Search This Blog

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

20 Minute Workout

For an effective workout you can burn calories in a couple different ways:

1)      During a workout you burn about 10 calories per minute depending on how hard you are working.

2)      After a workout you have the after burn effect. Certain workouts like interval training increases your metabolism for 24-48 hours afterwards. So even if you are burning less calories then a long endurance run you could equate or surpass the calories due to this component.

3)      When you put on lean muscle mass your metabolism speeds up. For every pound of lean muscle you burn about 25-30 calories per day. Every pound of fat only burns 2-3.
We often times do not always have an hour or more to workout. Here is a 20 minute workout that incorporates all the three above components in a nice little package. All you need is a stability ball and a heavier resistance band. Enjoy!

Workout Guidelines:
You will work for 45 seconds, rest for 30 seconds, then move on to the next exercise. Go through the following exercises 3 times.

Power Ski
Stability Ball Pushup to Tuck
Bent over Band Row
Shuffle and Slice
Stability Ball Plank (elbows on ball)

Descriptions:
Power Ski: Imagine you are on a Nordic track. Start with your right arm and left leg forward and the opposites back behind you. Keeping arms and legs fairly straight continually switch back and forth. Think of power and quickness as you push and pull your arms and legs forward and then backward.

Stability Ball Pushup to Tuck: Find positioning of the stability ball on your legs so that you can do a full ranged push-up. After completing a push-up pull the ball in towards your stomach by bending your knees and lifting your hips for a tuck. Your shoulders will remain over top of your hands. Lower your hips back down with control and repeat.

Bent Over Band Row: Place the band underneath both of your feet. Hinge at your hips so that your torso is flat. Hold onto the band itself with both hands. Start with your arms straight yet have tension on the band. Pull the hands up towards your chest keeping your elbows close to the body. Nothing else will move except the arms as you row. Imagine squeezing my fingers between your shoulder blades.

Shuffle and Slice: Start by standing with feet hip width apart and arms out and up by the shoulders like field goal posts. Take two steps over to the left while bringing your arms in towards the chest with each step. On the last step draw the right knee and elbow towards each other and then repeat over to the right. The movement should be quick and powerful.

Stability Ball Plank: Place your elbows on top and slightly forward on the stability ball (stability ball can be placed up against the wall for more stability) and extend your legs behind you in a full plank. Be sure that there is a straight line from your head all the way to your feet (no butt in the air). Hold the plank or for more challenge alternate lifting a leg with nothing else moving as you do so.

No comments:

Post a Comment