Olympics Special: Move It Exercises

We are all very excited to watch the Games in my household. What a fantastic opportunity to see the hard work and athleticism of different people around the world. Therefore, in honour of London 2012, this is our first Olympics inspired post.

Here are exercise movements that you can incorporate in your own workouts and bring the athlete out in you.

Track & Field
Track and Field is a sport that comprises of various athletic contests based on running, jumping and throwing.

Check out these exercises that will help improve your power, strength, balance and explosiveness. Track & Field exercises will also help your muscle endurance & give you a great calorie burn.

Jump Tucks




How to do it:
1 Begin in a standing position, feet hip width distance apart and legs straight.
2. Crouch into a squat position, jump up explosively using your legs, core and arms.
3. When you jump, tuck your knees into your chest. And, when you return lower your knees, land on both feet with knees bent.

Challenge:
1.Repeat this move 10 times, rest and do 2 more sets.


Plyo box jumps
This is a quick powerful movement.




How to do it:
1. Stand in front of a secure box or platform
2. Jump onto box & immediately back down to starting position.

Challenge:
1. Repeat exercise 10 times, rest and do another 2 sets of 10 box jumps.
2. Once you have conquered a certain height, move onto higher boxes.




Handy Tip:
Don't have access to a plyo box? Use a park bench like I did.




Sprints



Sprints are short burst of runs. You run as quickly as you can from one point to another, rest and then repeat. Just like the jump tucks and plyo jumps, it is a high intensity activity that requires a small amount of time. It brings immense benefits & dramatic results from improved endurance & aerobic capacity to fat loss and muscle power. It also helps to make you a faster runner.

How to do it:
1. As with the other exercises, warm up 5-10 mins beforehand.
2. Choose two points that will allow you to run 30 secs between them.
3. Perform a 30 sec sprint between these points (run fast), recover for 1-2 mins by walking or jogging back to starting point. Repeat sprint.

Challenge:
1. Do a repeat sprint/recovery routine 4-8 times (depending on your level & ability).


~Fit Mom