Weekly Online Workouts (W.O.W.)

If you are ready to get fit, stay fit, or regain your fitness; if you're looking for a good workout you can follow on your own or with friends, you have come to right place. 

Here's where I post my workouts - the ones I create and do for myself. I want to share them with anyone and everyone out there who is serious about their fitness and just needs the ideas and a schedule. They are completely FREE - won't cost you one stinking dime. They will cost you some time, some effort, some sweat, and some hard, yet fun work though.

Every two weeks, you will find 5 brand new workouts. Do each set for two weeks, then come back for more.  You can read them right here on this page or you can download the workouts as a PDF file and take them with you on your workout.  So grab a buddy, meet at your house, your local park, beach, or wherever works for you and get fit. You might find that there's more to do than the time you have for a workout on a given day. No problem. Do what you can. Then use the other activities the next week.

Because these are the workouts I put together for myself, you might need to tweak them a bit to fit your own personal fitness level. Every workout can be modified upward or downward to fit you and your abilities to give you the challenge you need.  

You can adjust the weights or resisitance levels, distances, repetitions or duration to increase or lessen the intensity level. You can also adjust the workouts to fit your limitations. Running can be changed to walkiing if you need to lessen the impact or intensity level. If you have an injury or a body part that isn't fully functional, you can still find plenty of activities for your other parts since every workout aims to hit your whole body. Be creative and mess with my workouts however works best for you. Use your own judgment as you implement these workouts. Consult a physician to be sure you are healthy and able to undertake this or any other exercise program.

I'll give you the workouts. If you make the time and put in the effort, you'll  soon find yourself in great shape. Just be careful, because getting fit tends to have side effects that impact the rest of your life as well --- in wonderful ways.

I am now putting videos with demonstrations of some of the workout activities on You Tube. Check them out on the FitnessNutz channel.

Beginning with the Weeks 13 and 14, you will see references to something called the Push Factor (PF). This is my own creation. If you want to understand it or see where it came from read the original blog entry.

Weekly Online Workout
Weeks 25 and 26

Monday
Equipment: open space, markers, papers labeled with stationary and movement activities
 
Warm Up: (5-7 min)
Move randomly among 6 markers arranged in a circle. Begin with 1 minute of jogging from marker to marker in any order, any pattern. For the next minute, alternate jogging and skipping among markers. Then jog, skip, backpedal among markers for the next minute. Jog, skip, backpedal, side shuffle for a minute. Then work your way back to the beginning, one minute at a time.

Main:
The Circle – place 6 markers in a large circle (15-30 yards between markers). Each marker should be labeled with a piece of paper. The first line on the paper tells how to get to the next marker. The second line on the paper describes what activity to do at that marker before moving on. Below are the pairs of activities, separated by a “/”.Write out the titles and the reps, and attach to each marker.

1. Bear Crawl (move forward on hands and toes) / Cycle Jumps 4, 8, 10, 12x (Begin with one foot in front and the other foot behind. Bend both knees. Jump off of the ground. In mid-air, switch the position of your legs, landing with your opposite legs in front and behind. When you land, hit the floor with your toes first and then allow your heels to hit. Allow your knees to bend. This reduces the amount of impact on your body. The jump can be very small in the beginning, while you get used to switching your legs. As you get better at it, jump for height, and have your feet kick up and hit your buttocks while you're in the air.)
2. Frog Hop (Squat down, feet flat, until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Keeping your chest up, jump forward, landing in a squat and repeat. Increase the challenge by placing your hands on top of or behind your head.) / Twisted Push Ups 4, 6, 8, 10x. (Perform a standard pushup, between each pushup lift a foot and the arm on the opposite side, and twist knee under to touch elbow of raised hand. Alternate sides each time.)
3. High Tempo Skip / Fists and Double Knees 6, 10, 20x each side. (In a boxer’s stance with left leg forward, right leg back, and hands up by shoulders, perform the following sequence: jab [left hand punches over left leg], cross [pivot hips, while punching with right hand over left leg], jab again. As you draw back the final jab, raise the lead knee [left] to the chest. Then twist the torso and draw the other knee [right] to the chest. That is one repetition.)
4. Carioca / Vertical Jumps 6, 10, 15x. (Squat low, swinging your straight arms back behind your hips. Your fingers should sweep the ground as you do. Then explosively spring upward, jumping as high as you can, with arms reaching overhead.)
5. Secret Agent (Move sideways, hands at your chest, performing a slow, squatted, carioca step. Trail foot alternates crossing in front of and behind the body. Focus on staying as low as you can during the movement.) / Prison Cell Push Ups  2, 4, 8x (Get into a regular push up position. Do one pushup, on the up phase, raise your right knee to your chest (don’t put your foot down) then back out, do another pushup, then raise your left knee to your chest and out, then do one more pushup. Jump, or step, your feet to your hands and stand up raising your hands overhead. This is one set. Ouch! Advanced folks can alternate raising both right and left knees to the chest between each pushup. They may also add a jump instead of just standing. And they may even jump their feet out when going down.)
6. Backpedal (bring your heels to your butt cheeks, while running backward) / Burpees 3, 6, 10x. (Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you. Jump your feet back to a pushup position. Immediately return your feet to the squat position. Leap up as high as possible from the squat position. Repeat, moving as fast as possible. You should maintain a fast pace for this exercise. Strive for maximum height with each jump.)

Each stationary activity has several numbers of repetitions to do. You can choose a number that fits you, or you can start at the lowest number of reps and work your way up each round, or vice versa. Start at any marker you want. Move clockwise, following the directions on the markers. Continue for 30-40 minutes, doing as many rounds as possible in the time limit. To increase the cardio challenge for this workout, do the movement activity to the next marker, then sprint all the way around the circle before doing the stationary activity.

Jog – go for a 1-3 minute jog to cool down. Follow this with stretching.

Abs/Core:
Plankus Maximus – hold a regular (hands and toes) or modified (forearms and toes) plank as long as you can. Make it more challenging by lifting an arm or foot, or both.
Happy Legs - Lie on the floor with legs out straight. Raise your legs and place your hands under your tailbone and press down so that you feel the pressure of the low back on the ground. Keeping your legs straight and as close to the ground as you can while keeping your lower back on the ground, then draw a smile with your legs. Raise them in a curved motion up to the left, then down to the center and up to the right. Do this slow and controlled with smooth lines. It’s the shape of a smile not a V. 20x.
Sustained Sit Up – sit on ground, cross arms over chest, lean back to 45 degrees. Keep that back rounded and breathe. Hold for your max. Make sure you hold at the spot that requires your max effort. 

Tuesday
Equipment: open space, lots of markers, dumbbells (DBs), kettlebells (KBs), medicine ball (MB), sandbag, or homemade weights. (All exercises will be described as though using DBs.)
 
Warm Up: (5-7 min)
Jog in a loop. One side of the loop will always be jogging. When traveling down the other side mix in these activities – butt kickers, high knees, high skips, forward shuffles, backward shuffles, side shuffles, forward and back scissor steps, backpedal, and carioca. Then alternate between running in place and high tempo shadow boxing (jabbing and punching at the air).

Main:
Weights to Course to Core – do one of the Weight Activities, then run through the Agility Course as fast as possible, and finish with one of the Core Exercises. Jog (or walk) back to the start and repeat, inserting different Weight and Core activities each round. Do as many rounds as possible in 35-50 minutes.

Weight Activities

• Lunge Curls – stand, holding DBs in each hand and step forward into lunge (forward leg bent and thigh parallel to ground, back leg extended behind). Pulse in this lunge position (raising and lowering hips about an inch) while curling the DBs to your chest. Hold the DBs with straight arms down toward the ground. Bending at the elbows, bring the DBs to your chest, palms toward the body. Lower in a controlled fashion and repeat. 3 sets of 10-30x each leg.
• Smile Swings – Stand in a wide stance, holding one or two DBs (depending on your abilities). Hold the DBs with straight arms, between the legs. Lower into a squat and swing the DBs to the right, shifting your weight to the right as you do. Only swing until the weights are at shoulder level. Then lower back into a squat as you bring the DB’s to center, then swing to the left. Continue this pattern, tracing a “smile” with the DBs in front of you, smoothly and evenly. 15–40x.
• Diagonal Dumbbell Smash – Stand with feet hip distance apart. Shift your weight to the right foot and take the left leg straight out to the side, toe lightly resting on the floor and arms extended up and to the right of the body, holding one or two DBs above the right shoulder.  Draw the left knee up and across the body while bringing the DBs down and towards the left hip with a torso twist.  Take the left foot down, tapping the floor and continue with the knee lift and DB smash, over and over. 10-25x.  Repeat on the other side.
• DB Get Ups - stand with feet together, hold the DB/KB with one hand and extend your arm as far overhead as possible. If working with a MB or SB, use two hands and hold it up to the sky. Keep the DB/KB/MB extended to the sky throughout the entire movement. Bend one knee under your, lowering yourself smoothly down to the ground by stages (shin, knee, hips). Lie flat on your back, keeping the DB to the sky. Then reverse the procedure to get back up: bend same leg under you, push up to your knee and opposite foot, and stand up tall. Use your free hand to provide support and help. The focus is on keeping that DB/KB extended toward the sky for every part of this movement. 2 sets of 5-20x each side.

Agility Course
Arrange markers as shown below.

                                                       F               H         I   J  K                        L
          A       B      C       D
                                              E               G  

Perform shuttle runs at markers A-D (which are in a line about 10 yards apart). Start at A and run to B, then back to A. Out to C back to A. Out to D. Side shuffle around markers E, F, G, and H (which are in a zig zag pattern, about 5 yards apart). Perform two-footed hops over markers I, J, and K (which are in a line, about 1 yard apart). Then sprint to marker L ( about 15-40 yards away). Perform a core activity at L, then jog back to start. Rest and begin cycle again.

 

Core Activities

• Hold It – hold each of the following 2 positions for max time. Supine Leg Raise: lie flat on your back, legs extended, and hands under tailbone to keep lower back on the ground. Raise straight legs 4-8 inches off the ground, keeping your lower back pressed into the ground, and hold it right there for your max time. Boat Pose: sit on the ground balancing just above tailbone, with raised straight legs, straight arms pointed forward past thighs, and hold it right there for max time.
• Elevated Leg Crunches - lie on your back with legs straight and raised to 45 degrees, and the soles of your feet pressed against a wall (or other flat vertical surface). Place hands behind your head, across your chest, or at your sides, and crunch up toward your feet. Keep those legs straight while you do this. 10-20x.
• Fifer Flutters – lie flat on your back, hands under your tailbone, extending one leg toward the sky, while raising the opposite leg off the ground just a few inches. Alternate legs in powerful, abrupt scissor-like motion, with a 3 count hold in each position. Keep those feet flexed the whole time. 20-30x.
• Cross-Leg Crunches - Lie on your back, with the right knee bent and your foot on the ground.  Place your left foot over your right knee, right hand behind your head, and left hand on your belly. Lift your shoulders up off the ground and twist so that your right elbows tries to touch your left knee. Lower to the starting position and repeat. 2 sets of 10-25 on each side.

Wednesday
Equipment: open space with access to a playground or similar structure, markers (optional depending on the run style you choose). An understanding of Push Factor (PF) will be very helpful.
 
Warm Up: (5-7 min)
Go for a jog (or walk) mixing in the following movements. High tempo skip, side shuffle, butt-kickers, high knees, jump high every 4th step, sweep the ground with alternating hands every 4th step, carioca, jog and do arm circles, jog and do punches, big high skips with upward reaching arms, jog with arms pushing overhead, side shuffle with arms slapping shoulder blades.

Main:
Max N’ Out – there are several ways to do this workout. Pick the one that fits your workout goals, style and fitness abilities. Use the playground equipment to do one of the Max Out Activities, followed immediately by a run (or other movement style depending on your abilities). Rest after the run as needed – just until your breathing has settled and your heart rate has slowed a bit. Continue the cycle of Max Out, Run Out, short rest, for 30-45 minutes. Choose from these types of “runs”:

• Around the Playground – run around the perimeter of the playground. Do the same number of runs each time or change it up (i.e. 1x around, then 2, 3, 4, etc.). PF 6-8.
• Sprints – place several markers in a line at varying distances (like 15, 20, 25, 30 . . .  60 yards). Perform sprints (all to the same marker, or to different markers) for 1-5 minutes. You for the same amount of time each round, or change it up each time. Sprint out to the marker (PF 8-9), then jog, walk or backpedal back to the start (PF 3-4).
• Distance – go for a run on the course of your choosing anywhere from 3-8 minutes. Don’t cruise on this run. Use a PF of 6-7.

Max Out Activities

• Handstand – Face a wall or face away from a wall and do a full, vertical handstand. Or use a bench or table top and do a modified handstand (hips up high above the shoulders, like a downward dog with elevated feet).
• Hangs – Hold onto a bar overhead and just hang your entire body weight on your outstretched arms. Keep those feet off the ground. If this is not challenging enough you can do max pull-ups, raise your knees to elbows while hanging, or perform straight leg raises.
• Wall Sits - Sit against a wall, hips and knees bent at 90 degrees, as though you were sitting in a chair. Keep your thighs parallel to each other and parallel to the ground and your back against the wall. For more of a challenge, lift one leg off the ground.
• Pikes on a Swing – get into a plank position with your hands on the ground and your feet in the seat of a swing. Aim for a straight line from the base of your neck to your ankles. Keeping your legs straight, draw your feet toward your chest, lifting your hips up into the air as you do. These are tough.
• Swing Set Rows – hold the base or the chains of swing in both hands. Step back and lean your body back to 45-60 degrees, holding the swing with straight arms. Keeping your body straight (no bend in the knees or hips) pull your chest up to the swing and lower it again. Squeeze your back muscles as you pull up. For greater challenge, lower your upper body closer to the ground at the start. To make it easier, bend at the knees, but don’t let those hips sag.
• Sissy Squats – Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and grasp a bar or other support at hip level. With hips and waist straight, bend knees, allowing the upper body to lean backwards as knees come forward. Your heels will raise from floor. Lower body until knees are almost fully flexed or near floor (or as low as you can go). There should be a straight line from your knees to your head as you perform this movement. Return to original position by straightening the knees as your heels return to floor.
• Hip Slaps – In one of the handstand positions from above, or in a regular downward,  or even in a plank position, lift a hand and slap the hip of the same side. Alternate hands each time.
• Jackknife on a Swing - Get into a plank position with your hands on the ground and your feet in the seat of a swing. Aim for a straight line from the base of your neck to your ankles. Draw your knees to your chest and extend them out again.

Cool Down and Stretch – go for a 2-3 minute jog/walk to cool down. Then stretch the major muscle groups of the upper and lower body.

Thursday
Equipment: access to stairs (with at least 20-40 flights), resistance bands or tubes
 
Warm Up: (5-7 min)
Stand and do alternating toe touches 20x. Let your knees bend as you do this. Gentle jumping jacks 20x. Don’t go hard and don’t touch hands overhead. Mini squats with alternating knee lifts 30x. Feet shoulder-width apart, chest and torso erect. Squat half-way down, raising one knee each time. Then do elbows to knees 20x. Feet stay on the ground just over shoulder-width apart while you bring right elbow to left knee and the reverse. Knees to elbows 20x. Now lace fingers behind your head and bring knee up to opposite elbow. High knee marches in place or moving forward 20x. Repeat this whole set until warm up time is up.

Main:
Up, Down, Around, and Bands – this workout would be great at a track with stadium steps, but you can make it work anywhere with stairs, with some creativity. Do as many rounds of the following 3 activities as you can in 30-40 minutes.

• Stairs – choose a challenging way to climb the stairs such as sprinting, lunge walking with the same leg or alternating legs, side squat up, cross over step up. Always come down slowly and safely. Then . . .
• Around – this could be one lap around the track or one lap of your own making. You can run, march, carioca, backpedal, walk/jog combo, lunge walk, etc (depending on your abilities, goals, and the size lap you are using). Then . . .
• Bands – do one of the following activities each round.
  • Squatted Rows – Squat down, with band anchored in front of you at about chest level. Pull elbows back, pulling hands to the sides of your chest, and pulling your shoulder blades together. Then extend the arms back out. 50-100x.
  • Single Arm Band Punches – Stand with parallel feet, with the band anchored to the side of you, holding the band in one hand (the one closest to the anchor), slowly pivot and punch forward over the foot that is furthest from the anchor point. If working your right side, the band would be anchored just past your right shoulder. You would hold the band in your right hand and pivot and punch out over the left knee. Return to start in slow controlled manner. Work one side 20-60x then work the other side.
  • Russian Twists with a Band – stand with the band anchored in front of you just below chest level. Hold the band with both hands, arms straight out in front. Twist your torso and pull the band to your left side, then to the right. Keep that up with straight arms, and your eyes looking out over your hands. 25-100x.
  • Band Swimmers – stand with the band anchored in front of you at about shoulder level, holding one end of the band in each hand, with arms extended forward. Squat and, with straight arms, bring your hands down toward the ground and behind you. As you rise, return your arms to the start position. Do this at a high tempo. 25-100x.
  • Curl and Punch - stand with the band anchored in front of you just about hip level. Hold the band with your right hand directly in front you with a straight arm. Squat down, and curl your hand to your chest as you rise. Pivot and step directly behind you with your left foot, while punching the right arm out over the left knee. Return to the start position and repeat. 20-40x each side.

Abs/Core: the following exercises are designed for partners. If you don’t have a partner to work with, do the exercises from Monday instead.
Target Crunches – one partner lies on back, bending knees to 90 degrees and placing the soles of their feet on the thighs of standing partner. Standing partner provides a (challenging but not impossible) target with hands for working partner to aim for. Partner A crunches up 4x, reaching to (gently) touch B’s hands each time. On the fourth crunch, A stays up high and does 4 more high and fast crunches. Repeat this 3x then switch roles.
Reverse Crunches – partner A lies on ground. B stands at A’s head. A holds B’s ankles for support. A raises straight legs up as close to B as possible. B pushes A’s legs back toward the ground. A tightens abs controlling the movement of legs – making it a slow lowering of the legs back to the ground. 10x then switch.
Oblique Crunches – partner A lies on ground on side, knees bent at 90 degrees. B kneels down and holds A’s knees and ankles to the ground. A places hands at the back of the head, top elbow pointing up to sky, lower elbow pointing forward. A crunches up, bringing upper elbow to hip (or think, armpit to hip) 10x. Switch roles. Next time work the other side. Each person does 3 sets of 10 on each side.

Friday
Equipment: markers, open space, Frisbee, optional: tape or fabric strips, numbered 1-6, to use a course flags.
 
Warm Up: (5-7 min)
Jog around and play catch with the Frisbee(s) in a group or solo. Work on your technique so you can do well in the activities for the day. Mix in a variety of movement styles and don’t stand still at any point. Keep that body moving.

Main:
Long then Together – arrange three markers 10-15 yards apart.

          A                B                  C

One partner stands at A with the Frisbee (server), while the other partner stands at C (receiver). Server throws long to receiver.  Both partners then run to B. The receiver places the Frisbee on the ground. If the Frisbee wasn’t caught on the long throw both partners, both partners do a burpee before continuing. If the catch was successful, then partner at A picks up the Frisbee, both partners then backpedal to starting positions to repeat. Switch roles after 10 throws. If you have a large group, play for 10 minutes. The team with the most catches wins. If playing alone, start at C, throw to marker at A or C. Run out to retrieve and backpedal back to B. If you land the Frisbee within 5 feet of marker, it counts as a successful attempt. Otherwise do a burpee at B before continuing.

1v1 Fitness Challenge – two players with one Frisbee stand at a marker. Player A throws Frisbee for player B to chase. While B is chasing the Frisbee, A is earning points doing a stationary activity from the list below – each repetition counts as one until chaser returns with Frisbee, stepping on marker to stop the point accumulation. Each person gets one chance to rack up the points with each activity below. If playing alone, alternate between throwing and chasing down Frisbee, and 20-30 seconds of the activities below.

• Pushups – regular, on knees, inclined, or declined
• Mountain Climbers - place your hands on floor with shoulders over hands. One leg is bent and tucked under your chest, the other leg is fully extended. Weight should be placed on balls of feet. As quickly as possible "climb" by switching leg positions.
• Starbursts- squat down into crouch position, elbows drawn in toward knees. Explode upward into a jump, spreading arms and legs outward as you do.
• Squat Jumps – squat down, touch ground, jump and reach up.
• Side to Side Plank Hops - get into a plank position with your feet alongside the marker. Keeping your butt down, your legs as straight as you can, and your core tight, hop both legs together sideways back and forth, over the marker. Modify by stepping side to side over the marker one leg at a time. Keep your butt down throughout.

Switch Sides Catches – A server with a Frisbee and a receiver without, face each other 5 yards apart. Server throws Frisbee to receiver who catches and returns it. As soon as the receiver throws the Frisbee back to the server, she/he runs toward the server, but slightly to side. Once the receiver is even with the server, she/he pivots and backpedals another 5 yards, ready to catch and return the next throw. Continue this way, switching roles every 5 catches. Continue alternating roles for 5-10 minutes or a set number of catches (20 or so).
Backpedal Catch – partners face each other 5 yards apart. Move in unison, jog slowly (one moving forward one moving backward) for 25-100 yards. Bounce on your feet if your  partner is chasing down an errant throw. The person moving forward starts with the Frisbee. Once you’ve travelled the 25-100 yards throwing the Frisbee back and forth, repeat in the opposite direction to return. Each person gets a chance to work moving forward and backward. If working out in a group, you may turn this into a race. First pair to travel out and back wins. If working out alone, backpedal while throwing the Frisbee up at an angle so that it comes back at you and you can catch it. Or throw it slightly ahead of you while moving forward.
Total Targets – Arrange a course with six numbered targets or flags. The distance between the targets and the order of the targets should match your abilities, fitness level, and workout goals. Personally I would place the targets about 30 yards apart in non-sequential order. The targets can be “flags” taped to raised objects to hit. Or they can be 10 foot in diameter zones, made with markers or rope or tape, for you to land your Frisbee in. In either case, play for 10 minutes, hitting targets in sequential order as many times as possible. Highest score wins.

Abs/Core:
Playing with Planks – perform the following plank variations:

• Regular plank – hold for 30-60seconds.
• Drop to forearms and toes for sliding plank. Slide forward and then back 10-20x slowly.
• Drop to child’s pose (on hands and knees, with hips back on heels and head between arms) for 20 seconds.
• Then up in regular plank for 30-60 seconds
• Roll to sideways plank on the right side. Raise and lower hips 10-20x
• Back to regular plank for 30-60 seconds.
• Move to sideways plank on left, with 10-20 hip raises.
• Back to a regular plank for 30-60 seconds.
• From a regular plank, raise alternating knees out wide to elbows for 10-20 Frog Leg Planks.
• Rest in child’s pose for 20 seconds.
• Repeat the whole plank series.