GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF PARK WITH THIS PARK BENCH WORKOUT

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday! Spring is in the air and it's a great time to get outdoors, get some fresh air and get in a workout. You don't need a stuffy gym membership to get in shape, all you need is your own bodyweight and a park bench for this challenging full body workout! Get your butt out of park with this park bench workout.

Are you a runner? This is a fantastic strength workout to do on the trails. Go through the circuit once every mile for 3 miles or add a quick running component of 1/4 mile run between circuits. 

I recruited my trusty blog photographer (aka hubs) and my favorite four-legged running partner (aka Ollie) to find a park bench in Fort Worth to do my workout. 

Welcome to Fort Worth!

PARK BENCH WORKOUT

This is a circuit-style workout. Do 12 reps of each exercise, move through the circuit with little or no rest between exercises. Once you complete the 6 exercises, rest for one minute and repeat 2 more times. Always warm up before beginning an intense exercise session. 

Park Bench Workout - save to your favorite Pinterest board

STEP UP (EACH LEG)

Stand facing the bench. Starting with your right leg step up on the bench pressing your weight into your heel. Lift your left leg off the ground and drive your knee up towards your chest. Step your left leg back to the ground, followed by your right leg. Repeat on other leg. Do 12 reps on each leg. 

INCLINE PUSH UP

Start in a straight arm high plank position with your hands on the bench. Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your toes, do not allow your hips to raise in the air or sag down. While engaging your core muscles, bend your elbows to lower your chest to the bench. 

If this is too challenging, try it by starting on the back of the bench.

TRICEP DIP

Position your hands shoulder width apart behind you on the bench. Slide your butt off the front of the bench with your legs extended out in front of you. Bend your elbows to lower your body toward the ground until your elbows are at about a 90-degree angle while keeping your back close to the bench. From the low position, straighten your elbows to return to the starting position. Keep your shoulders down as you lower and raise your body. If this is too challenging you can bend your legs to modify the exercise.

SQUAT JUMP

I also call this one "hot bench." Starting with your feet hip width apart push your hips back and lower your body until your butt hits the bench. As soon as you touch the bench jump up as if the bench was hot. Land in a soft position with your knees slightly bent and repeat 12 times. This will get your heart rate up!

"hot bench"

Jump

LATERAL STEP 

We runners need to make sure we are building strength in all planes of motion. When we run, we just move forward, so building strength laterally improves our hip stability and helps reduce the chance of injury. 

Stand sideways to the bench. Starting with your right leg and take a wide step up on the bench, ensuring there will be enough room on the bench for both feet. Driving your right heel into the bench lift your left leg off the ground and onto the bench. Step back down one leg at a time. Repeat 12 times and face the other direction to lead with the left leg for 12 more reps. 

Ollie photo bomb.

SPLIT LEG LUNGE

Single leg exercises are important for runners. When we run, we essentially are balancing on one leg at time repeatedly over the miles. Building unilateral (single side) strength helps our running strength and performance.

Start by facing away from the bench. Prop your right leg up on the bench behind you. Position your body so that when your left leg lowers into a lunge position that your knee is over your ankle and your left thigh is parallel to the ground. Perform 12 reps and repeat on opposite leg. 

If you want to add an additional cardio component to your workout, add a quarter mile (or 2.5 minute) run in between circuits, Ollie loves to run!

Things started to get silly. 

Go find a park bench and give this workout a try! 

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Coach Lea

20 MINUTE STRENGTH & CARDIO TABATA-STYLE WORKOUT

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday! This week we are doing a 20 minute Tabata-style strength and cardio workout! I love the Tabata protocol, which is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for four minutes, because you can always knock out a high intensity 4 minute workout for when you're busy or you combine several Tabatas together for a longer workout. 

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link in the post and make a purchase, I make a small percentage of the sale with no additional cost to you. No one is getting rich, it just helps with the cost associated with running (pun intended) of this blog. 

This week we are combining a strength move and a cardio move for each four minute circuit. 

20 seconds strength move
10 seconds rest
20 seconds cardio move
10 seconds rest

Repeat for four minutes. Then rest for one minute before moving to the next circuit.

You can download a free Tabata timer app on your phone. I use a GymBoss timer because you manipulate the intervals and rest periods. 

Always spend 5-15 minutes warming up before an intense exercise session. Remember you get out of it what you get into it. Work hard and move quickly, while maintaining proper form, for the best results. Your heart should be pumping! 

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ROLL THE DICE WORKOUT AND GIVEAWAY

Here it is Workout wednesday and I have the flu. I am resting, hydrating and surviving on Tamiflu. I don't believe in pushing through workouts when I'm sick or feeling under the weather. I need to rest to allow my body to recover. Any available energy should be used to fight off infection and recover. I'm not worried about working out or even getting my daily 10k steps. I will get back to it as soon as I feel healthy again, but for now, I am down and out. (Let the internet sympathy ensue.)

This week for Workout Wednesday you won't see me in any workout pictures (you're welcome). Instead, I am giving away this fun fitness dice* that I found at Five Below and sharing a dice workout you can do at home even if you don't win the giveaway! NOTE: GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

THESE DICE WERE AVAILABLE AT THE STORE FIVE BELOW. I DO NOT BELIEVE THEY STOCK THEM ANY LONGER

I think it is a really fun way to get in a quick workout when you want to shake up your regular routine. Set the timer for 20 minutes and start rolling. I use these in bootcamp to break up the circuits and they are always fun! 

THE GIVEAWAY: ENTER TO WIN: GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Please fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter to win. Complete at least one entry to enter to win, complete multiple entries for more chances. 

Open to US residents 18 years old and up
Must have a shipping address in the United States
Giveaway runs from March 1 and ends Match 8 2017
One winner will receive the prize of one (1) foam fitness die
Lea Genders Fitness paid for prize and will pay for USPS shipping to winner
Prize will be shipped within 7 days of winner confirmation of shipping address
Winner must claim prize and respond with shipping address within 48 business hours of announcement or alternate winner will be selected
Winner will be emailed directly and announced on this post
Winner must enter on Rafflecopter and follow all rules
All entries will be verified as completed. Any entry not completed will disqualify winner and new winner will be drawn
Void where prohibited
Good Luck
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE WORKOUT: LET'S ROLL

There is just one winner and not everyone will be able to win this prize today, or you might have found this post after the giveaway is over, but you can still do the workout! You could go to Five Below in your area and look for the foam fitness dice or you can use regular dice and assign each number to an exercise. Use one red die, one black die and follow the chart below. Alternate between the black die for strength exercises and the red die for cardio. Set the timer for 20 minutes and let's roll! Spend 5-15 minutes warming up before beginning.

Pin this to your favorite workout board to save for later!

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Coach Lea

HIIT TREADMILL WORKOUT

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday! High intensity interval workouts are great for when you want an effective workout with little time. This treadmill HIIT workout can be completed in 20 minutes. It is great for both beginners and intermediate runners who want to improve speed, lose fat and gain fitness.

Always warm up before beginning any workout. This treadmill workout is eight rounds of 30 second sprints followed by 90 seconds of active recovery. I recommend HIIT workouts 1-3 times per week depending on your fitness level and experience with HIIT. If you are new to high intensity workouts, start with one time a week. Always allow 1-2 rest and recovery days in between high intensity days to allow your body to properly recover. Your body adapts (gets stronger, faster, etc.) during rest, not during the workout, so it's important to allow this recovery time to get the maximum results. 

Ready to get started? After three minutes of brisk walking to warm up, sprint for 30 seconds at Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of 7-9 (breathing should be challenging) followed by 90 seconds of slow jogging or walking (RPE 4-6) to recover before going into your next interval. You will repeat this cycle until you complete 8 total sprint rounds. 

Cool down at the end of the workout by walking for as long as it takes to fully recover your breath.

Save to your favorite Pinterest workout board for later!

After 4-8 weeks of this workout 1-3 times a week you can expect to see improvements in your running speed and efficiency, provided you are resting appropriately. 

In order to keep progressing you may find that your sprint speed intervals need to increase as you get stronger. Remember that we always want to challenge ourselves to keep improving. After several weeks If you find that the sprint intervals start to feel easier, that is a sign it is time to increase the speed. If you follow the RPE chart then you should be able to determine if you are working at the appropriate intensity. Everyone is different but you may find you need increase speed of your sprint intervals after about three weeks of regular interval work. Listen to your body. 

Do you do HIIT workouts? I love them for both cardio and strength training. Give this one a try and let me know what you think.

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Coach Lea

Tabata-Style Lower Body Plyometrics Workout

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday! Today we are incorporating plyometrics into our workout! Plyometrics are jumping exercises that use maximum force to develop muscle power, which in turn can help you run faster. Runners who systematically use plyometric exercises in their training plan can increase speed and running efficiency. Before attempting plyometric exercises you should have a solid base of body strength, core strength and balance. Do you have four minutes? Let's get started! 

This workout is done in Tabata-style: 20 seconds work with 10 seconds rest for four minutes. In this workout you will cycle through the four exercises for four minutes. For an increased challenge just do one exercise at a time for the whole four minutes using the 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest protocol. 

You will need a Tabata timer. You can download a free one in the App store or Google Play. I use a Gymboss Interval timer. (<---affiliate link)

THE EXERCISES:

LUNGE

With your feet hip width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead, engage your core, keep your chest up and back straight. Take one large step with your right leg to lunge forward until your front knee is lined up over your ankle and your back knee is nearly touching the floor. Do not allow your knee to move forward over your toes. Resist the urge to lean forward or rest your arms on your thighs. Once you are in the lunge position push back up through your heels to starting position. Repeat on other side alternating for 20 seconds.

JUMP LUNGE

Begin in a lunge position with your right leg forward. Jump up and switch legs in the air so you land in a lunge position with your left leg in front. Continue alternating for 20 seconds. Alternate right and left leg forward for 20 seconds. Beginners should hold the position for 3 seconds before switching legs. As you progress you can increase the speed of the jumps. It is always better to go slow with proper form, than to perform the exercises quickly with poor form. 

SQUAT

Push your hips back and lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor, like you are sitting back in a chair, or as low as your flexibility allows. Keep your back straight and your chest up. In the low position engage your core, squeeze your glutes and push back up to standing with your weight on your heels. Repeat for 20 seconds.

JUMP SQUAT

Start by lowering into a squat position. From the low position engage your core and jump up. Land softly in the low squat position. Beginners should hold the low position for 3 seconds before repeating the jump. Repeat for 20 seconds.

I recommend low-impact workout days surrounding your plyometric days to allow your body time to sufficiently rest and recover. Since running is also a high impact activity, I recommend no more than one or two plyometric workouts per week. Do you incorporate plyometrics into your training? Give this quick workout a try and let me know what you think! 

Coach Lea