Anyone else a little pressed for time this week with the holiday and all?
I’m willing to bet you can still squeeze in a little gym time.
Today my workout was all over the place compared to my usual routine, but it was nice to switch things up. I did upper body in physical therapy this morning – lots of external rotations, lateral & front raises, band work, ball work, and modified push ups. Who would ever think I would be sore from a MODIFIED push up!? Gah I’ve lost so much strength since August. But I have to keep looking on the bright side of things – the good news is that my physical therapist says my shoulder inflammation has gone down. More good news is that last week was the first week I went a whole week without being in any pain. Please keep your fingers crossed for me for some more solid improvements!
Anyways, tonight I couldn’t make it to the gym right from work (aka no Ed’s Spin Class), and I also have a lot of bills to pay / things to get in order before I get to bed (clearly procrastinating that with this blog post), so I squeezed in a quick workout at the gym.
Here’s a speedy workout for a 20 minute treadmill blast, followed by 20 minutes of leg and ab toning.
The whole thing will take you no longer than 40 minutes, and I promise you’ll be sweaty even if you only do part of it!
20 Minute Treadmill Blast
- Minutes 0:00 – 2:00 –> Walk at 4 mph, incline 0
- Minutes 2:00 – 3:00 –> Walk faster at 4.5 mph, incline 0
- Minutes 3:00 – 5:00 –> Light jog at 5 mph, incline 0
- Minutes 5:00 – 6:00 –> Faster jog at 5.5 mph, incline 0
- Minutes 6:00 – 10:00 –> Tabata Intervals, alternating between 20 seconds of higher intensity at 6 mph followed by 10 seconds of lower intensity back at 5.5 mph. You will repeat this 8 times for the total of 4 minutes. Incline 1.
- Minutes 10:00 – 11:00 –> Short recovery at 5 mph, incline 1
- Minutes 11:00 – 12:00 –> Faster jog at 5.5 mph, incline 2
- Minutes 12:00 – 16:00 –> Repeat the Tabata Intervals, this time alternating between 20 seconds of higher intensity at 6.5 mph followed by 10 seconds of lower intensity back at 6.0 mph. Again, repeat this 8 times for the total of 4 minutes. Inline 2. This will be the part of your workout where your heart rate should be the highest.
- Minutes 16:00 – 17:00 –> Recovery at 5.5 mph, incline 2
- Minutes 17:00 – 18:00 –> Recovery at 5.0 mph, incline 2
- Minutes 18:00 – 19:00 –> Cooldown (fast walk) at 4.5 mph, incline 1
- Minutes 19:00 – 20:00 –> Cooldown (walk) at 4.0 mph, incline 0
20 Minute Abs & Legs Tone
What you need: Swiss Ball & Mat Optional
- One legged lunges with back leg on ball: 3 sets of 10
- Regular crunches on ball: 3 sets of 10
- One legged lunges with other leg back on the ball: 3 sets of 10
- Regular crunches on ball: 3 sets of 10
- Hamstring / Calf Ball Pull Ins: 1 set of 10, hold 5 seconds, 2nd set of 10, hold 5 seconds
- Sitting lower & lifts holding ball: 3 sets of 10
- Hamstring / Calf Ball Pull Ins: 1 set of 10, hold 5 seconds, 2nd set of 10, hold 5 seconds
- Sitting oblique twists holding ball: 3 sets of 10
- Squat Series: 3 pulses and a squat jump (10 reps), regular squats (10 reps), squat hold (10 seconds)
- Hamstring Extensions: Extend & flex right leg while balancing on the left 10 times, then hold 10 seconds.
- Abs on Ball: Hold plank with feet on ball for 30 seconds, 10 jackknife reps (should take 20 seconds), and hold plank for final 10 seconds = 1 minute total.
- Repeat Squat Series
- Repeat Hamstring Extensions on the left
- Repeat Abs on Ball
- Stretch
If you have any questions on any of these moves, let me know!
Don’t forget about my Naked Pizza $20 gift certificate giveaway.
Fine, I’ll go do the things I need to do now!!
Have a great night.
I love the legs and ab workout! I miss your strength classes because i dont push myself to do weights nearly as much as I should:( Body Pump has helped, but I don’t love the class so I sometimes have to force myself to go!