Jumping jacks

Swat!

Today’s exercise is endearingly called a dead bug. Apparently, you look like a dead bug on the floor – until you start to move. What’s going on here?

Start the exercise laying on your back. Don’t panic – there is a way to do this from a chair as well and I will discuss that later. Point your arms to the ceiling and have your knees bent to 90° which essentially puts you in tabletop position except you are on your back.

This is a core exercise, so the first thing to do here is engage the core while making sure your back stays flat on the floor. Slowly and with control, straighten and lower your right leg but not all the way to the floor while at the same time, lower your left arm over your head.

Come back to the starting position and switch sides.

Things to keep in mind: do not arch your back because a key component is the back pressed into the floor, keep the movement slow and controlled, and don’t forget to breathe. This is one of the exercises you might find yourself holding your breath. Also, keep your upper body, shoulders, and head relaxed on the floor.

To do this from a chair, sit forward on the seat with your feet flat on the floor so your knees are bent at 90°. Drop your arms by your sides. The movement is bringing your right arm either straight out in front of you or up towards the ceiling while at the same time lifting your left foot off the floor and extending your left leg straight out in front of you. Then slowly return to the original position and repeat on the other side.

Things to keep in mind: keep your core tightened and your back straight. Go slowly and with control. Again, remember to breathe.

Today’s workout:
WARM UP
2-3x
5 small arms circles forwards and backwards
5 large arms circles forwards and backwards
8 jumping jacks

CIRCUIT
3-4x
8-12 bird dogs (4-6 per side)
6-8 Russian twists (3-4 per side) with or without weight
rest as needed

We worked with bird dog a while ago. This is a similar exercise in that it takes some concentration and coordination to make it work. It is, however, working some different things. Bird dog works the glutes while this exercise is more strengthening of your core and stabilizing the lower back. Both are good for balance work and posture.

As we continue to add new movement to our repertoire, we will see that each one has some distinct characteristics but that many of them overlap in part. We are hoping to work on reminding ALL our muscles that we still have things to do, places to go, and people to see.

Stay balanced.
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Up, Up and Away

Today we are going to be working with dumbbells again. Of course, these moves can be done isometrically – or without weights. But I do recommend you hold something relatively weightless in your hand, just to get the grip idea and keep you from clenching your fists. Empty toilet paper rolls or empty (or even full) spice containers would work.

Holding the DBs up to your shoulders with palms facing inward, power them up and overhead. Bring them back to the shoulder position.

Presses are simply a movement where the weight is pressed away from the body and they can be done seated or standing or even lying down on a bench or the floor. When standing, they can be strict, which means no bending of the knees to get the additional oomph upward, or push, which allows that bend and push.

We are doing these today standing. So the very first thing to do is to stand tall. Remember to have your ankles, knees, and hips in a line, your belly button pulled in toward your spine, your chest high and your shoulders squared and relaxed with your shoulder blades down.

I am labeling these as push press, which means we get to have that small dip before the drive. When a press is labeled strict, you cannot bend your knees – making the movement more difficult. But when labeled push, you get the little dip that engages your lower body and adds muscle mass to the move.

DB overhead push press offers different options for hand direction. It can be front facing, which takes greater control over the weight, or face facing, which is what we are going to be doing today. These can also be done either one arm at a time, alternating arms, or both arms together – and we are doing that last option today.

Today’s workout:
WARM UP
2-3x
12 steps marching in place – 6 per leg
8 jumping jacks – jumping, walking out, or sitting

CIRCUIT
2-3x
4-5 DB overhead push press with or without weight – add or subtract weight as needed
4-5 air squats to a target
rest as needed

As always, this is supposed to be challenging but not overwhelming. Weights need to be controlled both with the raising and the lowering movement. Subtracting weight isn’t a failure. Knocking yourself in the head with a weight could be considered less than ideal. So if you chose too high, please back off. However, if you chose too low or light, increase it a bit and see if that works. And know that with practice, that higher weight may become available. Have fun.

Stay balanced.
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A Call to Arms

Being flexible is more than being able to cope with a change in plans. It is also being able to move through your life with fewer limitations.

I’ve been doing yoga for almost as long as I’ve been doing CrossFit. Thanks Cindy. There are many different kinds of yoga and I’ve taken many different types of classes for this particular discipline. I’ve done chair yoga and yoga for seniors but in my heart of hearts I prefer yin yoga, holding poses for minutes at time. All of them have benefits for a more flexible body under your precise control. These are stretches come from yoga.

We don’t really think much about our body movements until we try to do something that used to come naturally and find we can no longer just blithely do it. So today, I want to move through some arm movements.

Hold your left arm straight out in front of you at shoulder height with your palm up. Now take you right hand and gently pull your left hand downward. Then bend your left hand upward so your palm is facing your face and pull your whole hand forward, not just the fingers. Repeat with the other arm. When your hand is pulled downward, you should feel a gently stretching of the muscles along the inside or top of your arm. When up pull your hand toward your face, you should feel the pull on the outside or bottom or your arm.

Holding the arms at shoulder height for an extended time will also be an adventure. They get tired up there, but we can do hard things. Another thing we seldom think about is our grip strength – until we try to open a bottle or something. Clenching your fist tightly (without digging your nails into your palms) and then releasing and splaying your fingers wide not only involves your hands, but your forearms as well. You might feel different parts of your forearm activating with the clench part and the splayed part.

To work on coordination, rapidly touch each finger to your thumb. You can start pointer to pinkie finger or the other way or even go back and forth. Go as fast as you can maintain the touch for each finger.

The video is probably far more helpful for this one than my trying to explain it with words.

Today’s workout:
2-3 times
extend left arm with palm up, use right had to move hand down for 10 seconds, then up for ten second
extend right arm with palm up, use left had to move hand down for 10 seconds, then up for ten second
keep arms extended, palms down facing down and then lift hands
8 clench and stretch both hands
8 finger touches to thumb both hand
8 jumping jacks (jumping, step out, or seated)

Have fun and
Stay balanced.

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