PLYOMETRICS

Pocono Mtn. Spartan Race 09/06/2012

Today, I want to talk about plyometric training because it is my FAVORITE to do!  If you want to have strong legs and work up to a high level of endurance, incorporate plyo into your workout.  Plyo consists of body movements such as jumping, hopping, and bouncing and it will improve your level of performance dramatically.  You will run faster, jump higher, last longer, etc.  I remember running a relatively flat, 5 mile race in Conyers, Georgia with hardly any plyo training and it was actually harder for me than a mountainous half-marathon in the Pocono Mountains, PA a year later.  I had better balance, was more agile, and had a much stronger core and lower body in the half-marathon.  You burn more calories with plyo and ultimately, get better results.  You will find that if I can add jumps or hops to any movement/workout I do, I add it.  Why squat when you can jump-squat?? 😉

Here is a circuit that I did the other day.  I swear by circuit training, or “high intensity interval training”.  Try to take only 30 seconds in between circuits; you must recover, but you don’t want to get tight and lose momentum.  You can do this workout anywhere… but I always prefer outdoors!  See below for some videos on my moves.  This workout took me about 50 minutes.

Warm up:  Run 1/2 mile or 1 mile (Depending on your fitness level)

Stretch for 3-5 minutes (Yes, I always stretch after I warm up.  You’re muscles should be already a little warm so you can stretch your muscles out really well)

CIRCUIT ONE:  DO THIS CIRCUIT THREE TIMES

12 Frog Jumps into a One-Legged Plank  ***I cannot tell you how much I love these.  Your legs will BURN!  In the video below, I am doing the frog jumps only forward.  However, you should do them one frog jump forward, one frog jump backward, forward, backward, etc.  This works different muscles in your legs.
60 Mountain Climbers (In a plank position on the ground or elevated with your arms on a bench, chair, etc.  Shoulders should be aligned with your wrists and keep your butt out of the air)
60 High Knees
16 Shoulder-Tap Push Ups

Midway:  Run 1/2 mile or 1 mile again

CIRCUIT TWO:  DO THIS THREE TIMES

12 Jump-Tuck Burpees
30 Russian Twist Abs
1 Minute Plank Hold
24 Hop Squats (Start in a low squat, do mini hop squats in place without coming all the way up)

STRETCH

Fort Lauderdale Beach, FL 02/03/2014

Enjoy 🙂

SPARTAN AB 350

SPARTAN AB 350 – I am HUGE on having a strong core, so I do this ab workout 3 or 4x per week, immediately following my regular workout.  It should take you about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how many times you break (but try to go straight through).  The core is the foundation of your body where so much of your strength comes from.  Whenever I’m racing and struggling, or say trying to push through a steep hill, I take a deep breath and contract my core and that’s where I find the power.  Strengthening your center will undoubtedly help you in other workouts, races, sports, etc. and it doesn’t look half bad either 🙂 This ab routine is the only one that ever makes me work up a sweat! Take no more than a few seconds in between moves, but do the moves slowly so you really work your center.  You will be doing 350 ab movements… sometimes if I’m feeling crazy I’ll do this routine twice through 🙂

All of these will be done on the floor in a “C” position  unless directed otherwise — Chin up

25 In and Outs (hands on the floor next to you or straight up in the air)
25 Bicycles (forward)
25 Bicycles (backward)
25 Vertical Toe Touches (half with your left leg, half with your right leg)
25 Scissors (SLOW!)
25 V-Ups (straight arms connect to straight legs in a V position)
25 Standing Oblique Crunches – Right (standing up, connect right elbow to right knee in a side crunch.  I add a 12 lb. dumbbell to this movement)
25 Standing Oblique Crunches – Left (visa versa)
50 Standing Twist Crunches (stand straight up, both hands behind your head, connect OPPOSITE ELBOW TO OPPOSITE KNEE in a crunch)
25 Oblique V-Ups – Right (lay on your right side, left arm behind your head, connect elbow to straight leg in a V position)
25 Oblique V-Ups – Left (vise versa)
50 Russian Twist (tapping the left AND right side counts as 1 – you should tap the floor a total of 100 times)

Can you tell I like obliques??  Time for your reward… Cobra stretch:) Enjoy!

Photo taken at Lauderdale by the Sea, FL ❤

PYRAMID BURPEES

Most of know what a burpeee is, and most of us don’t like them.  Well guess what, they don’t like you either.  But I believe they are the best total body workout you can do in a matter of 5 simple steps.  Everything on your body is being worked; your glutes, core, upper body, etc.  This movement is perfect for strength training, as well as aerobic exercise.  You don’t need any fancy equipment or gadgets.  Here are the 5 steps:

1. Do a squat and put your hands on the floor
2. Kick your feet back into a plank position
3. Do a push up while you are down (or hold the plank)
4. Return to a squat position with hands on the floor
5. Do a vertical jump in the air

**Always try to keep your butt out of the air, and your shoulders should be aligned with your wrists in the plank.

Here is a short video on me doing a few weighted burpees with an ab movement I added into the routine.  There are many modifications to burpees, and I love changing it up so it doesn’t get boring.

I am personally obsessed with burpees because of how many different parts of your body it works while still being a cardiovascular movement.  During Spartan Races, if you fail to complete an obstacle, the penalty is to do 30 burpees before you can move on with the race.  They were super painful after running X amount of miles on hills and whatnot so I learned to quickly try my best with every obstacle 🙂 But, I always try to incorporate them into my workout routine because I know the results will be great!!  You can do them anywhere, anytime!

My favorite burpee workout to do is with a partner, and I call them “PYRAMID BURPEES“.  This should not take you an your partner an overwhelming amount of time, maybe about 30 minutes or so.  Try to go as fast as you can with correct form.

PYRAMID BURPEE DAY:

Do 1 burpee.  Have your partner do 1 burpee.
Do 2 burpees.  Have your partner do 2 burpees.
Do 3 burpees.  Have your partner do 3 burpees.
Do 4 burpees, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, then come back down again 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

The point is to get a short break while your partner is doing his/her set because this movement will be challenging and have your heart pumping.  If you don’t have a partner, you can take 30 seconds-1 minute or you can do another movement in between reps.  I would do 50 high knees in place if you are doing the pyramid alone; high knees are a great cardio movement while working your abs.

Other burpee modifications I like to use:

Power jump burpees:  While you are up, jump up in the air and tuck your knees to your chest at the peak of the jump.
Frog jump burpees:  Jump forward and backward instead of upward
Mountain climber burpees:  Do X number of mountain climbers while you are in the plank position
Spider burpees:  Spider your left and right legs while you are in the plank position to work your obliques
Weighted burpees:  Use dumbbells to do a curl or other movement while in the burpee

Have fun!!!

Dijana