lower back up, when on your elbows – keep your elbows at 90 deg angle.

If you are pregnant or just delivered your baby, please consult with your doctor before you start any of these moves. 

And lastly, DON’T FORGET to stretch AFTER you are done!  Enjoy and keep it STRONG!