Hello everyone,
Hope you’re all keeping well. You’ll have to forgive this week’s post. It used to be a lot longer, mind blowing and full of humourous quips, until something went wrong when I tried to upload it. So here is the abridged version with only the important stuff.
It’s around that time of year when we all pack up our cars and head out to the cottage for the week. Just because we’re taking a break from the city doesn’t mean we need to take a break from staying fit. In fact, there’s nothing better than getting a workout in at 6am on the cool sandy beach as the rising sun lights up the rippling waves. Toes sinking into the grainy sand, as you prepare to experience a refreshing and satisfying workout… this continued on for a while in th original article…
Don’t Need A Big Trunk
If you’re used to machines and free weights at the gym or in your home, this is a great opportunity for you to broaden your scope of exercise. Bodyweight workouts are a great way to work multiple muscles at once, develop your balance and coordination, get an aerobic component in to your strength program, and keep costs down. Best of all, you don’t need any equipment! Elastics, exercise balls and straps can greatly increase the variety in your bodyweight workouts, but they’re definietly not necessary.
On Vacation, Perfection Not Required
Unless you’re on a four week Alaskan Cruise, chances are you’re only gone for 1-2 weeks. This is a fairly short time in your training schedule, so we can afford to cut back on our duration while on vacation. Figure out an amount of time you know you’ll be able to commit to. 45 minutes? 30 minutes? 20 minutes? You may not get your minimum recommended aerobic exercise for the week; you may not have a perfectly balanced workout for all major muscle groups; but don’t worry, it’s only for a week! You’ll be back to your regular routine or Boot Camp before you know it!
Exercises
There is an unlimited number of exercises to choose from. I won’t bother trying to list exercises in this post, as there are hundreds of resources out there to choose from, a few of which are listed below. In addition to these online sites, you can always find exercise ideas in books (remember libraries?). If you don’t feel comfortable with a given exercise, or are not sure you’re doing it right, simply swap it with another exercise for the same major muscle group. If you don’t feel comfortable trying exercises without receiving proper instruction, you may want to consider seeking the services of a trainer to get you started.
Some online resources for bodyweight exercises:
www.bodyrock.tv
http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/search.asp?muscle=Home&equipment=yes
www.bodyweightculture.com
www.crossfit.com
Formats
This is where you can really spice up your workouts with variety, fun, and a little motivational competition. To give you an idea how many formats there can be, this Monday will be the 100th Boot Camp I plan for my MORFit participants. Every class has a different format. Some are typical formats you might find online, most are just ideas that came to me the night before. Nobody said you have to stick to the “2 sets of 15 reps” format. Or maybe someone did. Well, I’m telling you do don’t have to. Below are a few ideas you can use for your vacation (or your regular) workouts:
Ten’s - Pick 4-6 exercises. Do 10 reps of each exercise, then down to 9 reps, then 8, 7….. down to 1 rep of each. Try to complete the workout faster each time you go through the same exercises; or change your exercises every time.
Tabatas - Do as many reps as you can of an exercise in 20 seconds. Rest for 10 or 20 seconds. Repeat this same sequence 6-8 times for the same exercise. Complete 4-6 minutes of higher intensity cardio. Then move onto your second exercise, repeating the same sequence as before. Go through 4-6 exercises. You can write down your reps for each round, trying to get as many reps as you can in each 20 second bout.
Two to Tango - Determine a distance that takes approximately 1-2 minutes to complete (maybe a track, maybe running to the tree on the beach…). Your partner does an exercise for the length of time it takes you to run the complete distance. When you finish the run, your partner takes off while you go through the exercise. When they return, move onto the second exercise. Go through as many exercises as needed to fill the time you have for your workout.
Now you have no excuse not to workout at the cottage! I hope this article was helpful. I have no intention of giving you one workout that will keep you satisfied for one week. These are some of the tools you can use to start building your own workouts, should you be interested in doing so. Check out some of the sites I pointed to, there’s some great resources out there. Until the next post, I wish you all variety and enjoyment in your workouts, whether it’s in the company gym, or on a sandy beach.
-Stuart
