Powerhouse

Today we are working with DBs and doing a deadlift with them, hence the term DB deadlift. There are many ways to do a deadlift, with a barbell, dumbbell, or kettle bell. We are going with a dumbbell.

To start, stand tall with feet hip distance apart and holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing your body. Engage your core, keep chest up, and pull your shoulders back.

The movement is a hinging at your hips. Do this by poking your butt back, as if closing a door with it. Use that movement rather than bending down.

As you are lowering slide the dumbbells down your thighs and legs maintaining a flat back until you get to mid shins. Or just below your knees, if that’s what you’ve got or to just above your knees if that is where you stick. Your knees will be slightly bent.

Then drive back up through your heels and stand tall.

Tips and tricks: keep the weights close to your body. Keep your spine straight. At the top, don’t arch your spine backwards. You should be a straight line, not a curved arc. Move slowly, this isn’t a race.

This can also be done with your hands at your sides, but I’ve always called those a suitcase deadlift and so we will as well. But if you look out there in the vast internet space, you will see that on offer as well. There is also a version where you don’t bend your knees, and that has a different name – Romanian deadlift. So there are options for the future.

Today’s workout:
WARM UP
2-3x
3 cat/cow
3 up/down dog
8 side to side step with 4/direction
CIRCUIT
3-4x
6-8 DB deadlift
6-8 plank knee twists with 4/side
add or subtract weight as needed
rest as needed

I have always found deadlifts fun because the weight is not moving around. It simply goes up and down with your body’s movement. This is easier. Most people have a max weight for their barbell deadlift because it is simply this up and down movement. Not going over head and getting to use the powerhouse muscles of your legs to move the weight, rather than the smaller muscles in the chest and arms.

One of the benefits of a deadlift is that you are moving weight and often more weight that with other exercises. This is beneficial, of course, for muscle strength. But it is also beneficial for bone density, an issue for an aging population.

I hope you enjoy the movement as much as I do.

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Your Drink, Your Majesty

Today we are working with a move called a Goblet Squat. It is because we are going to squat with a weight, held like a goblet. It all makes sense today!

This move works the quads or front of the upper legs, the glutes or your butt, and your core.

We begin by having a target ready behind us. Stand tall with legs inches away from the seat/target. Bring the DB up to chest height and hold it like a goblet if you are fancy or a wine glass if you would rather. It is cupped in your hands held around the head of the DB.

You want your toes slightly turned outward. Inhale as you descend to the target while keeping your chest and back straight. Don’t lean forward, but keep your chest nice and high. (If I had a dollar for every “chest up” direction from some coach, I would be wealthy beyond imagination. It’s so tempting to lean forward, but don’t. Move your target higher if you need it for now, but keep that chest up mantra going in your head.)

Keep your knees tracking in line with your toes and don’t let them fall inward. This will also help with the whole chest up part. Elbows remain at your side. As soon as you reach your target, drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to return to a standing position.

Some tips and hints: keep the weight close to your body. The farther out you hold it, the harder this whole thing is. Holding it close helps with balance. Keep your knees tracking out and your torso upright while engaging your core.

Some places to watch for mistakes: lifting your heels off the ground, rounding your back, or making this a whole different movement by holding the weight away from your body.

Today’s workout:

WARM UP

2-3x

4 glute bridges

4 air squats to a target

4 leg swings back and forth per side

CIRCUIT

2-3x

6-8 goblet squats

6-8 DB good mornings

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

Getting up from a chair without undue stress is really nice. We often rise with something in our hands. This is just a practice for this move. Rising from the dining room table with dirty dishes in hand? This is one of those moves. Using a public toilet and needing to get up with your purse in hand and without touching any of the icky places? This is one of those moves. It’s practical.

I hope you have some fun with this. If you can find the joy in the movement, you should get yourself a goblet full of something tasty and enjoy the thrill of victory here and now.

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Inching Along

Today we are working with something called an inchworm. I have no way to do this from a chair because it is totally a floor exercise. But there are still options.

I can remember doing these as a kid. I can also remember doing these as a warm-up for CrossFit. So it is versatile.

Begin by standing tall in a neutral position and feet hip distance apart and arms hanging by your side. Bend forward to get your hands flat on the ground. Try to keep your legs straight. Now, if you aren’t Gumby, you can either bend your knees, or widen your feet. What we are looking for is both hands and feet on the floor with your butt in the air.

Now walk your hands forward until you are flattened out to a plank position. There are two options here. You can move forward by walking your feet up to your hands, and continue inching along. If space is limited, start with walking out to plank position, walk feet forward, then feet go backwards to plank position. For the next rep, walk hands back towards feet and then forward to plank position again. Walking forward or backward is done on tip toes.

After all reps are completed, slowly roll back up to a standing position.

Hints and tips: keep your core tight throughout. Move slowly so you don’t fall over and keep yourself tight by engaging all those muscles you have been working on. Try to keep your legs straight, but if needed, bend them. There is no grading system here. You do what you can where you are. Avoid straining your neck by keeping your head in a neutral position.

If you had your Wheaties and want to make this more of a challenge, you can do a push-up at the time you are in a plank position. That seems extreme to me, but some people like a challenge.

Today’s workout:
WARM UP

2-3x

4 inchworms

1 lay down on back, roll right, stand

1 lay down on back, roll left, stand

(if you don’t get on the ground, do 4 squat and 10 jumping jacks)

CIRCUIT

2-3x

12 step-ups – 6 with right foot first, then 6 with left foot first

8 DB front raises

8 DB shrugs

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

I believe we used to do these when playing Mother May I. They were fun then. They can be fun now, as well. I hope you have some fond memories of this move already, but if you don’t, I hope you can make some now.

Laugh as you move and know that we all look a bit silly with this particular exercise. But it is good for shoulder and hip mobility with chest and hamstring work, and works on balance, at the same time.

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Angelic

Today’s move is called a KB or DB halo. We will be moving the weight around our heads making a halo. Part of the workout is not to smile beatifically, but I think you should.

The primary muscles we are working are the deltoids or shoulder muscles. But we also are working the trapezius or top of the back/neck, the triceps or back of the arms, the abs as we hold our body in a controlled stance, and the obliques or sides of the stomach which will also be engaged in holding us upright.

That’s a lot of work for one little move. It must be … difficult. It’s not. We can do this.

Stand tall, chest up, and engage your core by bringing your belly button to your spine. If you are using a KB, hold it upside down or by the horns. If you are using a DB, grip it in the ends. Begin the move by bringing the weight close to your face at chin level while keeping the elbows tucked close to your body.

Now move the weight in a circle around your head in a smooth, controlled motion. Try to keep your head still. I would suggest that you go clockwise for a round and then go counter-clockwise for the next round. It is possible to switch directions with each rep, but I find that more difficult to remember which way I’m going.

The goal is not speed but controlled, smooth, slow movement. Do NOT try to go too heavy. Do NOT clunk yourself in the head.

Today’s workout:

WARM UP

2-4x

6 halos

8 bird dog 4/side

10 jumping jacks

CIRCUIT

3-4x

10-15 second plank hold

3-5 push-ups

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

If you want to do these halos without weight, I would suggest you hold on to something solid like a ruler to keep your hands aligned. You could also use an empty paper towel roll. Something solid will keep your hands/arms moving in unison which is the point for this move.

The greatest danger to this move is, of course, choosing a weight that is too heavy. I have KBs here, but they are all too heavy for me to use. So I stuck with a DB. There is no glory in hurting yourself. Be careful and choose wisely. Then enjoy the movement and glory in a job well done.

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Ironing? Pressing?

Today we are working with a different type of DB press. This one is called a Tate press, named after Dave Tate. He is a power lifter, coach, and founder of EliteFTS. Again, this sounds intimidating for the uninitiated. But really, this is simply a triceps exercise. We can do this.

While it targets the triceps, it also works on the front deltoids and the chest as well. So how do we go about this thing?

Lie down on a bench or the floor. Hold a DB in each hand with your arms extended straight up over your chest and with your palms facing your feet.

Bend your elbows to bring the DB nearly to your chest. Don’t turn your hands but allow your elbows to flair outward at an angle. And then raise the DB back to the starting position. The DBs are horizontal at the beginning and then are vertical before straightening your arms again. Your hands are not moving direction.

You can do this movement without weights, but I would suggest you hold something solid, like a spice bottle or toilet paper roll, to make sure you can feel where your hands are in three dimensional space.

Today’s workout:

WARM UP

2-3x

3 cat/cow

3 up/down dog

15-20 no rope jumps

CIRCUIT

2-3x

6-8 Tate presses

8-10 Russian twists – 4-5 per side

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

My primary goal for Stay Balanced it to keep us all from falling over indiscriminately. But the secondary goal is for us to get back up should we find ourselves on the ground. We think it is our legs that get us off the floor. That is true. But should you fall, or even if you purposely sit on the floor, you have to get to a position where your legs can take over. That means you need your arms and shoulders.

This is the purpose of these types of exercises. It is with your upper body you get to the place where your lower body can do the heavy lifting. Your biceps, triceps, and deltoids work along with your chest, lats, and core muscles to put you into that position where it is possible to get up. Your legs are used after you have already done much of the work. Because of that little technicality, it is essential to keep both your upper and lower body primed and ready for action.

Have fun with this. It is not a popular movement, but it should be.

Stay balanced.

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Fly Like an Eagle

Today we are working with another yoga pose that has a Sanskrit name that is beyond me. So we are going with the English name – eagle arms. This pose is great for stretching the shoulders and upper back. It can be done either sitting or standing. And you can be seated either on the floor or in a chair. Options, always options.

We are going to start by sitting comfortably. Sit tall with a straight spine. Raise both arms straight in front of you, and then cross one arm on top of the other.

Bend your elbows as you cross your forearms and either touch the back of the hands together, or if you are Gumby, bring your palms together. Secure the bind by holding your hands together (Gumby) or hold onto a thumb. If this is still too much, you can cross your arms at the elbows and hug your shoulders.

Lift your elbows to shoulder height and gently press your forearms away from your face, if possible, to deepen the stretch. Hold for the time or breath count. Inhale as you release and unwind.

Then repeat the move with the opposite arm on top.

As you lift your arms, you should be feeling a nice stretch in the upper back and shoulders. If your neck feels tense, softly release your head toward one side or the other.

If you really want a challenge, this can be done standing tall or in chair pose, which we discussed a while ago.

Today’s workout:

WARM UP

1 time

20 second hold of eagle arms with right arm on top

20 second hold of eagle arms with left arm on top

8 dead bug 4/side alternating side

CIRCUIT

3-4x

6-8 dual DB push press

6-8 DB triceps press seated for stability

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

Many people think of fitness as simply strength. It isn’t. Fitness has many dimensions. Flexibility is one of them. These yoga poses are designed to help stretch muscles and, ironically, ease the tension in them. By stretching and then relaxing the muscles, fibers are released and tension eases the cramping feeling we get from carrying stress around all day.

By incorporating all areas of fitness: cardiovascular, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition, we can increase or at least maintain our overall health, strength, and mobility. All these are necessary parts to an overall awesome life we each so richly deserve.

Stay balanced.

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Step Right Up

Today’s move is called a Poliquin Step-up. The Poliquin part of this exercise is for the name of the man, Charles Poliquin, who invented it. He was a Canadian strength coach and trained Olympic athletes. This need not frighten us. Because – all things are scalable. And we can do hard things. This particular move is designed to strengthen the quad and improve knee health by focusing on knee-over-toe movements.

This can be do with or without weight and does also focus on the balance needed to complete the move. As always, if you need some extra support, you can hold on to a wall or use a PVC pipe as cane.

Stand on a low platform, this needs to be a stable risen object. You are not safe on a stack of books as they may slide around. I would not recommend anything higher than 2-3 inches. This is not an exaggerated movement. But wait – there’s more. You need to have a wedge of some sort like a DB if it has hexagonal heads that won’t roll placed under your heel. This puts you standing on a taller platform with your heel raised and your foot in a sloped position.

Your other leg should hang freely. With an engaged core (belly button to spine) and standing tall with chest up, lower yourself until your heel or foot reaches the floor. Reverse the motion by pushing up to return to your starting position. All reps are done on one side before moving to the other side.

If done with weights, the weights are held naturally at your sides.

Today’s workout:

WARM UP

2-3x

12 knee raises with 6/side

12 jumping jacks

CIRCUIT

2-3x

4-6 Poliquin step-ups per side (I always recommend doing the weaker side first when you are the freshest) If you don’t have the equipment for this, do regular step ups or calf raises

6-8 dual hammer curls with or without weight

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

You could manage this move with a large book under your foot as long as you can get both the wedge and your foot on it. However, a slick book on carpeting might slip, so make sure whatever you are using doesn’t move under your weight. Stay safe – always.

This is a rather fun movement. I hadn’t ever heard of it before and was a bit nervous to try it. It was deceptively easy. At least for me. I thought it was helpful for both balance and strength and wanted to share it with you, as well.

I honestly don’t know why it isn’t called a step down. So I asked the internet and lo and behold, it can be called a step down. The whole idea is that we are stepping with the foot at an angle in order to fire the quads and strengthen the knee.

Stay balanced.

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Croak

Today we are working with a variation of a glute bridge. It is called a DB frog pump. People who name exercises have a sense of humor.

This exercise primarily works the glutes, but also brings in the hamstring (the back of your thighs) and adductors (the muscles that bring your legs back into center when widened.

The difference between this move and glute bridge is the placement of the feet.

Lie on your back with the soles of your feet together or your feet touching each other while flat on the floor. Try to bring your feet as close to your butt as possible. Then place a DB on your hips. You can also use a book or some other type of weighty, non-breakable item. If you are using more than one book, make sure they are securely held together or you will be fighting trying to control the books rather than the move.

Make sure your core is tight by bringing your belly button to your spine. Keep your lower back and shoulders pressed into the floor. Keep the weight secure on your hips.

Then, to perform the move, press your feet into the floor, squeeze your glute, and thrust your hips upward. Then, with control, lower back to the floor. That’s it.

There is a place on the internet that says: “It’s up to you whether you want to make or avoid eye contact with other people while doing frog pumps.” That just cracked me up. Laugh where you can.

If you wish to do this from a chair, you can do a frog pump without weight. As with a glute bridge, sit in the chair and use your hands to brace along the sides of the seat. However, instead of feet hip distance apart, bring your feet together, sides touching. Then lift as far as possible.

Today’s workout:

2-3x

6 frog pumps

6 DB shrugs

12 baby steps or heel to toe steps 6 forward and 6 backwards without looking at your feet

CIRCUIT

2-3x

6-8 air squats to a target

8 leg swings per side holding onto something for stability

4 dual DB curls

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

Keep your sense of humor with you today. Laugh as much as you can. This is absurd, but it is helpful and we need to have strong lower body muscles in case we find ourselves on the floor. Stay strong mentally, not just physically. Know that these accessory moves are what makes it possible for us to move gracefully through the world.

Stay balanced.

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Sailing Away

Today we are working with a yoga pose. It’s call Boat Pose although it doesn’t look much like a boat to me. According to the internet, it looks like the hull of a boat, with it’s angled V shape and with the arms being the waterline. It comes in two flavors, full and half. It is done from the floor, but can be done from a chair. It symbolizes the “navigation of the inner waters of fatigue and uncertainty” by requiring focus and core strength. That’s a lot from one little movement.

Start by sitting on the mat/floor with knees bent and feet flat. Lengthen your spine as you lift your chest. Lean back slightly into an angle as you bring your shins parallel to the ground. While balancing on your sit bones (which is what yoga calls your butt), extend your arms forward to shoulder height with palms facing each other. This is the half version.

To get to the full version, straighten your legs until you are in a complete V position. The goal is to be able to hold this for 3-5 breaths and yoga breaths are to be deep, slow inhalations with controlled exhalations, so this about 20-30 seconds. Release slowly and lower your legs and arms. Or fall over in a heap, if that’s what happens.

Some tips here: you can keep your hands behind your knees to help with stability and don’t raise your legs up unless you are truly stable. Also avoid this pose if you have recent or chronic back or hip injuries.

To do this from a chair, you can hold on to the seat of the chair, lean back and raise your feet off the floor with knees bent until your shins are parallel to the ground. For a more scaled option, you can do one foot/leg at a time. For more work, you can let go of the seat and straighten the arms forward. Don’t engage in this even from a chair if you have chronic back pain and if you suffer from vertigo, this can lead to a fall, so it’s not for you. You aren’t supposed to be leaning into the backrest, so if you sit sideways in the chair, this is avoided. Be careful not to lean back so far that you lose your balance.

No matter what option for this move you choose, keep your core tight, your breathing smooth, and your back straight.

Today’s workout:

WARM UP

2-3x

boat pose hold for 10-20 seconds

12 march in place steps 6/leg

12 calf raises

CIRCUIT

3-4x

10 jumping jacks

4-5 sit-ups, anchored or unanchored

1-2 push-ups

rest as needed

Yoga is sometimes seen as this calm, meditative practice allowing your to find peace, zen, and spirituality. It can be. But it is also challenging, athletic, and a workout. This is one of the more challenging poses. It takes deep concentration to hold yourself in this awkward pose. It takes balance as well. And it takes patience. The absurdity of calming yourself while balancing may give you a bit of a smile. I hope it does. Have fun with this. There is no one grading you. Yoga is called a practice, but that’s what it takes.

Stay balanced.

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Skip or Hop or Jump

Today we are working with no rope jump ropes. Although there really is such a product as a no rope jump rope, we are just going to use our imaginations and pretend we have a jump rope in our hands. Amazon even has one no rope “for women” that is pink. What a world we live in.

What we are going to do is pretend. Stand tall and picture in your mind, holding the handles of a jump rope. Then jump on the balls of your feet, land softly, all while rotating your wrists as if you were in fact, moving a jump rope.

Keep the pace such that you can continue to move for the required number of jumps or time set.

You want to keep your core engaged and keep your elbows close to your side. You don’t need to jump more than an inch off the ground.

If you have a jump rope and if you have the amount of space required – which is considerable, you can do jump ropes. However, these are far more energetic and therefore more cardio intense. Also, if you have a modern jump rope, when you hit yourself with it, it stings. You can also trip on the thing. In the exercise world, a jump with a rope is called a single under as the rope passes under your feet a single time with each jump. If you are a rock star, you can do a double under, where the rope goes under your feet twice on each jump. This last option is really where you can whip yourself with that rope, she says from experience.

I stopped even doing single under rope jumps about a year ago because they are more intense and were hurting my knee. So this move allows me to get the cardio part without the knee issue. Whatever method you choose, be careful.

Today’s workout:

WARM UP

2-3x

accumulate 20 seconds of standing on one foot on each side

10-15 seconds of no rope jumps

CIRCUIT

2-3x

6 lunges 3/side, all on one side before switching to the other

8 cross body hammer curls

6 DB push presses from a seated position

add or subtract weight as needed

rest as needed

After working with this, go to YouTube and see if you can find some of the jump rope athletes there. Maybe something like this – World’s Best Jump Roper which features a world champion talking about jumping while demonstrating some absolutely awesome skills. Thanks, Vivian.

Athletes doing athletic things are such an inspiration. Knowing these skilled individuals are out there is what keeps me moving in the gym. If they can do such wild things, I can do what I do to the best of my ability. Comparison is said to be the thief of joy, but appreciation is the way to happiness.

Enjoy your workout. Maybe reminisce about jumping rope as a kid. Smile. Laugh if you can.

Stay balanced.

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