WHITEBOARD WORKOUT-SOCCER BALL EDITION

Posted on by Shal
IT’S FIFA WORLD CUP 2018….
Hi there! Have you been watching the FIFA World Cup? Do you have people at home/ work who are following it- with accompanying yelling, cheering and groaning?!!! We have been enjoying some of the matches. And now here we are at the finals…
We had a busy soccer season with both boys playing on travel teams. We got to see towns we hadn’t even known existed!!
While soccer isn’t necessarily “my thing” it is pretty exciting watching the games and it definitely takes a lot of stamina running up and down the field.
Now you may not have the skills or stamina of a soccer player, but I thought it would be fun to get in on some of the soccer action and do a workout with a soccer ball. We can really get a good workout with just a small space and a soccer ball (or any comparable size ball you have lying around your house).
If this is the first time you are doing my workouts please read THIS first! Thank you!!
As usual we are doing alternating intervals of activity and recovery.
20 seconds activity and 10 seconds recovery (
and setting up for the next move)
As always, please be sure you are medically cleared to participate in this kind of activity.
So here you go….
TOE TAPS:
Place the ball on the ground and tap the ball with alternate feet.
LUNGEWITH TWIST HOLDING THE BALL:
Go into a lunge as deep as is comfortable- taking care to keep the front knee in line with ankle. Holding the ball straight out in front of you twist your upper body and face one side. (if your right leg is in front, twist to the left side etc..) Twist back to your original direction and get back up again. Repeat on the other side.
SIDE TO SIDE JUMPS OVER THE BALL:
Be careful as you do this!! Place the ball on the ground and jump over it with both feet. Then jump back again over the ball. Take care not to trip over the ball! You could also jump over an imaginary ball if that feels a little safer.
OVERHEAD ARM CIRCLES:
Hold the ball straight up over your head and make a circle with the ball in the air. Switch direction after 10 seconds.
SIDE TO SIDE SHUFFLES:
Holding the ball in front of you, with arms bent, bend your knees a little in a partial squat and shuffle across to one side and then shuffle back to the other side.
OVERHEAD SQUATS:
Holding the ball straight up above your head, lower your hips back and down into a squat and then push through your heals back up again. Make sure your knees don’t go in front of your toes when squatting.
If it is too challenging to hold the ball over your head, hold it straight in front of you.
HAND TO FEET BALL PASS:
Lie on a mat/towel/rug on your back with your arms straight up behind you and legs straight on the ground.  Hold the ball in your hands. Bring your hands and legs up and place the ball between your legs just below the knee. Holding the ball tight, lower your legs and your arms. Then bring them back up again and take the ball in your hands. Lower your arms and legs again and then bring them both up, putting the ball back between your legs.
UNSTABLE PLANK:
Place the ball at the foot of the mat and get into a plank position with your ankles/ feet resting on the ball. If you are not confident/ comfortable on the ball, just do a regular plank.
Let me know if you do it!
If you would like a video of this workout, contact me and I will send it to you.

WHITEBOARD WORKOUT #2

Posted on by Shal

Hello there!
Are you ready for the next workout?

(If you haven’t already, please read THIS first! Thank you!!)

Like the last one, we are hitting a little bit of everything.

I’ve created 2 timers this time- one with 10 seconds recover, and the other one with 20 seconds recovery. Sometimes it really helps to have those extra seconds to recover- this enables us to give the next set of exercises everything we have. 

So, are you ready?

WARM UP: 3-5 minutes
HIGH KNEES: 20 seconds
RECOVER : 10 Seconds
SLOW SUMO SQUAT: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 Seconds
FRONT PUNCHES: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
HEEL DROPS: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
REVERSE CRUNCH: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 Seconds
FRONT PUNCHES: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
SLOW SUMO SQUAT:20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
JUMP ROPE: 20 seconds
REPEAT 1-2 times with a minute break in between.
COOL DOWN AND STRETCH: 3-5 minutes

TIMER with 10 seconds recovery time

http://www.intervaltimer.com/…/7823274-quick-tabata-based-w…

TIMER with 20 seconds recovery time

http://www.intervaltimer.com/…/7874542-20-seconds-recovery-…

Here’s a bit more information about each move if you need it:

HIGH KNEES: 

Start standing straight with both feet on the ground. Lift up one leg as high as you can – practically getting that thigh parallel to the ground, (bend your knee so that your foot is still facing the ground) , put it down and repeat with the other leg. Do it as fast as possible.

 

 

SLOW SUMO SQUATS:
This is a wide stance squat with feet planted pointing outwards and farther apart. Lower yourself slowly, as if you are going to sit on a chair behind you, as far as you can go- and then come slowly back up again, pushing through your heels as you stand up. Make sure that your knees do not cross in front of your toes as you lower yourself down. Keep your movements slow and controlled.

 

 

 

FRONT PUNCHES:

Start with your feet apart and lowered down slightly in a wide squat stance (Though not as wide or low as a sumo squat). Bring your hands up just below your chin in an “on guard” position. Punch one fist in front of you, and then the other. As you punch, keep your core strong and tight and allow the power for the punches to come from your core. Try this experiment: try punching in front of you with just the effort being from your arms. Then try again, holding your core tight and allowing the power to start from your core. You will notice the difference in the power of your punches.

 

 

HEEL DROP:
Lie on your back with your hands under your hips to support your back if necessary. Bring your knees up so that your calves are parallel to the ground.This is your starting position. Lower one leg just so that your heel touches the ground, contract your abs, exhale and pull that leg back up to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg.

 

 

REVERSE CRUNCHES:
Just like in the heel drops: Lie on your back with your hands under your hips to support your back if necessary. Bring your knees up so that your calves are parallel to the ground.This is your starting position. Inhale. Then as you exhale all the air our of your lungs, contract your abs and pull your legs towards your chest (keeping your knees bent). Bring your legs back up to the starting position and repeat.

 

 

JUMP ROPE:
Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to bring a real jump rope into your space where it will get caught on stuff and pull things over (or just keep hitting the ceiling… )… We use an imaginary jump rope here (which must be a relief for those of us who spend more time tripping than actually jumping over the rope…phew!!)…
Stand up straight and pretend that you are holding a skipping rope and getting ready to jump. Pretend to turn the rope with your arms as you jump up in the air. Yay!! you made it over!! Repeat for the entire 20 seconds and then congratulate yourself that you were able to keep jumping rope for a full 20 seconds!!

As always, please be sure that you are medically cleared to engage in this kind of physical activity.

 

WHITEBOARD WORKOUT #1

Posted on by Shal
Welcome to the WORKOUT OF THE WEEK #1.
Please read THIS before you continue with this week’s post.
So I have set up this workout so that we are doing 8 different exercises- each exercise for 20 seconds and have 10 seconds to recover in between. The total amount of time including recovery time is just 3 minutes and 50 seconds. So this entire set can be repeated 2-3 times. Believe me, you will feel it.
So here it is:
WARM UP: 3-5 minutes
STEP UP, STEP DOWN: 20 seconds
RECOVER : 10 Seconds
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 Seconds
SQUAT JUMPS: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
LYING DOWN LEG CROSSES: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
WOODEN SOLDIERS: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 Seconds
JUMPING LUNGES: 20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
HIGH KNEES WITH OVERHEAD ARMS:20 seconds
RECOVER: 10 seconds
JUMPING JACKS: 20 seconds
REPEAT 1-2 times with a minute break in between.
COOL DOWN AND STRETCH: 3-5 minutes
Some tips for each exercise are at the end of this post.
Here’s a timer to help you move from one exercise to recover to the next exercise. Its just set up for one round of the workout so you will have to start it again when repeating it.
Have fun with it… and please do let me know if you try it.
RECOVER: It means just keep walking around where you are, catching your breath, grabbing a sip of water- not lie down!!
STEP UP, STEP DOWN:
Keep your back straight and don’t hunch your shoulders. To make it harder, look for higher steps around your house, but be sure it’s a safe/ stable surface. Another option is to hold some weights in your hands as you do the move.
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS:
Keep your body straight, bring each knee up as high as you can, as if you are trying to wack yourself in the chin with your knee (sounds delightful, eh?)!!
Keep your core engaged in this process – first so that you get the most out of the move and more importantly, so that you don’t strain your back. 
SQUAT JUMPS:
Start in a squat position and jump straight up, landing back into a squat position. If you want to touch the ground with your hand that makes it harder since you have to be low enough to touch the ground. To make it more difficult turn 180 degrees when you are in the air so that you will be facing the opposite direction when you land back into a squat. These are hard, but are actually one of my favorites!!
If you don’t want to do jump squats, just do regular squats for 20 seconds.
LYING DOWN LEG CROSSES:
When bringing your legs together to cross, try to exhale all the air inside you, which will contract your stomach muscles too. You want to consciously engage your core at this point as this helps reduce the hip flexor getting all the action and thus give your core more of a workout. 
WOODEN SOLDIERS:
These are typically used in dynamic stretching but I like to incorporate them in the midst of these circuits too. Keep your legs and back as straight as possible as you bring each leg up, with alternate arm reaching straight out towards the foot. You don’t have to touch your toes, but just reach towards it.
JUMPING LUNGES:
Start in a lunge position,  then jump and while in the air switch your legs so that you land once agin in a lunge with the opposite legs forward and behind. If you don’t want to do jump lunges you can just do regular lunges. HIGH KNEES WITH OVERHEAD ARMS:
Legs: Standing straight and as you bring one knee up so that the thigh is parallel to the ground. Bring that leg back down and then lift the opposite knee up so that this thigh is now parallel to the ground.
Arms: Bring your arms down so that your hands are on either side of the lifted leg.
When bringing the leg down lift your arms over your head and form an arc and then you bring your arms down on the opposite side on either side of the now lifted other leg.
Hope that didn’t sound too confusing. 
JUMPING JACKS:
You can go as fast or slow with these. It’s at the end and you might be getting tired- push through it and give it all you’ve got.
 Click HERE if you would like to know more about what I do as a Personal Trainer.
WHITEBOARD WORKOUTS!

WHITEBOARD WORKOUTS!

Posted on by Shal
Welcome to the Whiteboard Workouts!!
They are quick, but intense workouts that you can do as a pick me up when you are feeling an energy slump, or do a few times through to get a complete workout for the day!
Sometimes there will be pictures accompanying them-I’ll do my best with that.
WARM UP:
I would recommend warming up for about 3-5 minutes before jumping into this. Warm up could be intentionally walking up and down the steps, or up and down the hallway, riding a stationary bike..- or it could even be briskly doing chores. Warm up helps prime your body for the work it’s about to do. It enables better performance when doing the activity, and also (more importantly in my opinion), helps reduce the risk of injuries.
RECOVER:
If it is a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout or some other type of circuit, there will be time assigned to recover.
 It means just keep walking around where you are, catching your breath, grabbing a sip of water- not lie down- or get comfortable with a cup of coffee!! hahaha!!
COOL DOWN:
Do try to cool down, and maybe even do a few stretches for around 3-5 minutes at the end; or at least walk around where you are and allow your body to get back to a comfortable heart rate.
HYDRATE:
Keep yourself hydrated- a sip here or there during recovery times, and then be intentional to drink plenty of water after your workout through the day too!
CAUTION:
Don’t push yourself through pain (unless it’s the mental agony of doing it!! or you are sure it’s just the muscles doing work they are not used to!!).
Please be sure that your are medically cleared to engage in this kind of intense activity.
Click HERE if you would like to know more about what I do as a Personal Trainer.
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