I know that many of you have come across personal trainers that don’t practice what they preach! I’ve been witness to the hypocrisy myself. This summer, for instance, when I attended the Idea Fitness Convention in Las Vegas, I was shocked at the number of fitness professionals that cut sessions short to grab a smoke break! Even more shocking was the line up for the elevators and escalators – come on, we’re supposed to be role models people!
That’s why I’ve decided to give my workout a makeover. I create workouts for clients all the time, but I must admit I’ve been lax with myself this past month. It’s prime time for a new butt-kicking sweat-fest for Anna!
In past blog posts, I’ve exposed the benefits of a resistance training technique called plyometric training or jump training. I have worked elements of plyo training in my own workout. For instance I do jump squats regularly, and skipping is my favorite cardiovascular activity. However, I have yet to create a total plyometric workout for myself.
So today I took the time to lay out the following killer plyo workout. This is just a rough list, basically one that I can take into the gym with me – because let’s face it, with sweat pouring into my eyes I won’t be able to remember the next exercise off the top of my head. What you don’t see here is the method to my madness. I will do this workout circuit style, which means I will do the following exercises, in sequence, with very little rest in between (we’re talking 10 seconds max).
So my plan is one exercise that targets my lower body (more specifically my quadriceps and hamstrings) – like jump squats – followed by an upper body exercise – incline push ups – followed by yet another lower body killer – box jumps (yes, that’s jumping up on the box then down).
My plan is 3 sets of each exercise - 20 repetitions of the following:
- Line Jumps
- Burpees
- Jump Squats
- Forward Roll Ups on stability ball with push ups
- Box Jumps
- Incline push ups
- Ankle Hops with medicine ball overhead toss
- Leg Raises
- Walking Lunges with medicine ball chest raise
- Crunches with med ball
Note: In 3 weeks time my plan is to graduate from incline push ups onto explosive push ups with hand claps (that's push up, clap hands, lower).
So tell me, am I insane? I believe I’m ready for it, but even at my current level of physical fitness this will be a challenge. Nonetheless, I will keep you updated on my progress.
