First off, let me say that this isn’t really going to be madness. It will be quite sane. And this little series of exercises doesn’t just involve a medicine ball. But people like alliteration, and they like words like “extreme”, “intense”, and “madness”.
So really this is your fault. See what you made me do?!
OK fine. I’ll take responsibility. This time.
Although, people do tend to like those words when it comes to exercise. “Extreme” and “intense” are the expected baseline anymore. I think there are a lot of issues with that, but that’s a discussion for another time.
(Tomorrow perhaps?)
And yet here I am using those words to make my title more catchy. Looks like I’m part of the problem.
Oh, Michael.
Enough of that, let’s get to it.
As this is my first official blog post on Michael Gray Fitness (yesterdays didn’t count. It was more of a “Hi, thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you soon.” kind of thing) I wanted to give you something practical, and easy to implement.
Whether someone is trying to lose body fat, get more muscular, increase athleticism, or just feel better, it’s a good idea for them to get their heart pumping.
My online clients can attest to the fact that I like using finishers to accomplish this. A finisher is simply a series of movements placed at the end of a training session that’s designed to get the heart rate pumping, and increase cardiovascular capacity. Or, make your heart and lungs more awesomer.
Several of my clients have dubbed my finishers as “F.U.n.” “Fun” because it’s common for me to say, “Ready to have some fun?” before we start a finisher. And the “F” and “U” are capitalized because that’s what they want to say to me about half way through it.
They also tend to be pretty great for burning some calories. (“Burning” and “calories”…a few more buzzwords .)
(You know what word most people don’t care for? Moist. People have really strong opinions on the word “moist”.)
Let’s talk about the movements, and then I’ll give you the run down for this short, effective, INTENSE, EXTREME, MIND-BLOWING, CALORIE BURNING workout. jk.
Here’s the 6 movements you’ll be doing:
Medicine Ball Rotational Slams
Cues:
-Rotate through your hips, not your low back.
-Keep hips, torso, and shoulders in line the entire time.
-Extend fully at the top of the movement.
-Slam the ball as hard as you can. No, harder than that.
Mountain Climbers
Cues:
-Keep abs tight.
-Drive knees to chest.
-Keep toes of front foot off the ground. Avoid skipping.
Wall Balls
Cues:
-Throw medicine ball from, and catch at, chest height.
-Keep chest up.
-Absorb the “catch”. Move with the ball on the way down.
-Use your legs and shoulders to throw the ball.
Jumping Jacks
Cues:
-Do a jumping jack. If that isn’t clear…oh, boy…
Medicine Ball Slams
Cues:
-Extend fully at the top.
-Avoid coming down into a squat position. Think hips up, torso over.
-Slam the ball as hard as you possibly can.
Shoot Outs
Cues:
-Avoid excessive hip rocking.
-4 steps out, 4 steps back is one rep.
-They’ll be awkward at first. They will get better.
Now you know what movements you’re doing, and how to do them. Let’s put them all together for a little F.U.n.
A1. Medicine Ball Rotational Slams (5/side)
A2. Mountain Climbers (15/leg)
A3. Wall Balls (10)
A4. Jumping Jacks (30)
A5. Medicine Ball Slams (10)
A6. Shoot Outs (5 ) Remember-4 steps out, 4 steps back=1 rep
Perform A1-A6 with little to no rest in between exercises. Once you’ve completed one round, rest 90 seconds. Then repeat for a total of 5 rounds.
That’s it! “That’s it” makes it sounds like it’ll be nice and easy. It wont. This will probably suck. A lot. This should make your shirt really moist.
Ew. I get it now.
If you have any questions, please drop them in the comments below. Have a friend that would like to give this a shot? Please share it with them. I have those handy-dandy social media buttons on here just for that reason.
