Boxing Workout

This is the last blog for the semester and I hope everyone learned a lot about creative ways to incorporate fitness into your everyday life. Today’s workout is fun and exciting….it’s time to hit the ring for a boxing workout.

Boxers are known for their explosive strength and endurance. Training like one helps develop a powerful lean body, and mental focus. The key is to remain in constant motion and move quickly from one exercise to the next. This circuit will keep your heart rate elevated, maximizing weight loss.

Warm up: Start my jumping rope, in the ring or next to it for about 3 minutes.

Punches: keep a slight jog in place bouncing back and forth. Maintain good posture looking straight head with your core tightened. Keep your elbows close to your body and raise your fists in front of you. Curl your fingers to form a fist with your thumb on top of your index finger. Throw four punches with the right arm, then four with the left. When you throw a punch extend your arm from your shoulder, do not lock your elbow and keep your wrist and fist firm. Return to the starting position with the same speed as your accelerated punch. Now alternate each arm punching as fast as possible for 10 seconds, take a short break and repeat four punches consecutively on each side. Repeat this set 2-3 times.

Kicks: stop bouncing and keep feet shoulder width apart, elbows bent and fists at your hips. Kick forward extending your leg from the hip extending forward, but do not lock the knee. Plant the forward foot used for the kick and punch straight forward with the opposite hand. Lean forward into a lunge; remember to keep the knee behind your toes. Stand up from the lunge and kick to the rear with the opposite foot. Alternate each side for about 3 minutes. This circuit will work hard to engage your core as well as your arms and legs.

Squats: It is time to target your legs even more. Drop into some squats, and feel free to perform jumping squats if appropriate for your fitness level and you can demonstrate proper form.

Push ups: Down to the floor for some pushups…once you max out squeeze your core for 30 seconds of mountain climbers moving your feet as fast as you can.

Heavy bag: Perhaps you have a heavy bag at your gym or at home. Hitting the bag is very physically demanding and delivers immense resistance and challenges your cardiovascular system. Typically limit your boxing to 2-3 minutes to develop our anaerobic strength, with short rest periods in between sets. Perform a variety of punches such as the cross, jab, uppercuts, and hooks. This will engage the shoulders, arm, back, and chest. Be sure to circle the bag to engage your legs and keep core tight. Stay on your toes and more quickly from one foot to the other to keep you heart rate elevated. Always keep your elbows close to your body and maintain excellent posture.

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?

This week’s post workout snack suggestion:
Tuna on white wheat, drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Water Workout

Are you headed on vacation to a warm climate, or just wish it was summer again? Why not take your workout to your community center’s indoor pool, or try this workout while vacationing in the sun.

Water is a great fitness tool adding great resistance to every motion made, to not only impact your cardiovascular system, but also help strengthen muscles. Due to the buoyancy of water, some of your body weight will be supported in the water. This will prevent your joints and bones from bearing too great a load, allowing for a low impact workout. This is especially beneficial for people with injuries, arthritis, or who might be overweight or obese. Getting into the pool is also great cross training if you are in off season for your usual athletic events.

Here are some great tips to enhance your water workout:

·         Keep your feet in contact with the floor so your leg muscles are supporting some of your weight during exercise. Aim for about waist deep water.

·         To add resistance consider wearing webbed gloves, water shoes, or weights on your ankles and wrists.

·         Keep hydrated by drinking fresh water during and after your workout.  

Now for the exercises:

Jog: Begin with a jog from one side of the pool to the other, staying within waist deep water and make contact with the floor of the pool with your feet. The water adds great resistance allowing more calories to be burned than on land. Jog for 3 minutes as a great warm up.

Spiderman: Stay in the water and move to the side of the pool. Begin treading water by sweeping your hands back and forth to help stabilize your body. Begin to walk your legs up and down the wall of the pool. The goal is to keep your head above water while you do this exercise. It will really challenge your arms, core, and lower body as you work to stay afloat.

Leg lift: Use the same noodle or foam float. Stand in the pool and balance one leg on the float, bending the knee at 90 degrees. Hold for several minutes while squeezing your core. This exercise helps build abdominal strength and strengthens your leg muscles.

Waves: Told on to the edge of the pool, your face should be towards the pool wall. Extend your legs out behind you, keeping them straight. Keep your legs together and create waves by moving from your abs, to your hips, to your thighs, to your knees, to your feet. This should remind you of a kick from a dolphin. Keep as fast as you can for up to 1 minute. This will really challenge your leg muscles and core.  

Fly’s: this exercise will engage your pectoral muscles and also engages your core while working on your balance. Hold a lunge in the pool and extend both arms to either side. Elbows should be slightly bent. Push your arms together in front of your chest so your palms touch and thumbs are pointing upward. Return back to the sides to complete one rep. Repeat 8-15 reps and add in a pool jogging between 2-3 sets.

Plank: Get a noodle, log, or other foam float you can use. Stand in the pool and hold onto the float with arms shoulder width apart. Lean forward until your body is at an incline but your head is still above water. Hold for about 1 minute.

V-ups: Begin treading water with your hands but keep your feet closely together, legs straight. Bring your legs up to the surface of the water forming a V. Only your head and toes should be out of the water. Keep treading and hold for up to 1 minute. This will really target your abdominal muscles.

Water is a great exercise medium and really adds a creative twist to your workouts. Remember safety is very important. You should have a basic knowledge of how to swim before attempting any of these exercises. It is best to exercise in the pool under supervision of a lifeguard incase help is needed. All of these exercises should be performed in the shallow end of the pool, with your head above water to prevent serious fatigue and drowning.

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?

This week’s post workout snack suggestion:
Low fat chocolate milk

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Outdoor Workout

As we saver the last warm days of fall before winter, it is important to get outside and take advantage of it. What is a better way of doing that, then bringing your workout outside this week? This workout can be modified depending on where you might be; a park, your backyard, or in the woods. The important goal is to incorporate a full body workout outside, despite not having access to traditional weights and benches you might be used to using.

Start out with a 5-10 minute jog to increase your body temperature and increase your heart rate.

Find a hill and start with walking lunges…don’t stop till you reach the top. Remember to keep your front knee behind your toes to maintain good form.

At the top already? Time for a set of jumping squats or regular squats depending on your experience level.

Time to turn around and lunge back down the hill…followed by another set of squats.

Drop to the ground for a set of push-ups, or find a tree and stand a few feet away from it. Place your hands on the tree and bend your elbows for 8-15 reps of tree pushups.

Find a strong low lying branch, a horizontal pole such as a railing, or even a sturdy table. Time for a set of hanging body weight rows, or inverted rows as some people call it. This will really target your rhomboids, trapezius, deltoids, abs, and arms. Maintain good form, and remember to modify based on your skill level. To make the exercise easer keep your knees bent and firmly placed on the ground. To make the exercise harder keep your legs very straight and almost parallel to the ground, you can even prop your feet up on a rock, ball, or tree stump to progress even further.

Ok one more set of the pushups and inverted rows….move fast this is a circuit and you want to keep your heart rate up.

Time for some Crossovers. You will want to find a log, a pile of leaves, or a rock. Use good form and jump side to side over the obstacle or up and down on a bench. Try to maintain for 30-60 seconds.

Try to find a strong tree branch or jungle gym where you can do a set of chin-ups or pull-ups. Remember chin ups are a little easier, your palm faces you, and you engage the biceps more. A pull-up engages more of your back, generally is harder, and palms will face away from you.

 Use a park bench, tree stump, or rock for a set of dips to target your antagonist muscle group, triceps. Follow with some more crossovers, one more set of the chin-ups or pull-ups and one more set of the dips.

Let’s end with a blast to the core…time for some hanging crunches from a strong tree branch or jungle gym. Hold on palms facing you, keep arms fully extended and bend your knees drawing them to your chest exhaling on the way up. After 8-15 reps get back on the ground and hold a plank as long as you can to really engage your transverse abdominals which act as a girdle holding your intestines inside. For progression try balancing your feet on a rock or ball.

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?

This week’s post workout snack suggestion:
Healthy pizza on whole grain break with light low fat cheese lots of vegetables, and chicken.

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.