Tuesday is our Squat & Push Up day. 10-20 Squats & Push Ups every hour…or as many hours as you can fit in. I know it might not be realistic to get them done every single hour…that’s ok…but if you’re only getting in one or two sets, you’re not really trying!

I know this isn’t easy for everyone to fit these in at work, but I don’t think it’s as hard as it’s made to seem. If you work at an office, get up once an hour and go for a walk. Go into the stair well or bathroom and bust out 10-20 squats and push ups. It will take you about 2 minutes. Go outside in the sunshine, or just do them at your desk.

I have a feeling it’s not so much that you “can’t” do them. It’s more likely you feel embarrassed to exercise and are worried about what others will think or say about you. You’re worries about weird looks and sideways glances.

I’d like to challenge you to stop caring what other people think and remember who you’re doing this for. Repeat this to yourself.

I’M DOING THIS FOR ME.

Who knows…maybe those naysayers will surprise you and join in!

If you just can’t get past the thought of standing up once an hour and getting some movement in your day, here are some exercises you can do without bothering those around you.

• Calf Raises – These are perfect for when you’re waiting at the copier, printer, or microwave. Or just stand up to get in a stretch and throw them in at your desk While standing, simply lift your heels up off the ground, bring them down, and repeat. Sure, they’re noticeable, but the actually amount of movement is about on-par with fidgeting.
• Leg Lifts – Lift one leg until it’s straight and parallel to the ground. Hold for a few seconds, then lower. Repeat 10-20 times, and switch to the other leg.

• Knee Raises – A similar option is to raise your knees up toward your chair. Instead of straightening your leg, keep the knees bent. Lift one leg so the knee moves toward your chest. Raise the leg as high as possible and hold the position for a few seconds. Lower the leg slowly and in a controlled manner. Switch to the other leg. This move helps open up your hips while strengthening your thighs and abs. Repeat 10-20 times per hour.

• Thigh Squeeze – This exercise helps you tone and strengthen your thigh area. Keep a small flexible ball or a hand towel at your desk. Hold the ball or towel between your knees. Squeeze the ball as hard as you can between your knees and hold to the count of five. Release the tension slightly without letting it fall out from your knees. Repeat the squeeze 10 to 20 times. This exercise works well at the office because you can do it under your desk without anyone else realizing it.

• Isometric Holds – Isometric contractions are exercises with no change in muscle length. That means the muscle does not move, but it still contracts. Sit at your desk and squeeze your glute muscles as hard as you can. Although there is no external weight to manipulate, the act of squeezing is the workout. Hold for 10 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds. Do 10-20 reps each hour.

• Chair Squats – Pull your chair back from your desk. If you wear heels, take them off for this exercise. Sit in your chair, start by holding lightly to the armrests and work towards lifting without using your arms. Lift your hips and glutes about 3 inches off the chair and then sit back down. Alternatively, sit in the chair as you usually would and press your legs into the floor as hard as you can for an isometric contraction. This works almost the same muscles as the squat without visible movement.

Now you have some options. Will you find another excuse, or will you stop worrying about what other people think and remember who you’re doing this for?

Day 15 Plan:

• Tiny Tuesday – Small portions!
• Morning Workout Routine and/or Coffee Break Workout
• Day 15 exercises – 10-20 Squats and Push Ups per hour (or try some of the exercises above)
• Bonus: #SquatPic 
• Speed Work Plan?

Bonus: #SquatPic – Wherever you are working out today….at home, at work, at the gym, on the road or trail while you’re running, take a picture of you doing your squats and show the Crew how you get it done!

Speed Work: This week’s speed work is a GREAT workout. Click here to see how it’s done and reach out to me with questions about distance or pace!

I know it’s hard to make it happen everyday. I know you’re tired and stressed.

Just keep repeating…

I’M DOING THIS FOR ME.

You can immediately feel the effects of the Goblet Squat in your glutes and quads, but it’s Ab day….how does this move help us strengthen and tone our core? And what are these many other benefits of this simple move?

After doing some additional research on the exercise, I was pleasantly surprised to find that done correctly, there are lots of benefits from adding weight to our squats!

1. Good for beginners – Great exercises for those who are trying to master the squat correctly. The dumbbell/kettle ball position helps to keep the core tight, the legs aligned and the back straight. It’s also an easy exercise to do on the go as all you need is a heavy object and a little room to perform it.
2. Burns calories – The Goblet Squat engages multiple muscles simultaneously making this exercise ideal for burning calories and aiding in weight loss.
3. Core Strength – The added weight requires us to maintain a proper poser and engage our core to keep us upright, resulting in a multi-utility workout that is more effective than crunches
4. Workout for lower body – Perform this exercise and you will quickly see that it is a great lower body workout, giving us a great burn and strengthening our hips, quads, lats, flexors, hamstrings and gluteal muscles.
5. Reduces risk of injury – A lot of injuries occur due to weak ligaments, connective tissues and stabilizing muscles. The Goblet Squat helps us strengthen the structures of the body giving us a strong sturdy foundation.
6. Boosts our ability to jump – Goblet Squats build the hip strength that allows up increased power exploding off the ground and improving our vertical leap. Squats allow us to gain power, and they also give us the ability to absorb it. For runners, this absorption strength is key as we are continually pounding the ground with each footstep.
7. Increases flexibility and mobility – The full motion of the Goblet Squat helps us add muscle to the entire lower body and improves our overall mobility and flexibility by increasing the motion in our ankles, hips, knees and lower back. This improvement further helps in reducing injury and improves overall performance.
8. Builds muscles – Many exercises help stimulate the entire body, but many people get stuck by just piling up volume of a singular exercise. Adding heavy weight allows us to continue to build muscle.
9. Improves spine position – The Goblet Squat keeps the spine vertical, reduces the stress on our spine and helps lengthen our lat muscles. The weight requires us to work to keep upright which forces us to stay upright and in position.
10. Minimum space and equipment needed – The Goblet Squat can be performed just about anywhere and all you need is a heavy object you can hold with both hands. Exercises don’t need to be complicated to be effective!

Now that you know how effective this exercise is for so many parts of our body, how abut adding an extra round to the end of today’s routine?!

Day 14 Plan:

• Meatless Monday!
• Morning Workout Routine and/or Coffee Break Workout
• Day 14 exercises +1 extra set of Goblet Squats
• Bonus – The Fitness Marshall’s “Feel It Still”
• Plan out your weekly speed work

Day 14 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10 + 1 extra set of Goblet Squats 

• Goblet Squats
• Dumbbell Swing
• Helicopter
• Suitcase Carry
• Forearm Plank (3 x :30 or more)

Day 14 “how to” videos: If you need reminder for these exercises, please click here and check out last Monday’s post where you will find the videos for each move.

Bonus: The Fitness Marshal’s “Feel It Still” – This will be interesting and fun! You can thank Jan Peischel for finding this one for us. Laugh your way through it and keep your core tight! 🙂

Click here and follow the video.

Speed Work: Last week at track we did a BEAST of a workout and we all felt it when it was done. The workout consisted of 600’s on the track but since many of you don’t do your speed work on the track and 600s (.38 mile) can be tricky to do on the road, we are going to simplify it just a bit. Here’s the workout.

1. Warm up – 1-2 miles easy
2. 400 x 4-6 @ 5K – 10K pace
3. 200 (.13) x 4 faster than 5K pace
4. 800 x 4-6 @ 5K – 10K pace – It is important to run these at the same pace as the first set so DO NOT go out too fast on the first set
5. Cool down – 1-2 miles easy

You can see that this is quite a few miles when you put it together. Warm up + 1.5 – 2 miles + over .5 mile + another 1.5 – 2 miles + cool down. If you are able to program this on your watch or GPS device, that would be very helpful. Otherwise just try to keep the distance in mind when you are running, or better yet, find a track to do the workout on!

The key to this workout is CONSISTENCY. You want all your splits to be the same from start to finish except those middle 200s which should be faster. If you go out too fast in the beginning, you will have trouble holding the pace in the later set. This workout is great because it teaches us how to push through tired, heavy legs which is necessary during our races.  DO NOT run the 400s faster than 5K pace. If you aren’t sure what that pace is for you, PLEASE reach out to me and let’s figure it out!

You have the plan and the “why” behind the plan. Time to DO THE GOBLET Crew! 🙂

Remember it’s Monday….and here in the #CoreCrew we….