Whether you are home, traveling, or anywhere in between, exercise should be incorporated into your daily schedule. Exercise allows us to physically exert, but on top of that also sharpens us mentally. It’s been shown to improve symptoms of anxiety while decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Exercise also is a way to build our immune system because it places physical stress on our bodies that we must adapt to over time. By exercising regularly, along with consuming nutritious foods, we can make sure that our daily performance is to the best of our ability. This can be done without ever leaving the comfort of your home.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, at home and away, is easier than you may think. By choosing to walk or ride a bike to locations nearby rather than driving your vehicle, you can burn extra calories and increase endurance. This is a great way to incorporate active recovery on top of regular exercise as well. Active recovery helps with muscle soreness and gives a way to exercise without overexerting and overusing muscles.

Below you’ll find a couple of different combinations of exercises you can do at home with supplies found in a typical household. Items such as a towel, milk or water jugs, chairs, and socks can be used to assist. Each workout is designed to work your full body, as well as work on flexibility and balance/coordination.

Workout 1:

Start with a 5-minute dynamic stretch:

• Frankenstein’s 5/leg
  • Start standing with both feet together. Take a step and kick a straight leg up to tap toe with hand. Take a couple of reset steps. Repeat with the other leg.
• Walking Lunges w/ twist 5/leg
  • Start with feet together. Take a long stride forward and bend your front knee, push hips forward to stretch hip flexor, twist trunk from side to side. Bring legs together and repeat on the other side
• Inchworms 10
  • Start standing with feet together. Reach down and touch toes. Bend knees if needed to touch the ground, and walk hands forward until just in front of shoulders. Walk feet forward, keeping legs as straight as possible. Best done by flexing foot while bringing thigh to chest.
• Pushup to Downdog 10
  • Begin in tall pushup position, with hands under shoulders. Perform a pushup, and once to the beginning position, push hips back and extend arms in line with the back. Try to place heels on the ground and push the head through the shoulders.

Exercises:

• 2-leg Hamstring Curl (Eq Needed: Towel, Tile) 3×10
  • Start lying on your back on tile. Use a towel under your feet as a slider. If no tile is available, use a folder under your feet on the carpet. Push your hips off the ground with straight legs and pull your legs under your body.

• Push up with Retraction of Scapula 3×10
  • Start in a tall plank position with your hands under your shoulders. Lower yourself until your elbows reach 90 degrees, then push yourself back up. Once in the tall plank position, allow your trunk to dip in while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Push back up to the tall pushup position and repeat.
• 3 Point Milkjug Row 3×8/arm
  • Start With your feet about shoulder-width, place your hand on a chair. Pull the milk jug up through your elbow, making sure to squeeze your shoulder blade toward the center of your back.

• Bearcrawl Isohold 3x:45
  • Start in a quadruped position, with shoulders stacked over hands and hips over knees. Lift knees off the ground 2-3 inches and hold. If you want a higher intensity, tap one knee to elbow, and repeat on the other side.

• Downdog Pushups 3×10
  • Start in a tall plank position, and push hips back so that head is in line with arms. Bend the elbows and lower yourself as far as possible, then push back up.
• Narrow Stance Squat to Wide Stance Squat with Pulse 3×12
  • Start with your feet just slightly less than shoulder-width apart. Squat down, then pulse 3 times before pushing back to the top. Take a step to the side that is slightly wider than shoulder-width and squat down, pulse three times and push back up. Repeat the narrow/wide stance.

Finish with 5 min cooldown:

• Lower Trunk Rotations 10/side
  • Lay on your back with knees bend and together, arms out to the side, and palms up. Roll knees to right, while looking to the left, then rotate to the other side. Should feel stretch in the lower back.
• Side-lying trunk rotation 10/side
  • Lay on your side with straight legs, with a pillow in front of you. Take the leg that is on top and bend it to a 90-degree angle, and place it on top of the pillow. Have your arms straight in front of you, and open one arm up, rotating around as far as you can without lifting the knee off the pillow. Repeat on the other side. Should feel stretch in middle to upper back
• Hip Flexor Stretch 30/side
  • Kneel with one knee up and one knee down, and push hips forward while raising hands overhead. Should feel stretch in front of hip.
• Kneeling Quad Stretch (couch stretch) 30/side
  • Kneel with one knee up and one knee down, resting the top of your back foot on your couch. Lower to the ground. Should feel a stretch in the quad

Workout 2:

Start with 5 min dynamic stretch:

• Frankenstein’s 5/leg
  • Start standing with both feet together. Take a step and kick a straight leg up to tap toe with hand. Take a couple of reset steps. Repeat with the other leg.
• Walking Lunges w/ twist 5/leg
  • Start with feet together. Take a long stride forward and bend your front knee, push hips forward to stretch hip flexor, twist trunk from side to side. Bring legs together and repeat on the other side
• Inchworms 10
  • Start standing w feet together. Reach down and touch toes. Bend knees if needed to touch the ground, and walk hands forward until just in front of shoulders. Walk feet forward, keeping legs as straight as possible. Best done by flexing foot while bringing thigh to chest.
• Pushup to Downdog 10
  • Begin in a tall pushup position, with hands under shoulders. Perform a pushup, and once to the beginning position, push hips back and extend arms in line with the back. Try to place heels on the ground and push the head through the shoulders.

Exercises:

• Jump Squats 3×15
  • Start in a tall athletic stance, making sure feet are shoulder-width apart. Squat down, pushing hips back, and push up quickly into a jump. Land in the same position, and squat back down once feet touch the ground.
• Crunchy Frogs 3×15
  • Start sitting on the floor, legs bent in front of you, and knees together. Rock back so that you’re balancing on your glutes, while straightening knees, and bring arms out to the sides of your body. Tuck knees in and bring arms around them, while still balancing. Release knees, and straighten back out. Repeat.
• Tricep Dips on chair 3×10
  • Start with hands on the chair seat, and legs in front of you. The farther out your legs are, the hard this exercise will be. Lower yourself until your elbows reach a 90-degree bend and push back up.

• Broomstick Row 3×15
  • Take two grocery bags and place a few cans of food in each, making sure they’re about the same size and weight. (duplicate cans work best). With a broom balanced on a chair, hang each bag on either side of the broom. Pick up the broom horizontally, hands about shoulder-width apart, and position yourself in an athletic stance, with a slight lean forward. Pulling through the elbows, and squeezing shoulder blades together, bring the broom up to the chest, slowly releasing it back to the bottom once you tap the chest.
• Curtsy Lunges 3×10
  • Start in a tall athletic stance, cross left foot behind right and squat down as low as you can, push back up, and place foot back to shoulder width. Repeat with the other side.

• Reverse Crunch 3×10
  • Laying on your back, position your head so that you can hold onto something heavy, either a couch leg or under a couch. Bend your knees, and lift them off the ground, and when ready, lift hips off the ground so that you are resting your body weight on your shoulders. Slowly lower your body down until your lower back touches the floor. Without dropping your feet to the ground, repeat.

Finish with 5 min cooldown:

• Lower Trunk Rotations 10/side
  • Lay on your back with knees bend and together, arms out to the side, and palms up. Roll knees to right, while looking to the left, then rotate to the other side. Should feel stretch in the lower back.
• Side-lying Trunk Rotation 10/side
  • Lay on your side with straight legs, with a pillow in front of you. Take the leg that is on top and bend it to a 90-degree angle, and place it on top of the pillow. Have your arms straight in front of you, and open one arm up, rotating around as far as you can without lifting the knee off the pillow. Repeat on the other side. Should feel stretch in middle to upper back
• Hip Flexor Stretch 30/side
  • Kneel with one knee up and one knee down, and push hips forward while raising hands overhead. Should feel stretch in front of the hip
• Kneeling Quad stretch (couch stretch) 30/side
  • Kneel with one knee up and one knee down, resting the top of your back foot on your couch. Lower to the ground. Should feel a stretch in the quad

Other Options

Lower body:

• Bodyweight Squats (or with milk jug in goblet position)
• Hamstring Curls on tile with towel/socks
• Curtsy Lunges
• Jump Squats
• Jumping Lunges

Core:

• Dead Bugs
• Bear Crawl Iso Hold with Knee Tap
• Birddog
• Plank (or variations like a pledge, up & downs)
• Crunchy frogs

Back and Chest:

• Milk Jug Rows
• Pushup (or variations like plyo, incline decline)

Arms:

• Tricep Pushups
• Milk Jug Curls
• Tricep Dips on a chair
• Broomstick Curls (or weighted backpack, grocery bag with even weight inside)
• Pushup to Downdog

Maintaining overall fitness is a vital part of daily living, allowing us to perform and participate in all activities to the best of our ability. Utilizing active recovery, as well as these at-home exercise plans can help you get on the right track to achieving greatness. If you’re looking for more guidance in your workout routine, contact one of our FAST valley-wide locations today!

In honor of the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Olympics, this post is dedicated to a personal favorite of mine: the power clean. I get asked by many athletes, “how do I get stronger, faster, and more powerful?” First, we need to define “power.” Power is force over time. So, the more force produced in less time equates to more power. In the weight room, this can be achieved by developing type II fibers (fast-twitch) in the muscles. These fast-twitch fibers produce greater and quicker force.

What exercises help build type II fibers?

Compound exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, and split-squats are great places to start. However, there is one move above all else that will provide you with the most bang-for-your-buck when it comes to power development, the power clean.

What defines a power clean?

The power clean is the pinnacle movement for power production because it includes full-body and multi-joint movements. It’s a combination of a deadlift, high pull, shrug, and squat. That’s a lot of movement to cram in such a short amount of time (remember, less time & more force = more power). Because of the intricate nature of the power clean, it can take some practice to maintain proper form. This blog will provide a step-by-step guide to the movement and how to perfect it.

Step 1: pull

The first movement of the power clean is picking up the bar. This step will take place from the ground to the knees. Before you begin, keep your feet hip-width apart and have the bar directly over the base of your toes. Position your shoulders over the bar with your shoulder blades pulled back to help create tension through your back. As you pull, it is imperative that you have your hips and knees extend in one synchronous motion. This is where some athletes fault in their technique and can cause more problems later on in the move.

Step 2: pull again

This action will occur when the barbell passes the knees. The goal of the second pull is to get your hips to “drive” forward and help move the barbell in a straight vertical path. This is where you transition to the “triple extension” position through your ankles, knees, and hips. If one joint is not in an “extension” position, you are limiting your ability to produce power through the second pull. As you begin to maneuver yourself around the barbell to receive it in the “power position.” This is where athletes may fault while performing a power clean. Many try to move the bar around them when they should be moving their body around the bar.

Step 3: catch and receive

As the athlete performs the second pull, they will “feel” the weight of the bar traveling upward. This is a critical moment where the athlete will pull themselves under the bar to catch it in the “receiving” position. In many instances, coaches will tell their athletes to “jump” during the second pull to help achieve the “triple extension.” Coaching an athlete to “jump” during a power clean will often have the athlete spend more time in the air and limit their ability to pull themselves under the bar. I like to coach my athletes to “pull and drop” when receiving the bar. As the athlete drops to receive the bar, they will shoot their elbows forward, parallel to the ground, to catch the bar on the top of their shoulders in the quarter-squat position.

The complexity of the power clean may seem intimidating, but when performed properly it can provide a training stimulus nearly unmatched by any other exercise. It’s one of the best training tools to teach athletes and everyday gymgoers to become more powerful. If you want to improve your performance, strength, and explosiveness, contact one of our FAST locations today!

In case you overdo it on the turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes this Thanksgiving, we have the perfect Thanksgiving Day workout for you! This total body workout will help you torch calories and burn off that extra piece of pie, keeping you on track for your fitness goals.

Workout:

Turkey Triceps Dips – 100 Reps

Mashed Potato Med Ball Slams – 200 Reps

Cranberry Sauce Crunches – 200 Reps

Green Bean Casserole Glute Raises – 100 Reps

Sweet Potato Sumo Squats – 150 Reps

Dinner Rolls Rows – 100 Reps (Each Side)

Bread Stuffing Shoulder Presses – 100 Reps

Pecan Pie Push Ups – 100 Reps

Pumpkin Pie Planks – 5 Minutes

Wine Drinkers Weighted Walks – 5 Laps

Total Reps Completed: 1,060 (not including seconds)

As always, our Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists are here to help create a workout plan to meet your personal fitness and wellness goals. Visit one of our 10 locations to learn more.