a home workout routine

AHHHHHHHHH

why is it so hard to remain motivated?!

somewhere in between my full time job at a web agency and a half-time job of music and yet another half-time job at the yoga studio (yes, ironic), it's so hard to find dedicated time to work out. and honestly, even on the days i've exercised, it's sometimes hard to find the motivation to document and write about it too. 

so today, i told myself, i will, damn it! 

it was sprinkling on and off today and i didn't really feel like going out. so instead, i did a home workout routine that i sometimes do when i want to just hang out at home. 

hey, no one said that your house can't also be a makeshift gym! :)

i've spent my last couple blog entries complaining about how i get owned real bad doing workouts so i decided i'd change up the tone a bit and show you some of the exercises i do at home, and maybe even give you some ideas on how to incorporate some of these ideas into your own workout routine. a lot of these i've learned over the years as it's a hybrid of yoga + sculpt, so it works out the entire body quite well if you get into the discipline of doing them daily.

i start out doing a little bit of warm up stretches. arms, legs, shoulders, and core. maybe about 5-10 minutes of stretching.

and then hop right into it:

forearm plank: works out the triceps, shoulders, abdominal muscles, and legs

hold for ~1 minute - and revisit again 2 more times later!

this isn't an easy pose (try keeping it this way after 30 seconds) - but i love it because it works out everything essentially, and it's extremely helpful in yoga where you're working all of these muscles. eventually strengthening your shoulders and abdominal muscles will help you do a forearm handstand as well. i'll demo that at some later blog, for those who are interested.

20 reps of chatturanga push ups: again, revisit 2 more times later!

note that shoulders are pushed TOWARD the side body as opposed to out like wings

front view:

 

fully extend your arms, making sure your shoulders are right above your wrists.

the chatturanga push ups work out your arms, core, legs. a real, full body workout.

mountain climbers:

ooh this is a really good cardio workout.  here's what it looks like from the side. 

bring your right knee to your right elbow. hold, then bring your leg back to a plank position. your arms may bend a little bit (like mine), but generally it should try to remain at the top of a push up, arms fully extended. switch legs, and repeat. the result should be like you're running in place while holding a plank position. run in place for about 30 seconds. repeat 2 more times!

ice skating:

50 times (with both feet considered as once). repeat the set 2 more times.

it's a slight break from the arm and core-heavy poses that I've showed in the other ones...but this one works out your side muscles and stretches out your legs in the meanwhile.

and, finally -

half burpees: 10-20 reps

start from a plank and jump up. I'm actually cheating a little bit by not coming completely up to my wrists but this move is pretty tasking as it is. If you want to take it up a notch, you can rise up and do a little hop at the end (that's a full burpee). notice that i come into a pose at the end which is called the child's pose in yoga. this helps bring your heart rate down and gives your body a little break so you're not abruptly standing up or something.

so what do I do in between? 

running in place, crunches, side kicks and jumping jacks.  anything that involves full body movement and me sweating at the end = success.

alright, off to the rest of my day!