Jump for joy, take a dip, squat on a wall, then plank it out!
Sunday’s are not a rest day in May, but at least it’s short and sweet!
What an amazing weekend so far! No way I could keep up with y’all yesterday….thank goodness for buddies! 🙂 As promised, I am up with the chickens and getting ready for my favorite thing…long run! Heading out shortly for some miles with Amiee and with the Florida weather cooperating, I can’t wait!
Taking my phone with me so I can get motivation from all our Crew members racing today! Hope I can remember all the baddassery going on here today….
Susan and Jen are running the Flying Pig! Philly Core Crew – Kristy, Rakhee, Tina, Brigid, Regina, Jamie, Lisa and Marcela are tacking the Broad Street 10 miler!
Linda Morgan is in Pittsburg running the full!
Who else is racing OR going long today? We are with you in spirit and can’t wait to hear about it!
If you already raced or went long this weekend, don’t be sedentary today. Be active with our Day 7 exercises, take a few extra minutes to stretch out those muscles, remember to stick to your “one weekend treat” plan, and get ready for another fabulous week!
Day 7 exercises:
- 100 Jumping Jacks
- 50 Tricep Dips
- :60 Wall Sit
- :60 Plank
Seriously….5 minutes Crew! If you can’t do jumping jacks…try some of these jumping jack alternatives and get that heart rate up!
Jumping jacks are almost the perfect exercise: They work every major muscle group in your body and don’t require any special equipment. But jumping jacks also involve a fair amount of impact and require good range of motion through the shoulders. If you can’t handle the pounding or arm movement required, it’s time to explore some effective alternative exercises.
You could substitute almost any low-impact, lower-body movement with a lateral component into jumping jacks. Try doing squat jacks — step to one side and squat as you swing your arms up and then go back as you bring your arms back down. You could even do lunging jacks.
To do lunging jacks, step into a back lunge, rotating your torso toward the side of your back leg and swinging your arms together overhead; rotate back to the middle as you stand back up, switch leading legs and then twist your torso toward the side of your back leg. This requires good core strength and awareness.
Heel jacks are handy if you have weak or injury prone knees. Full-force jumping jacks or lunge variations will place stress on weak or painful joints of the lower leg, hip and back. The heel jack uses simple motions but keeps the heart pumping during an aerobic workout. This move uses the same arm movements as a regular jumping jack. When your arms go up, alternate kicking up with your heels in rapid succession. Only kick as high and as fast as you feel comfortable.
If your shoulders aren’t stable or mobile enough for the arm motion required for full jumping jacks, you have two options. The first is to limit yourself to a safe, comfortable range of motion. Try swinging your arms out to shoulder level instead of overhead. Or substitute any upper-body motion that you can do into your jumping jacks. Examples include doing biceps curls or shadow boxing as you continue doing the lower-body portion of a jumping jack.
You can also get similar benefits by doing other types of calisthenics. Try mountain climbers or star jumps. To do star jumps, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down, bend forward slightly at the hips and then explode upward, jumping off the ground as you spread both arms and legs to form the “star.”
We always have Yoga as an option too! If you want to quiet your mind and body, choose one of our Yoga for Runners routines and let the stress go!
Yoga for Runners:
So many options! Whatever you do, CHOOSE to be active today Crew! 🙂
Strong to the Core 