I was that girl who would fake cramps and feign random injuries to get out of gym class in high school. (Sweat? Me? No--not after all the time I spent straightening my hair. I'll read a book on the bleachers, thankyouverymuch!) These days, I'm no wilting flower when it comes to exercise. I run. I Spin. I practice yoga. I do Pilates. I love the strong, toned body that exercise affords me. (Almost) nothing scares me. Except squats and lunges. They annoy me. I don't feel coordinated and get bored doing them. On the rare occasion I incorporate them into my strength training, I don't really get very creative with them. I just do 'em and move on. During the Nike Women’s Training Spring 2010 Media Summit in Vancouver, we had the opportunity to work out with Nike trainers. On Wednesday we had been warned that we would be doing some moves that were similar to those used by the Olympic athletes we'd met. They had Julia Mancuso stand on a stability ball, and Katherine Reutter did some complicated hip stabilizing exercises, so I was a bit worried. It would be hard, but a few women who had attended the Summit last year said it was nothing we couldn't handle. Little did I know how many squats and lunges were in my future! For a full hour, we sweated, shook and squatted our way through a series of exercises. Led by Nike certified trainers Alex Molden (a 9-year NFL veteran!) and Marie Purvis, the workout was high-energy and high-intensity. I wore my heart monitor--and it was around 75% and even as high as 85% a few times. I decided to share with you the details of the workout (those that I remember--I was focusing on the workout more than committing the details to memory). (NOTE: I'm not a trainer, so this post is just informational. I do link to some similar SparkPeople exercises if you're interested in more information on a particular exercise.) Like any good workout, this one started with a warmup. We split in two groups and lined up.  One by one, we high-kicked our way across the large workout room, then ran to the end of the line. Two minutes later we switched to skipping, then a series of grapevine and other "fast feet" moves. Ten minutes in, we're glowing and plenty warm. We've all stripped off our warm-up jackets.  For the next 45 minutes, we did these exercises (and more), most of them for two minutes each:
 Then we finished up with 10 minutes of stretches. I was drenched and my muscles were sore, but I felt energized and strong. I still don't like lunges and squats, but I am trying to do them more often. Thanks for a great workout, Marie and Alex!  Do you do any of these strength moves in your normal workout routines? Are there any strength moves you avoid because you just don't like them? |
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