Tuesday’s Challenge this week is simple. However, it does involve a huge ab focus! A strong core is essential for athletes, especially for runners. I believe in multitasking our body – to get the most out of a workout. After all, if we are going tosweat, let’s make it worth it. I'm posting it early this time, as I will be having a much needed "sabbatical" day with co-horts and hubby - out at the lake, eatting BBQ and Sopipilla cheesecake - you can beat your booty, I'll be back on Tuesday night to do the challenge myself!
So here is Tuesday’s Challenge:
Run 2 miles
Push ups to exhaustion
Run 1 mile
Burpees to exhaustion
Run 2 miles
Xtreme Abs
In & Outs – 25
Seated Bicycles – 25 each
crunch frogs – 25
Fifer Scissors - 25
v- ups – 25
bicycles (both ways) 25 each
Hip Rock & Raise – 25
Pulse Ups – 25
Weighted mason Twists – 25 (use 8 – 10 lb ab ball)
Weighted oblique’s – 50 each with 10 lb weight
Pelvic Push Ups (with large stability ball) – 25
Planks on elbows – 1 min
Side planks with 10 dips – 30 secs each side
Plank (extended arms) – 1 min
A lot of the Xtreme Abs are directly out of Tony Horton’s P90x Ab Ripper routine. We’ve modified them somewhat to meet our specific needs and where we are at, physically and endurance wise.
I’ve included a brief description of the routines below. You can find more descriptions and even video footage of the routines if you google them or youtube them. The descriptions below are from http://www.freeworkoutguides.com/workoutguides/p90x-ab-ripper-workout.
In & Out You are basically using your butt as a pivot point while you kick your legs out, and lower your upper body slightly towards the floor.
Seated Bicycle Starting from roughly the same position as the In & Outs, you just simulate the movement of peddling a bicycle, and then you reverse direction.
Seated Crunchy Frog By this point, you may feel inspired to say "You MUST be kidding" when Tony demonstrates the exercise. In essence, it is just like an In & Out, only your have to momentarily wrap your arms around your knees, which means that you can no longer have your hands on the floor for support.
Fifer Scissor Much like the standard scissor exercises that many people used to do in gym class, only this one has an added twisted. You do start in the lying down position (which is wonderful by this point!), but rather than just kicking your legs back and forth in a spastic manner, you only do one leg at a time while the other leg is held 6" off of the floor
Hip Rock n' Raise Again starting in the lying down position, this time with your knees out, and the heels of your feet touching. You contract your ab muscles to bring your lower body off the floor, then push your hips up towards the ceiling.
Pulse Up This is more of a standard hip raise type of movement where you basically have both feet facing the ceiling, and you do your best to push your heels as high towards the ceiling as possible.
Mason Twist The "tour de force" that is the final exercise in Ab Ripper X, and the final exercise of the P90X workout session, they saved the best for last. Once again, you are using your butt as a pivot point, while your upper body and your legs are both held above the floor. Once in that position, you clasp your hand together and rotate very rapidly from side to side, trying to touch the floor on each repetition.
Pelvic Push Ups: 1. Lie with with your knees bent, feet balanced on stability ball and your back flattened against the floor. Tighten your buttocks and tilt your pelvis to help you do this. Bend your elbows and put your hands behind your head, keeping your elbows in contact with the floor. 2. Tighten your pelvis and tilt it upwards to your rib cage. At the same time, tighten your lower abdominal muscles and gently push your lower back into the floor. This movement should straighten you legs, making you balance your feet on the wall – for an extra core bonus! Hold for a count of 3. Relax your muscles and let your pelvis ease back to its normal position. Repeat this exercise slowly.
Planks: These are my go to move when I’m crunched for time and have to cut an ab routine short. I will rely on weighted mason twists, weight oblique’s and planks.
1. Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor.
2. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows.
3. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.
4. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominal to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle. Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.
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