Afternoon Quickie!

Wednesday was a crazy busy day for me, with a bunch of different things going on.  I literally had about 20 minutes to get a workout in, so I grabbed one of my quick Intensity Interval Workouts, to make sure I still got a good one in. I have gotten a great response from my readers when I put workouts in the Bolts, so here is another!

Perform each exercises for the reps or time listed, and leave about 20-30 seconds of rest time in between each.  Go through the circuit a minimum of 3 times, but you could go up to 6 times.  For that day, I performed 4 trips around, and had a great sweat going by the end.
 
1 MINUTE - Speed Jump Rope - 1 minute of jumping rope, with as many jumps as possible in 60 seconds.  The key is to get a good, fast rhythm, get your blood pumping, and get a great sweat going!
 
10 REPS EACH LEG -1-Leg Physioball Pushup - 2 hands on the ball, 1 leg on the ground, 1 leg kicked out to the side.  This ones perfect for turning a pushup into a full body exercise... upper body, core, lower body stability, and balance all wrapped into one grueling pushup!
 
10 REPS -

N-Grip

,

NE

Pullup - "N-Grip" stands for "Neutral Grip" holding onto to parallel handles so palms can face each other.  "NE" stands for "Negative Emphasis", where the negative of the rep (coming down) takes 3-5 seconds, and the positive (pulling up) is fast.  If you can't do 10 pullups, try the same NE exercise with Lat Pulldowns
 
12 REPS EACH WAY - Leg Swing Series - I always build Flexibility Training into my workouts, and this is a great way to dynamically stretch your hips.  3 different swings here, and it involves:

• Forward Swings - Straight leg, stretches the hamstrings

• Side Swings - Straight leg, stretches the Hip Adductors (or the muscles of your groin)
• Backward Swings - Straight leg, stretches the Hip Flexors (or the top of your thigh area)

Dynamic stretching is tricky, and you can't start out too intense or you'll risk potential injury.  Just take the advice to ease into each rep.  Don't swing your leg too far at first, and you'll find that your range of motion increases almost with every rep.  You'll see that your leg will be able to go farther and farther each time.  This is a phenomenal series to improve overall hip flexibility! 
 
 30 SECONDS -

Long

Body

Bridge

- Think of the top end of the pushup, where your body is in one straight line and your arms are locked out.  Now, just walk your hands out above your head, to a distance that is challenging on your midsection and arms, but that you can still hold for the 30 seconds.  The more distance between your hands and feet, the harder the exercise is.. so find the perfect position that strengthens without falling!
 
Everyone's first reaction to these workouts is always to say, "Only 20 minutes?  How do you get a good workout out of that?".  Interval training works great when you employ a few key tactics:

1. Set up so all of your stations are close to each other

2. Set up your area with all equipment that you'll need ahead of time, for efficiency when you start working out
3. Have a watch or clock close by to stick exactly to work and rest times
4. Maintain good form on each exercise for the length of the work bout.  Take short breaks if necessary, but try as hard as possible to work the entire time
5. Listen to your body.  Push yourself to achieve, but if you experience any strange discomfort, stop exercising.

And Did You Know?
 
These Intensity Interval Workouts, and similar types, are actually researched to be 2-3x more effective in fat burning and toning than traditional cardiovascular training.  Look for all of the science and research behind these findings in next week's Bolt.

 Yours in Strength,

Jesse

PS.  For more of these "quickies", take a minute to check out  www.worldwidesportsperformance.com!

PPS.  Training makes a great Christmas gift!   Purchase a package today for your special someone, and give them the ultimate holiday!