It never occurred to me that my training after my RKC certification was . . .well. . .just not fun anymore. There I was, the fitness instructor, teaching my clients about how important it is to have fun with workouts in order to reap the benefits of a healthy body and a lust for life! Having fun is essential to enjoying our lives, especially when it comes to exercise. Don’t get me wrong, the sets, the reps, and the intervals of your workouts do matter in terms of your overall conditioning. However, if you can’t spice up your routine and make exercising into a fun and interactive game for yourself, well folks, you’re missing the entire point of living a healthy lifestyle. I have given my clients some fun and interactive workouts over the past few weeks that made me realize something for myself on a personal level.
I wasn’t enjoying my exercise routines anymore. I needed more fun in my life.
I spend a lot of time these days constructing workouts for people that are demanding, challenging, yet enjoyable in terms of the variation the routines provide. This week, I decided to just come up with something for myself on the fly one morning as I strolled through Frick Park. Having just returned from Primal Move and getting my hands on the book “Convict Conditioning”, I came up with a pretty unique body weight only workout that should challenge even the more advanced fitness buffs out there. Take a look below, and see my first ever body weight workout creation.
Body Weight Blast
10 Minute Primal Move Warm Up (I focused much of my Primal Move warm up on crawling drills. For more on Primal Move, visit this link).
Push Up Practice- 3 work sets of 10 Plyometric Push Ups. (You will push yourself up off the ground, clap your hands once, then land on your hands and repeat. The super advanced will be able to clap 2 or 3 times in midair before returning to the next pushup. Have at it!)
Crow Stance Holds– 3 Work Sets (You will hold the crow stance 3 successive times for 30 seconds each. You will rest between each 30 second set as needed. Ideally, you want to work up your time in order to master the hold for 1 to 2 minutes. Practice and have fun!)
Pistol Squat Hops– 3 work sets of 3 squats per leg (You will perform a body weight pistol squat on one leg. As you come back up to standing position you will jump up and land on the other leg and then perform a pistol squat. You will hop back and forth between each leg until you perform 3 squats per leg, which counts as 1 total set. Rest in between each set of the routine as needed). This is challenging and sort of difficult to describe on paper. To give you a better idea of how to complete this exercise, check out my video below!
30-yard Sprints- 6 total sprints (You will perform an all out sprint at your maximum capacity of exertion for 30 yards. Repeat 6 times through and rest only as needed between each sprint).
1o Minute cool down with stretching and Primal Move Mobility Drills
I must say, while this exercise routine was demanding (to say the least), I have never had more fun just playing around at a local park. I have learned a valuable lesson here. Sometimes, we ought to take our own advice and enjoy life by exercising in a way that is just plain fun! The more creative we are, the more willing we will be to fall in love with our exercise routines. Get out there and have some fun this weekend!
Until next time, remember to eat smart, train hard, and enjoy your life!
Janelle Pica, RKC
